Impact Story - Part III

Supporting Girls Means Supporting Their Mothers

In our last update, we shared with you some small stories of how GGRF’s investments in girls can positively impact their families and communities. Today we would like to share a bit more about how we focus on empowering the Mothers of our Athletic Scholars.

Many of you are aware that GGRF’s program in Bekoji includes supporting our Athletic Scholars' mothers through Mothers' Savings Groups. Our partner in Bekoji, the Siiqqee Women's Development Association, has decades of expertise in Ethiopian women's economic empowerment and has developed a program that fits the situation and needs of mothers in our program.

Many of the mothers of our Athletic Scholars did not receive formal schooling beyond primary grades, so GGRF provides entrepreneurial and financial literacy training to enable these women to support themselves and their families. In addition, the Mothers' Savings Group offers a social network for the mothers, in the same way GGRF running teams and Life Skills classes do for our Athletic Scholars. GGRF also provides small amounts of seed money to fund micro businesses for the mothers, primarily selling homemade goods such as teff (barley) flour or coffee locally. 

Through these small businesses, mothers are able to change their families' lives. Derartru, a widowed mother of five, is a recent example of a woman who through our Mothers’ Group gained the skills and confidence to start a business selling homemade drinks. Eventually she was able to build her own home and send her children to school. 

Research shows that investing in women makes economic sense, because women spend 90% of money earned on their children and communities -- and we have seen that statistic borne out with mothers like Derartru. 

We hope that you will help us spread the word about Girls Gotta Run and the impact of our program on the lives of our Student Athletes - and their mothers - in 2023 and beyond.