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An inspiring sprint to the finish in Addis Ababa

December 29, 2011 | ING Group

Three ING colleagues were invited last June by the Great Ethiopian Run organization to join in the international Great Ethiopian Run running contest in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The reason they were invited was because they managed to fundraise the highest amount for UNICEF in the 2011 ING Running Event last June. During their trip to Ethiopia, our colleagues also got a chance to witness ING’s support to UNICEF’s efforts to help Ethiopian children get access to education.

The Great Ethiopian Run is an annual international contest spread across 10 kilometers in Addis Ababa, which is situated at 2400 meters above sea level. IJda Terpstra, Berry Tol and Michel Zuidgeest joined in this very special charity run on behalf of the ING-UNICEF partnership for two local Ethiopian child-focused charity partners of UNICEF. Terpstra recalls the unique experience in her travel report: “Together with over 38,000 Ethiopians, we stood at the start. Without a starting sign or anything that seemed like it, the mass of people took off and we were surrounded by a frenzied crowd. Overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and the solidarity of the population, this was a unique experience!”

 

 

Visiting ING-UNICEF projects in the field

ING has a special link with Ethiopia through our ING Chances for Children program. Since 2005, we support UNICEF’s education projects that give nomadic children of the region the chance to attend school. Nearly 30,000 nomad children living in the Afar region and the South Omo and Borena zones are now able to go to school - many of whom for the very first time. UNICEF has set up special schools adapted to the lifestyle of the nomads. In addition UNICEF provides good teaching aids and educates village chiefs and traditional leaders about the importance of education. Particularly for girls as they are kept home most.

This trip to the programs gave our colleagues the chance to see how the money donated by all ING colleagues the past six years was being put to good use on the ground. Among the projects they visited included the Vocational Training Centre at Addis Ketema where young people are educated over a four-month period to generate their own income. On their last day, our colleagues visited an Alternative Basic Education Centre at Dofo Kebele in the Afar region which has been supported by ING the last six years.

They concluded: “Images on television provide only a fraction of the reality. This was an unforgettable experience.”

Horn of Africa

ING also took the opportunity to hand over a cheque worth €358,420 to the country representative of UNICEF in Ethiopia during a UNICEF Country Office visit. The total amount is a result of fundraising efforts by ING employees worldwide to fight the hunger and malnutrition caused by the drought in the Horn of Africa the past few months.