An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/999245
www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 21 who is vita? Vita has been working in Africa for 30 years. Based in Dublin, they have offices in both Ethiopia and Eritrea which enable poor, rural people to achieve sustainable livelihoods through access to clean water, food supply and low cost household energy such as solar. When people have the opportunity to stay with their families and within their communities while generating a decent living, they are no longer forced to make the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. The Great Ethiopian Run is the perfect opportunity to visit Addis Ababa, the Rift Mountains and the South Omo Valley in remote southern rural Ethiopia. Over the course of the week (November 12th to 20th) participants will meet with locals such as the Dassenach, Dorze and Hammer people and see how Vita's programmes impact on their lives. Along the way the team will travel through Konso, a UNESCO world heritage area, across the savannah to the South Omo valley and stay in a traditional lodge hotel overlooking Lake Chamo and Lake Abaye, in the Nechisar National Park. We will visit potato farmers, camel and goat herders, weavers and potters, and sample the local tipple, Tsech, in a traditional market day bar. Towards the end of the week everyone will fly back to Addis to get ready for the 10km run. This involves dinner the night before with the crème de la crème of East African Olympics and World Record athletes, in- cluding one of the world's greatest ever runners, local hero Haile Gebrselassie at the run's official headquar- ters in Addis Ababa. The following morning will see 46,000 people line up for Africa's biggest road race. This can be embraced as an all-out run, or as a gentle stroll through a fasci- nating African city on a Sunday morning. You choose the pace but all finishers get a medal and the bands and party atmosphere all along the way makes it thor- oughly worthwhile. This is an opportunity for members, serving or retired, to participate in an extraordinary adventure while get- ting to know the real Ethiopia, its people and culture. You will travel with Vita's team, and meet the extraordi- nary, diverse and fascinating people wherever we work. The cost per participant will be €3,000 and this covers all international and internal flights, accommodation, food, registration for the GER, transport in jeeps, drivers, guides and museum entrance fees and includes a €1,500 donation to Vita to enable them to continue doing their work. The trip starts on the evening of 12th November with a direct overnight flight to Addis and we return home on the 20th November. For further information please contact Céline-Fleur halpin: celine-fleur.halpin@vita.ie or call on 01- 8734303 or contact eamonn smyth at eamonn.smyth@ yahoo.ie or on 086-8785635. Vita is a registered charity No: 9670. Address: Vita, Eq- uity House, Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin 7. www.vita.ie