My Early Years
I am sure many of you reading my biography will have heard something about Assela. No? I will tell you about it.
Located 200kms southeast of the Ethiopian capital, Assela is the administrative capital of the Arsi zone in the Oromiya region, which is the largest in Ethiopia. Arsi is known to many Ethiopians for two things: its production of quality wheat and world class distance runners.
Haile Gebrselassie, Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Dibaba, Mestawet Tufa….the list is endless. On a cold rainy night on September 23 1984, I was born in this lush and beautiful part of Ethiopia to my parents in the small village of Alkesa. However, little did anyone know then that I would end up joining the list of illustrious runners who hail from these parts!
Compared to other kids from the area, my childhood was quite normal. As one can come to expect, my parents were both farmers and tilled the land three times a year for various cash crops and vegetables. As the fifth child in a family of seven, I of course helped my father in the farm and my mother by performing household chores.
Many kids used to be qualms about helping their parents because it limited their playing time, but as long as I remember, I have always been an obedient child. I did not mind walking long distances fetching firewood, but I hated carrying a water bucket to the river or well..
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