One hundred and fifty Ethiopian children, many of whom are sponsored by members of the British public, through Christian relief and development charity World Vision, are to take part in the Great Ethiopian Run children's race this weekend, Saturday 25 November.
The adult race takes place the following day and has been dubbed 'Africa's largest 10 kilometre road race'.
One of the enduring objectives behind the GER, which is co-sponsored by World Vision, is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. Ethiopia has the third highest number of people affected by HIV/AIDS in the world.
12.3 million children have been orphaned as a result of AIDS - a figure roughly equivalent to the total number of children in the UK - and millions more have been left extremely vulnerable, World Vision explains.
The impact of HIV and AIDS on children in developing countries is immense. World Vision tells Christian Today that it sees The Great Ethiopian run as a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the practical steps African people are taking to combat HIV/AIDS, and to put pressure on Western governments to provide assistance to support these efforts.
The Great Ethiopian Run was established in 2001 by Ethiopian Olympic Champion, Haile Gebreselassie. Since then the race has grown in popularity with 26,000 runners taking part last year.
World Vision is a Christian charity and one of the world's leading relief and development agencies, currently helping more than 100 million people in nearly 100 countries in their struggle against poverty, hunger and injustice, irrespective of their religious beliefs. For more information about World Vision Child Sponsorship visit www.sponsor.org
