Every year, the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) sponsors a number of disabled persons who are passionate about running. Tolosa Gofa is 31 years old. When he was 18, he lost his leg below the knee in a traffic accident. For four years before being fitted with an artificial limb, he could walk only with the aid of a crutch, doing strenuous jobs such as loading grain on trucks. Strongly motivated to improve his life, Tolosa joined his brother selling butter from his native village in Addis-Ababa. In 2002, he discovered the Prosthetic-Orthotic Centre in Addis Ababa, where the SFD has an office and training centre. Tolosa was fitted with an artificial leg and served soon as a model at the SFD training centre for continuous education of African Orthprosthetists.
“The first time I ran with my prosthesis was to catch a bus," he says. "I'd been waiting for it for an hour. I paid for my ticket but the bus left before I could get on. I was furious – it was very important for me to be on that bus! So I started running and reached the next stop before the bus did. I broke my prosthesis in the process," Tolosa smiles. "But I discovered the powerful feeling I get from running.”

Over the years, Tolosa developed his running skills by taking part in different races for disabled people organized by the Ethiopia Athletics Federation and sponsored by the Landmine Survivors Network. He has won various medals, trophies and financial prizes. Since 2004, with sponsorship from the SFD, Tolosa has been taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run.

The prosthesis has changed Tolosa's life for the better. Being able to walk well gives him access to different types of work, and today he earns his living as a plumber and carpenter, among other jobs. He has been married for over a decade and has two children.

For the 2011 Great Ethiopian Run, the SFD tested a donated new Roadrunner prosthetic foot that uses flexible, energy-storing carbon fibre components. “When I first used it, I felt like I was flying. Now I've got over the shock and adapted well to my new leg.” Tolosa improved his time in the race by over 30 minutes.

This technology is entirely new and is already being used by a number of physically disabled athletes such as the well-known Oscar Pistorius from South Africa. But access to such devices is limited by their cost. “The ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled believes that we need to listen more closely to disabled people and, whenever possible, find ways to meet their specific needs,” says Max Deneu, head of the Special Fund's regional office for Africa. “The SFD is looking at promoting sport for amputee athletes by giving them the chance to use new technology such as this.”