Follow the Club to Addis
Get on board the Stride Ethiopia buses as they head on the annual trip to Addis Ababa for the Great Ethiopian Run and national children’s races. Hey watch out for the camels! Irrespective of ability all members go on this great weekend away trip.
It’s 20 MBs so it’ll take a few minutes to download if you’ve got broadband.
What we Do
Abush leading Run
4 times weekly athletics training with local STRIDE - Ethiopia coaches for the 80 young club members aged between 13 and 18. 60% of the athletes are female. The Breakfast Club. Direct provision of nutrition on training mornings funded by the Communications Workers Union Ireland. English classes provided Clubhouse premises rented All members to Great Ethiopian Run. 4 days trip to Addis. Qualifying members to national competitions IAAF affiliated Irish coach Eddie Mc Donagh runs annual athletics skills courses Volunteers teach English and drama summer courses. Basic healthcare backup provided. Great athletics track built by Members within budget in 2008 No Irish labour involved. We do all of this for about €20,000 a year !
What's different
Stride is not run by an outside agency. While the Irish Board provide back up and support for the club it is run and driven by the elected members committee. They provide monthly accounts and organize all the logistics on the ground.
How Stride works and who we are
Stride Ethiopia really is a partnership. The Board in Dublin privately raises funding and in partnership agrees an annual budget and assists with project management. The 80 local members elect a Committee that runs Stride on a daily basis. Stride has a Head Coach Sishema Girma and also has middle distance and sprint coaches. The Irish Board Members are IAAF Affiliated Coach and retired policeman Eddie Mc Donagh,Development Consultant and Director of Comhlamh Deirdre Murray, Nutritionist, sportswoman and Development Consultant Deirdre Walsh, former teacher Anne Thornton and practising barrister and former journalist Emer Woodfull. All visitors to the project have police clearance and child protection policies are in place.
Why it works
Stride works because the members want it to and it means a lot to them. A volunteer wrote: "I think it means so much to the kids. The fact that they belong to this structure is very important to them. For a lot them it's the reason they get up in the morning and they aspire to achieve certain goals ". A Club member wrote :" Club members are highly motivated by the promotion of some of their members who made it to a higher level and all of us are working to achieve best results. The other reason is some members went to university and are now studying medicine engineering and PE. Seeing all of these achievements of their friends make them work hard."
Athletically they have had great success at zonal and national level. Some of the members have gone on to join big clubs that pay them allowances, and others to national training camp.
What are Irish people doing in an Ethiopian athletics project ?
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. It ranks 92 out of 95 on the UN's human poverty index with an average life expectancy of 48 years of age. Yirgalem is an area heavily affected by malaria. Food shortages are common, many of the children and youths simply do not have enough to eat, and have significant health problems. Sport is a vital break away from often back breaking work and truncated childhoods and allows the members to regain some part of their childhood and dignity. Children have a right to physical and intellectual development. And they also have a right to just be children and have some fun. Yirgalem is about a 6 hour drive south of Addis Ababa and did not have a tradition of athletics or athletics skills. Also running a sports club anywhere costs money. That's'where the Irish link comes in. We provide coaching training for the transfer of skills and the funding for this small project. The young Ethiopian athletes teach the Irish to never give up any matter how tough the going gets. Irishman Mick Bourke, a runner, started the ball rolling in 2001 when he worked in Yigralem on an Irish Aid project. Mick who has now retired from Stride did great work for Stride.
Rome Cycle
Back in the 50s three men had a dream. That they'd cycle to Rome.And that's just what they did. Spool on to 2010. Three men in pub. "Let's do what my dad did" said one. "Yeah" said the other two and ours'll be pints if you're buying" But it wasn't just pub talk . Along with 3 others Dubliner David Gahan and Mark Daly are cycling from Dublin to Rome June 2011. A distance of 2000k at 90 k a day with some climbs rising to 6834 ft in the French Alps. David and Mark are on their on their bikes donning the Stride shirts for Stride Ethiopia. David opted for an XL shirt but thinks he'll have slimmed down so much by June that it'll look like a dress on him when they meet at the gates of Trinity College and push down on their pedals for the start of their trip on the 1th June. Binocular owners in Dublin and Wicklow might catch a glimpse of the lesser spotted David and Mark as they whizz past….. And they think running in Ethiopia in hard ??? Go David and Mark !
Contact us: Tel +353 86 2384348 | c/o Comhlámh, 2nd Floor,
Ballast House, Aston Quay, Dublin 2 IRELAND | Email info@strideethiopia.com
Running Club
In addition to adults composed of 80 children
In a country that's produced athletes of the calibre of Gebreselassie, Bekele and Tulu, running is popular but not organized. Yirgalem, a town of about 20,000 is very poor, and miles away from the relative prosperity of the stadium in Addis Ababa. People in Yirgalem are concerned with basic survival. They live in mud huts, and most families can't afford the €35 annually it costs to send their children to a good school.Running gives the children a break from back breaking work and allows them have some fun./p>
Projects
Education
If you listen to the Louise William clip you will hear some of the young athletes speaking English. This is as a result of our English language teaching programme. It was heartening for us to hear the young members speaking some English, something they had been unable to do. It is important that the children and youths develop skills that will help their long-term development and improve their employment opportunities. There are 80 members in the club, with the membership fairly equally divided between boys and girls. The monies raised fund among other things education through coaching provided on an ongoing basis by three Ethiopian coaches and on a voluntary basis leading Irish coach Eddie Mc Donagh. Eddie runs annual athletics skills courses for the children and the coaches in Yirgalem .
Eddie Mc Donagh teaching the hand over of the baton .The Club had never done relay races before
6 of the club members have gone on to third level education. Stride Ethiopia runs English language courses throughout the year taught by an Ethiopian . An English volunteer and 3 Irish volunteers have taught English in the Stride summer language project, all at their own expense.
One summer for example club members devised and staged a short drama about a young girl who’s parents didn’t want to let her run. However when they saw the benefit she was deriving from running they changed their views and supported her.
In this very rural area of extreme poverty, in addition to directly providing nutrition we started nutrition education. It is obviously very important where there is little money that members learn how and what to eat on a small budget. We found education to be an important element in our work that could have significant effects. For example, bananas, a vital source of glycogen replacement, are cheap and readily available but had been shunned as cheap food. Club members now eat bananas funded by us on a daily basis. The local bread Injera is also looked down on in favour of white bread. Again through education the members were taught about the superior nutrition value of injera and it is now cooked by the members in the club house .Encouraging club members to move away from drinking fizzy drinks to fresh fruit juices and to actually providing these foods for the members is another example of the ongoing nutrition education we are involved in.
We also provide health education, education in caring for the body and Life Skills Training. Yirgalem is an area where there is a high incidence of HIV/AIDS with some of our club members and their parents living with HIV and AIDS. We informally provide HIV/AIDS education on an ongoing basis. In the case of children who are brought for medical treatment we provide ongoing education in how best to look after themselves after treatment. In the two cases outlined below we provided post treatment dietary and health advice. It was vital for example in the case of the 16 year old girl that she not drink fizzy drinks for example which are known to aggravate her condition of rheumatoid arthritis.
Through the practice of athletics the children are learning and developing skills for life such as discipline, commitment and empowerment. We are particularly delighted that we have so many girls in the clubs and on the committee. This province of Sidama is acknowledged as being male dominated where woman are disempowered. When girls develop skills at an early age, as they are doing through Stride, it will greatly benefit them in the future.
A new aspect of the project is the encouragement of income generation by the club for the club so that it could become more self-sustaining. This entails club members learning about business planning, feasibility assessment, drafting proposals, budgeting, and negotiation and bringing projects to fruition.
Direct Provision of Nutrition
As the children and young adults in Stride are training on a regular basis it was evident that they simply did not have enough food to eat. In ‘07 we decided to directly provide nutrition in the form of daily cooked breakfasts for club members. This is an essential and ongoing provision. The largest amount of money in our budget is allocated to this food.
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. It ranks 92 out of 95 on the UN’s human poverty index with an average life expectancy of 48 years of age. Yirgalem is an area heavily affected by malaria. Food shortages are common, many of the children and youths simply do not have enough to eat, and have significant health problems. Sport is a vital break away from often back breaking work and truncated childhoods and allows the members to regain some part of their childhood and dignity.
Health Care
In addition to providing education in the area of health care as set out above we also directly provide health care in that we provide monies for the treatment of club members who become ill. Among club members treated last year under this programme was a 16 year old girl diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a young woman who had been suffering from amenorrhoea and a young man who had malaria. The two young women needed to be seen by consultants. This would not have happened if Stride had not been there to fund it. Dental work is also provided by Stride. There is no dentist in Yirgalem and people just suffer on and often get very ill from dental problems. Stride funds trips to a dentist and surgeon within an hours drive of Yirgalem. Members simply do not have funds to go themselves. As set out above, explaining what their diagnosis is, paying for medication and providing education as to how best their conditions can be managed was done by Stride.
The local committee elected by the Members runs the project on a day to day basis. Through their involvement with Stride the members are learning budgeting and accounts, organizational skills, English, athletic skills health care and nutrition. Director Emer Woodfull has visited the project to assist with planning .Eddie Mc Donagh visits the project on a yearly basis.Development Consultant, nutritionist and Stride Ethiopia Company Member Deirdre Walsh has visited the project when she is working in Ethiopia as part of the DFA rapid response team. project and consider plans for it's growth. A very positive aspect of the project is the degree of ownership taken by the Members. It is they who organize all the nutrition programme on the ground, engaging the staff to do the cooking and supervising the clean up rosters etc. There is an appointed member who brings anyone who is ill for medical assessment and treatment.
Upgrade Running Track and put new roof on Yirgalem Stadium
Stride Ethiopia replaced the roof and repaired the stand in the stadium using local labour .In the summer of 08, assisted by former Director Mick Bourke, the Club members and local labourers built a new athletics track.
This work was funded by the Communications Workers Union and RTE One World Fund in Ireland.In 07 a Club premises was rented for the first time .
As the club members operate the project on the ground they are learning about negotiating difficulties budgeting and how to build up a community development project. They are also learning about and passing on coaching skills, and as was already mentioned they are also learning English. All third level education in Ethiopia is through English.
Volunteers
Celia Brumby
Text of email dated the 30th June 08 from Celia Brumby BA graduate University of Edinburgh, short term volunteer with Stride Ethiopia, June and July 08.
In 2007 Celia was honoured for her Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Life, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, at Holyrood Palace.
Dear Emer,
This is a brief outline of what I'm up to at the moment with the Stride Club.
I have been here for three weeks now having spent five months teaching in Uganda and Tanzania and I think it is the most rewarding time I've spent in Africa. I am teaching the club members English everyday for four hours and more when the schools break up for their holidays and due to the dedication and desperation to learn I have seen an improvement in the students English already.
I train with the students four times a week at 6am which I'm really loving, the students are so supportive towards each other and me, being the new one around and not nearly as fit as them. The students then get breakfast and by the way I saw them tuck into a big bowl of pasta with sauce and fresh bread the other day, you can tell they are really grateful (and really hungry!) For many of them it is the only proper meal they get that day.
There is total agreement that food prices have increased massively compared to the static salaries they are making. It is becoming increasingly difficult to eat so the Stride Club is doing great work in providing a hearty meal on the training days. The students are also learning the importance of good health, nutrition and the value of different, available foods.
I teach from 10am until 12am, this class is flexible as some students have classes only in the mornings one week and only in the afternoon the next. Not all of the club members are in full time education so the class is there for whoever can attend and there is a good number daily. I also teach after school hours from 5pm until 7pm so those at school get a chance to come to the classes as well. They are so attentive in class and want to speak to me at every opportunity to practice their English. Many people in the village come and talk to me when I'm having coffee or when I'm by the Clubhouse waiting for a class, everybody wants to learn English.
The Clubhouse itself has such a nice atmosphere and provides the students with a great home away from home where they can spend time with their friends, playing pool, using the weights room or just talking and socializing. The community is well aware of the club and many young people come to use the pool table and the weights room as well. The younger children in the community are also very interested in the club and often come to the stadium in the mornings to run along side the older ones or simply to watch with the hope of joining the club the minute they are old enough and the club can accommodate them. The Club provides so much more than just athletics training and sporting opportunities, the mixing of these young people with similar goals and aspirations is wonderful and they are all good friends and supportive of one another. They have welcomed me with open arms and put every effort into learning as much English from me as they can, they know the importance of good English in their futures and if they want to be successful, which the club has taught them that they can be.
I would love to stay for longer and I know that the students would benefit from the teaching and from an outside influence to share experiences and knowledge. Having completed University I need to return to England to find a job but I really love it here and want to savour every moment.
The students are so lucky and are benefitting greatly from the efforts of you and the other directors in Ireland.
Best Wishes,
Celia Brumby
Croidhe Glynn
Summer 2010. Yirgalem, Ethiopia is a world away from Kilrush, Co. Clare. I am just home and I really enjoyed my time there as a volunteer. I am a PE teacher and I visited Yirgalem with a friend Gillian, also a teacher for three weeks.
This was my first experience in a Third World country. On arrival in Addis Ababa airport a young boy approached me and shouted "my mother sleeps in bus station, my father is dead money money". As we drove past mud huts and saw beggars lie on the muddy streets the extent of the poverty really hit home. I felt guilty and also nervous and at the back of my mind I remembered "I can't give to all of the beggars".
Straight to the guest house by taxi and we got a few hours sleep and eagerly awaited the arrival of our mini. We were greeted by Wushu, a 20 year old athlete. He propped our two suitcases on his head and we set off for Yirgalem. As we drove through the streets of Addis young children banged on the bus windows and sang and chanted "hello money, hello money". I requested a quick bathroom stop. We stopped at a bank, they searched us thoroughly and Wushu guided me to the toilet. I opened a door and saw what appeared to be "a large shower tray". I went back to reception and said "Sorry where is the ladies? "and a group of women laughed hysterically. It really showed me what our expectations are when we grow up in a Western Society.
The journey to Yirgalem was to say the least "interesting". We avoided goats, sheep, dogs, donkeys, people and oncoming traffic which seemed to be the done thing. It was a real "day out" for the drivers and Wushu. We stopped 7 times on the way, to have coffee, to buy oranges, bread etc. Time didn't seem to be an issue. It was like watching TV watching the people go about their daily business in the small towns.
Destination Furra College Yirgalem finally reached at 11pm. At 6 am the following morning we walked to the Stride Athletics track .Groups of people made their way back from mass, covered in long sheet like material and shawls. We attracted quite a bit of attention but my nerves had dissipated by then. When we approached the track the athletes politely smiled, some blessed themselves. They stood in line and shook our hands. They quickly lined up and proceeded with their training which was a perfectly choreographed routine. The athletes were so determined, very few wore shoes and sprinting thousands of meters appeared effortless. I thought to myself "no wonder the Ethiopians are the best runners in the world". After training we went back to the clubhouse where all athletes ate breakfast which Stride provides for them. A large bowl of pasta and a bread roll was scoffed quickly by all! Two athletes offered to walk home with us. On the way back the town had obviously woken. Children dropped whatever they were doing and darted from their houses and shouted "faranji" which means "foreigner". I retorted with "habishat, habishat" which means "Ethiopian" and they looked baffled and laughed heartily. This did the trick for the duration of our stay!
Our time was spent in Yirgalem teaching English, running with the athletes and helping the coach Shishema. We went to athletics training four days a week from 6-8 am and taught English 5 days a week for three hours. The athletes who were aged between 12-20 were divided into two classes. They were extremely enthusiastic and eager to learn. They are accustomed to a very didactic teaching mode in school and therefore really enjoyed practicing speaking English in groups and playing games that Western teenagers may find "childish" . After class they loved to chat in English and ask questions. We assigned all 30 athletes in the older group a pen pal from my school in Ireland. They were really enthusiastic and to be given the opportunity to practice their English.
It was amazing to watch the athletes run in the mornings. Stride provides an excellent structure for these young people. The coach has a strict regime which all athletes adhere to. When the coach was busy with the older athletes, the younger athletes would spend one hour completing their drills with precision and perfection. Their self discipline and motivation was remarkable. We ran with several groups of children at the track. We often ran for a few minutes and then reached for our two litre bottles of water. We watched as they ran past us and ask "Why you need water?" innocently. No athlete brings water to the track and "taking a break" is an unusual phenomenon!
As we became better acquainted with the athletes we were invited to some of their homes. Wushu brought us to his family home, where we met his mother and 7 siblings. Like the majority of the athletes his father was absent. We were greeted by his mother clad in the customary Sidamic outfit. She wore a warm gentle smile. She performed the ritual coffee ceremony and Wushu's brother translated as we spoke with the rest of the family. They were all so proud of their home. Wushu asked us to take a photo of his medals which hung on the cold damp wall. His ambition is to run for Ethiopia and he is very grateful that Stride is helping him achieve this goal.
We visited Tiblet's house another day. Tiblet is a 14 year old athlete. Her family also gave us a very warm welcome. There were 5 children and she had a mother and father which is quiet unusual. The mother guided us to the table. We were entertained by her 8 year old twin siblings as they sang for us and performed a wonderful version of the Sidamo cultural dance. Shortly after Tiblet's mother presented us with the "Sidamic cultural food (Gotcho)" which resembled a bowl of dust! The family were very kind and had obviously gone to a lot of effort preparing for us. I smiled graciously and swallowed the food quickly as I could. Tiblet's mother then braided our hair in Ethiopian style which made all the locals laugh when they saw us the next day!
The athletes were all so warm and friendly, they made we feel at home instantly. We frequently played soccer and went to the market together. On one occasion two young athletes borrowed bikes for Gillian and I. After a few minutes I realised cycling wasn't such a good idea. There were so many bumps on the "road", the gears were stuck in the most difficult gear, my seat was so high I couldn't sit on it and I found steering around the donkeys, goats and chanting children shouting "faranji" a challenge!! I noticed the cycling got easier for me and saw Gillian and one of the athletes in front of me in convulsions laughing. I didn't realise that two small children were pushing me from behind with all their strength! As we entered a more rural area, a place where they definitely had never seen a "faranji" we were swarmed by groups of children chanting "Hello money" "Hello Shakira"!!I pointed to my braided hair and said "I am habishat"!
During our last week the older Stride athletes were participating in a competition in Awasa for three days. They were so excited and enthusiastic about it. Stride and running is really their life. It was a great treat as they stayed there for three nights. Gillian, Eddie (an Irish athletics coach and Director of Stride) and I went to watch the competition. The athletes were delighted that we were there to watch them and performed very well. Several athletes shared the same pair of worn spikes as they informed me that spikes are extremely expensive (1000 Birr) and hard to come by in Ethiopia. Many athletes were successful in their races and qualified for the next competition in Addis which was a major achievement. I really enjoyed watching them compete. They gave each other huge support and encouragement and treated each other as one big family. They constantly chanted "Stride" as they supported every Stride member. After the competition we all sat on the grass and chatted and sang songs as we waited for the competition results.
Before we left all the Stride athletes and committee members had a treat in store for us. 80-100 people gathered in the clubhouse. They gave us a private performance of their Sidamic cultural song and dance while we sat drinking coffee and eating "fondica" (popcorn).We were presented with the Sidamic outfits persuaded to don the costume and perform the dance we had just seen! It was a wonderful party and not a drop of alcohol in sight .
On the day of the last class we raffled class materials such as books, crayons, markers and glitter. There were several coloured pages and I gave 3 pages to all students. Shortly afterwards I noticed a 16 year old girl wailing because she got 2 yellow and a red and her friends got a yellow, red and green page. This was resolved and she was instantly smiling. It is amazing how so little makes them happy. We proceeded to sing "Everywhere we go". They sang to the top of their lungs. Midway through the song there was an electricity blackout and they didn't even bat an eyelid and continued to sing cheerfully. We finished the lesson at 7pm and Gillian and I walked through the dark streets with a mob of students singing "Everywhere we go, people always ask us, were from Stride Club". The Stride Athletes bellowed "We love you teacher" "Please write for me teacher" as we said our goodbyes. We promised them we would be back in Yirgalem which I definitely will be. It was certainly my most interesting, enjoyable, eye opening and rewarding trip ever.
STRIDE - Ethiopia is small but growing. In addition to sponsorship by the Communications Workers Union , it has raised funds by race nights, sponsored walks and poker classics.Over the years the bulk of the funds were raised at fund raising dinners most kindly sponsored by Lorraine Sweeney of the Esplanande Hotel in Bray Co Wicklow, the Summerhill House Hotel in Enniskerry and the Addis Emerald Hotel.
in Bray Co Wicklow.
While the club started with only juniors, there are now also senior teams
We would be most grateful if you felt you were in a position to contribute in any way to our project.
Stride is a registered charity Charity Reg No: CHY 17738.
A donation by Standing Order gives us a regular income which is essential for forward planning.You can also Make a Direct Lodgement or Send a Cheque.