Half a Million Ethiopians Take Part in GERD Fund Raising Run

Addis Ababa May 27/2018 An estimated half a million Ethiopians took part in the seven kilometers road race that took place in more than 100 cities today under the theme “I Run for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam”. Some 90,000 residents including, children, disabled, elderly and the youth from the capital Addis Ababa participated in the race and expressed to pursue their commitment until the completion of GERD. The race is aimed at strengthening national consensus and unity towards realizing the completion of the dam besides mobilizing and raising fund. The sale of a pin with the picture of GERD was officially launched with the the message “I have put my fingerprints on GERD." All winners of the race including women, men, and disabled, ranking from 1-3 have received medals from the hands of government officials, renowned athletes and representatives of Ethiopian patriots. Meanwhile, participants who finished the race from 4th to 20th were given a certificate. Some 25 million birr was planned to be collected from selling T-shirts, it was learned. The road race was organized by the Office of National Council for Coordination of Public Participation on the Construction of GERD in collaboration with Athletics Federation and Ministry of Youth and Sports. It is to be recalled that about 760, 000 Ethiopians took part in the last similar road race on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Government officials, prominent athletes, artists and representatives from the elderly attended the colorful road race.