Meryl Marsh (BA ’04, Music) is running across Palestine—that’s right, for 5 days and 129 miles, Marsh is running from the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories, from Hebron to Jenin, to show her support for sustainable community development in farming regions across the world.
The U.S. (Traverse City, MI) based nonprofit On the Ground is running an expedition that will raise money and awareness for fair trade olive farmers in Palestine. Marsh is taking part in this expedition— Run Across Palestine— with a team of other runners and journalists.
Participants are running from one farming community to another using established relationships with the Palestine Fair Trade Association and other organizations involved with the immediate survival of farm communities. The journalists are taking a clear look at the situation on the West Bank, particularly as it relates to olive farmers.
Funds raised from the run will have several immediate impacts, including the purchase and planting of olive trees and establishment of scholarships for children of Palestinian olive farmers. All this is designed to re-establish sustainable olive growing practices in a land known for its centuries-old traditions of hospitality and fine orchard crops.
The run is on, it began February 4 and will end February 8. Follow this incredible journey through daily emails, blog posts, and photos— and a special web series, The People and the Olive, will bring viewers onto the run and into the daily lives of farming communities along the route, helping people learn about the issues faced by farming families—for more information please follow the links below.
A previous 250-mile Run Across Ethiopia was highly successful, raising over $200,000 to construct three schools that directly serve over 1500 children.
LINK: ON THE GROUND—RUN ACROSS PALESTINE
LINK: YOUTUBE—READY, SET, RUN ACROSS PALESTINE
Photo (c) Aubrey Ann Parker