Arrived in Addis at 7.30am this morning. It's Christmas Day here in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Calender so Melkin Yelidet Beaal in amharic !! Unfortunately online communications are poor here in the capital so it is likely to be a lot worse once we hit the road Sunday and head on our 250 mile trek south. Therefore it will be a struggle to write this blog every day as I had hoped and upload any photographs etc. but I will do my best.
To celebrate Christmas we visited an HIV orphanage and home for the destitute in the capital run by Mother Teresa's Mission in Addis Ababa . It was obviously very sad but also uplifting as the fabulous Seth and May played an impromtu Christmas Concert. They are fabulous guys and tremendous musicians. Check them out at http://www.sethandmay.com/ We will be trying to bring some fun, and some hope, to all the towns and villages we pass on our run. We have a planned visit to a school every day after each leg as this event is about much more than just a feat of athletic endurance.
Tomorrow, Saturday, we will driving north up into the Ethiopian Highlands to the Entoto Mountains and National Park. This is the mecca of ethiopian running for a final 8-10 mile warm-up. We will then visit with Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union - The Fair Trade Coffee Cooperative featured in the movie Black Gold http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/story.php
We will then run 2 miles with him and hundreds of members of the cooperative from the coffee fields to the new roasting facility the Fair Trade premiums paid by US consumers have helped to finance. These developments empower these growers in an international coffee market dominated by multi-national corporations and traders.
That evening is then the launch party in Addis where some current and former Ethiopian World and Olympic running champions and other runners will join us and give us the best possible send off.
On Sunday, it's ALL BUSINESS !! Opening 40km run south from Addis Ababa as we wind our way on our first leg towards our final destination of Yirgacheffe in the lush southern coffee growing region of Ethiopia
dehnaa hono chaw or goodbye for now
NIGEL
Melkam edel, Nigel!!
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