Burke Girma writes about training with the Girls Gotta Run Foundation and helping her mother out at the market.

Assembly's Game Changers series features female athletes around the world who defy convention on and off the field.

Monday

Today was a normal day. I woke up and washed my face and hands and changed my clothes to get ready for school. I made breakfast for my siblings and me. We had tea and bread. I walked to school and studied with my friends. It takes me about an hour to walk from my house to Bekoji High School. We have half days of school and each month it changes whether they are in the morning or afternoon. This month we have school in the morning and next month we will have school in the afternoon. After school I had lunch with my teammates. Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF) provides lunch for our team every school day. In the afternoon I went to athletics training and walked back home to study.

Tuesday

Tuesday is market day in Bekoji. My family and I live on a small farm just outside of the town of Bekoji. We started to raise animals on our farm and trade goods at the market twice a week. On market days, I wake up early to help my mother bring items to the market to sell before I go to school. We take a garee (a horse-drawn carriage) to town because we have heavy goods to bring. We usually sell eggs, produce, traditional homemade alcohol and sometimes livestock. The market can be really busy but it’s a nice time to see my mom’s friends and other families. I help my mom set up her little shop and then I go to school. After lunch, I return to help her sell any final items before the market closes. Then I go to running practice and head home. It’s been a long day but market days are usually the longest.

Wednesday

We had a fun practice today at the track. We do our trainings in different locations: the track, the forest, a large field. I enjoy the variety. Our track practice today included some speed drills and a few games that I enjoy. It makes me feel strong when we do speed drills, I can see the improvement I am making. I really love training with Coach Fatia. Our coach is female and she is like our second mother. We have a good relationship with her and I have learned a lot from her. Our team is all girls. It’s the first of its kind in Bekoji and it makes me proud to be part of a team like this. We play together and eat together and even study together after school. I have made many friends by being part of this program.

Thursday

After school and running practice today, I helped my family with chores. I have three brothers and a sister. We live with our mom and help her with many things around the house. Today we went to fetch water. I walk about 20 minutes to fetch water and carry it back to the house. We try to go as a group to carry as much back as possible in one trip. When we returned back we washed our clothes and hung them to dry outside. We also made a fresh batch of injera, the traditional bread of Ethiopia. My mom makes the best injera but I enjoy making it for the family too.

Friday

On Fridays we have our life skills workshop with GGRF. I really enjoy the workshops that we do. After we all have lunch together, the all-girl team sits with Sukuare, the GGRF program coordinator, who is our life skills instructor. We have an hour lesson on a specific topic and each month we have a new topic to focus on. This month’s topic is healthy relationships. We are learning about safe relationships and how to protect yourself if you feel unsafe. In today’s lesson we did a group activity where we had a game board with different levels of relationships. We put little cards that represented people we knew in our community and family on the game board. When we had all finished we identified people we could go to for help if we didn’t feel safe. It was nice to see all the people I have in my life that make me feel loved and safe. I felt lucky.

Saturday

Saturdays are my busiest day. The market is always the biggest. People come from all over the area to sell and buy things at the Saturday market. It feels like you can find anything at this market. The roads are busy with people, carriages, horses, donkeys, cows and bajajs (motorbike taxis) all headed to the market. Today we are bringing eggs, honey from our beehives, homemade traditional liquor, produce and chickens to sell. My mom received a small loan from the GGRF mother’s savings and entrepreneurship group. She received training on how to build a small business in Bekoji. Using the grant, she bought a few chickens. She raised those chickens and sold some of them to buy a few goats. She raised the goats and sold some to buy a cow. Now we are able to provide for ourselves by raising and selling animals. It’s been a big change in our lives. After the market, my mom goes to her savings meetings with the other GGRF mothers. She puts some of her money into their savings pot and they decide who they will give their next small loan to. She has become a great example for the other moms. I’m really proud of her.

Sunday

Today I got to do one of my favorite activities: go to church. I really love being able to relax and see my friends and sing with the community. It makes me feel peaceful to visit church on Sunday. I am an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and I enjoy the history that is part of my religion and the way it brings together the community. In Bekoji, there are many different religions. My teammates are Muslim and Orthodox and Pentecostal. We all support each other. I enjoy Sundays because it is a rest day. I relax at home after church with my family. We break bread together and get ready for the week to come.

Thank you to the Girls Gotta Run Foundation for connecting us with Burke.

Burke Girma

is a 16-year-old student who lives in Bekoji, Ethiopia with her mother, sister and three brothers. She is an Athletic Scholar with the Girls Gotta Run Foundation.