The Girls Gotta Run Foundation is a U.S. nonprofit that awards academic and athletic scholarships to girls in Ethiopia. In the town of Bekoji, a hub of Ethiopian elite running, Girls Gotta Run gives 60 scholarships annually to teenage girls for the purpose of providing them elevated access to education, health care, organized run coaching, life-skills development, nutritious food, and more.
Each is a three-year scholarship which guides girls from primary to secondary school while at the same time offering rigorous run training. Part of the scholarship includes support of the girls' mothers with life-skills and finances training. The result of all this is a well-organized, strong, supportive, and fast community of women who develop for themselves the skills needed for life as women in Ethiopia.
In January of 2019, iRunFar.com Managing Editor Meghan Hicks visited the Girls Gotta Run program in Bekoji to observe and participate in it. Here you can read what Meghan has written about Girls Gotta Run and Bekoji so far. This fundraising campaign is a result of how the girls inspired her. The modest sum of $600 U.S. funds one girl in the Girls Gotta Run program for one year, so our goal is to raise at least $1,200 U.S., funding for two girls for a year. Please consider joining iRunFar in supporting the girls of Girls Gotta Run!