When her husband left, Dasi Alamu from Bekoji, Ethiopia, had to eke out a living to provide for her family of six children. She worked as a laborer and sold goods at the local market.

Dasi credits the Girls Gotta Run Foundation (supported by Project Good for Girls), for helping her family embark on a life-changing path. A former runner herself, and committed to education for her daughters, she accepted for her eldest daughter Sisay to join the GGRF athletic scholars programme in its early days in Bekoji.

Now Ester, her younger daughter, is working hard on her studies and athletics as a current GGRF scholar, and Dasi is an active member of the GGRF Mothers’ Savings Group. Through the group, she gained a support network and was able to start a micro-business, eventually using her earnings to build a house for her family. More good news arrived just this fall, when Sisay (at right), graduated from Addis Ababa University with a degree in accounting.*

Dasi Alamu and her younger daughter Ester, who is currently a GGRF scholar.

*This is a remarkable achievement since education rates for girls in Ethiopia still hover around 25 percent secondary school completion, and just 10% of those with secondary education going on to higher education.