The fourth annual Sports for Ethiopia 24 hour event held at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Center Feb. 15-16 was a huge success, said Rainbow for the Future Foundation director Lori Kary.
“This year, Sports for Ethiopia raised an amazing $136,757.15,” she noted.
The success of this year’s event means clean water for the people of the Bati Bora and Bati Kelo areas of Ethiopia.
With hockey going on around the clock for the 24-hour time frame, pickleball, walking and running Friday evening, and the Filipino community hosting an eight-team basketball tournament, there was plenty of action for all who participated and anyone who watched.
For those who participated or just came to watch, there were also several items available to purchase plus a variety of silent auction items to bid on.
The event wound up Saturday evening upstairs in the curling rink with a pizza party, and final bidding on the silent auction items.
While it was a happy event, for Rainbow for the Future members who have been to Ethiopia, it also had a note of sadness.
Two days before the event, word was received from the east Africa nation that Rainbow’s long-time partner and friend, engineer Gebreyes Haile, who’s the founder and executive director of Support for Sustainable Development passed away Feb. 13.
Over a 20-year period Rainbow has undertaken close to 60 projects with Gebreyes — from water projects to schools, a technical school and others — that has touched the lives of almost a million people.
“The loss of this remarkable man definitely leaves us with great sadness.”
This year’s Sports for Ethiopia event was dedicated in his memory.
But while Gebreyes will be missed by those locally who got to know him, there is confidence efforts between Rainbow and SSD will continue to bring help and hope to even more people in Ethiopia with clean water, education opportunities and the opportunity to a self-sustained lifestyle and a hand up for many who, in the past, often had to depend on a hand out.
