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My husband John and I will be taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run in November this year – a 10 kilometre run through the streets of Addis Ababa .  This is the biggest road race in Africa with over 20,000 people taking part.   Addis Ababa is 2,400 metres above sea level so running at altitude will make this an even greater challenge for us and our IDE-UK team mates.

 Ethiopia has a special place in my heart.  I first visited in 1982, when working with Ethiopian refugees in Sudan.  Two years later I undertook the most dangerous, challenging and rewarding journey of my life in Northern Ethiopia . In early 1984 I received a telex from Oxfam asking me to go on a cross-border mission into the rebel-held areas of Ethiopia. On Easter Sunday I was riding on a lorry in the dead of night, having left my passport at the Sudanese border.  We were carrying £250,000 in cash stuffed into an old pillow case, and heading into a war-zone.   Unsurprisingly, no insurance company would cover my journey.  My mission was to work with a local relief agency, buying grain in Western Ethiopia from small merchants, and then shipping 170 tons of sorghum by 3,400 donkeys, mules and camels into the central highlands, the centre of the 1984 famine.  We had to travel under cover of darkness to avoid being bombed by government MIGs and helicopter gunships, and at times faced arduous treks through the mountains. Over eight weeks I was accompanied at all times by at least four armed bodyguards, who would sleep on the ground beside me with their Kalashnikovs between their knees. I lost weight and got very fit: it was physically and emotionally challenging. This journey opened my eyes to the suffering and hardship faced daily by the Ethiopian people, and their incredible resilience and determination to survive the famine that would go on to kill nearly one million people.

Twenty two years later I’ve been delighted to return to Ethiopia, this time as Chief Executive of IDE-UK, an international NGO which supports poor farmers in Africa and Asia to double their income. We do this by establishing private sector supply chains to design, manufacture and distribute very low cost water technologies to enable the poorest farmers to grow crops all year round, and support them in making links with market outlets.  Low cost IDE drip irrigation kits will enable poor smallholder farmers in Ethiopia grow irrigated fruit and vegetables to sell in local and regional markets, and significantly increase their income.  On my recent trip in March this year I witnessed the first kits from being installed, and spoke to farmers who were confident about their future for the first time.  I’m convinced that Ethiopia has great potential to grow its way out of poverty and ensure that famine never strikes again.  Many areas have good natural water resources and IDE can help poor farmers obtain affordable and effective technologies to make the best use of it.  This is why I believe so strongly in IDE’s work – offering farmers the opportunity to invest and grow their way out of poverty in a dignified way that puts them firmly in control of their future.

 I’d be very grateful for your support as I undertake the Great Ethiopian Run.  Those of you who know me well know that it will be a huge personal challenge for me, and one I’m happy to face to ensure that IDE can continue to support its programme in Ethiopia.  

 Many thanks for your support,

 Karen