How we work
THE GIRLS GOTTA RUN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
EducatioN
Running
Life skills
Savings and entrepreneurship
Girls Gotta Run invests in girls during adolescence when they are most vulnerable to dropping out of school and entering early marriage.
Girls Gotta Run works with girls and their families to identify the key challenges they face and create effective, sustainable, and culturally relevant solutions.
We partner with local organizations who have demonstrated experience and relationships in the communities we work in.
Girls Gotta Run invests in the financial resiliency of families, building their capacity to weather economic challenges and create a path to financial prosperity.
Located in Southern Ethiopia, Soddo is a town rich in culture and identity. Despite a growing economy, families in Soddo continue to struggle with limited economic opportunity and access to family planning. Since 2013, Girls Gotta Run has worked with the only all-girls school in Soddo, the Abba Pascal Girl’s School, to provide girls with the tools they need to complete their education and build a future of their choosing.
An astonishing 16 Olympic medals in 20 years have been won by runners from Bekoji, a small farming village in the highlands of Ethiopia. Here, running offers a means of building a better future and the honor of contributing to the Ethiopian national identity. Girls Gotta Run has worked in Bekoji since 2014 and is the first and only non-profit organization investing in female athletes and coaches in this historic town.
Siiqqee Women’s Development Association (SWDA), Bekoji Program
SWDA was founded in 1997 with the aim of empowering disadvantaged women, girls, and children to improve their social and economic well-being and develop their capacity as active, productive, and respected members of their communities. The Siquee Association has more than 18 years of experience in developing successful savings groups with women throughout Ethiopia. Girls Gotta Run is proud to work with SWDA to implement, oversee, and evaluate the Athletic Scholarship Program in Bekoji, Ethiopia.
Imagine 1 Day, Soddo Program
In Soddo, Girls Gotta Run has established a partnership with Imagine 1 Day, an NGO focused on building an Ethiopia in which every child receives free, quality education. Girls Gotta Run is proud to partner with Imagine 1 Day to provide robust academic scholarships for girls from disadvantaged communities in Soddo, Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Women’s and Children’s Affairs Office
Girls Gotta Run works closely with the local and regional Women’s and Children’s Office in Bekoji to monitor and oversee program implementation. Girls Gotta Run collaborates with these government offices to build tailored solutions to the unique challenges that girls and women face in the Bekoji community.
Ethiopian Youth and Sport Office (Local and National)
Girls Gotta Run works with the National Ethiopian Youth and Sports Office to connect athletes with opportunities to race in local and national competitions. This partnership also provides opportunities for Girls Gotta Run Athletic Scholars to meet female role models in the Ethiopia Athletics Federation and for Girls Gotta Run to align our athletic training curriculum with the national standard.
Girls Gotta Run invests in the inspiring people that make change possible. Each Girls Gotta Run family has its own story on the journey to higher education, financial resiliency, and designing a future of its choosing. Here are a few of them: