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ORBIS urges athletes to
join Great Ethiopian Run, help eliminate trachoma |
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ADDIS
ABEBA(August 21,2008) - ORBIS
Ireland yesterday invited runners to compete in the 2008 Great Ethiopian
Run on November 23rd in the world's third highest capital, Addis Ababa
and help save the sight of 60,000 Ethiopians at immediate risk from
blindness due to trachoma.
An estimated 10 million Ethiopians, primarily women and children,
suffer from trachoma, a highly infectious eye disease that is easily
spread between infected and healthy eyes by flies, fingers or clothing,
according to the global development organization.
The infection thrives in areas where people have limited access to
clean water and basic health care.
"While most of the Western world knows very little about trachoma,
it is devastating many rural communities throughout Ethiopia,"
PRNewswire quoted Wondu Alemayehu, ORBIS Ethiopia country director
as saying.
"Treatment with antibiotics or through increased environmental
and lifestyle changes costs very little but contributes immeasurably
to a person's quality of life and hope for a productive future."
The Great Ethiopian Run will bring together an estimated 30,000 competitors
including world renowned athletes Haile Gebrselassie and Richard Nerurkar.
Participants are asked to support ORBIS Ireland's commitment to eliminate
blinding trachoma in the Gamo Gofa, Konso and Derashe regions of Ethiopia
by the end of 2012 by raising a minimum donation of euro 3,500. Athletes
who meet the minimum fundraising goal will receive hotel accommodations,
event travel and entry into the event.
The Great Ethiopian Run was founded in 2001 when Ethiopia's first-ever
international mass-participation road race was staged. The aims of
the first run were to contribute to the betterment of life in Ethiopia.
ORBIS International is a nonprofit global development organization
dedicated to saving sight worldwide. Since 1982, ORBIS programs have
benefited people in 86 countries, enhancing the skills of more than
195,000 health care personnel and providing eye care treatment for
more than 6.8 million people.
ORBIS's Ireland office was founded by a group of committed volunteers
in 2004, mainly as a result of Ireland's close links to the aviation
industry and years of successful fundraising here. From the beginning,
ORBIS Ireland's efforts have been centered on Gamo Gofa and the surrounding
regions in southern Ethiopia, which are among the country's poorest
and worst affected by avoidable blindness.
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