My 1st weekend in Ethiopia was great! On Saturday (a week ago from
today), the other volunteer, Tiffany, & I supported a dozen of the
Ahope kids at the Sports Bridge Gigathlon. This yearly festival
celebrates orphans & street children. It is actually sponsored by the
famous Ethiopian marathoner, Haile Gelabrassie! You have probably
seen him run before as he is always a big contender at Chicago,
Boston, & the other big races. He gave a big speech at the beginning,
and as he was leaving, he was less than 10 ft. from me! I sure hope
some of his speed wore off on me!
The gigathlon consisted of 4 events (although we are only sure that
1 took place): running 2 km with a pinwheel made of wood & paper,
running while using a stick to keep a tire rolling, running with a
very tiny soccer ball, & running competitively. We only saw the kids
running with a pinwheel, but we assume the other events took place
since we did see random tires and soccer balls. Through out the 2
hours, Ethiopian & Sudanese music played while traditional dancers
entertained the adults. Ethiopians sure can dance! When we left, we
only forgot one kid (oops)! Luckily, we only traveled a few blocks
before realizing he was missing. Overall, we had a fantastic time.
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