My name is Addis Anderson. I was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia until I was 14 years old.
In 2004 my brother and I were given scholarships to attend a boarding school in Iowa, so my family and I immigrated to the U.S. for a better future. We received scholarships because of my father, Mamo Wolde.
My father was a Marathon runner back in the day. He ran in the 1968 Mexico Olympics and earned a gold medal in the Marathon. He also ran in the 1972 Munich, Germany Olympics, in which he earned a bronze in the Marathon and a silver in the 10,000 meter race.
When I was just 2 years old, my father was wrongly accused of shooting and killing a 15yr old boy during a civil war known as DERG, and served almost 10 years in a federal prison in Addis Ababa. While my father was in prison, Kenny Moore, who was also an Olympic runner, a journalist, and a friend of my dad’s, came to interview him. In the interview my father said, “I hope the world will educate my children.” My father always wished for us to have a better future but he knew he couldn’t give it to us.
Four months after my father was released from prison, he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and was given one month to live. On May, 26th 2002, my father passed away.
2 years after my dad passed away, the article Kenny Moore wrote was published in Runner’s World Magazine. Meanwhile in Iowa, a man named Joel Button sat on the toilet reading Runner’s World Magazine and came across the article about my dad. Touched by the article, Joel told his wife that he would like to bring Mamo Wolde’s children to the U.S. and his wife agreed it was worth a shot. Joel was the principal at Cono Christian Boarding School at the time, and contacted us offering scholarships to my brother and I. He used his power to bring my mom, my brother and I to America. Joel and his wife Marty Button have completely changed our lives for the better. I thank God and everyone else who was instrumental in bringing my family and I to the U.S.
After coming to America, I attended Cono Christian school for 2 years. I then transferred to Mahtomedi high school in Mahtomedi, MN. I graduated from high school in 2009, and went to Bethel University where I earned my social work degree in May, 2013.
While I was attending Bethel University, I met my now husband Will Anderson. We met in 2010, got engaged in 2011, got married in 2012, and became 1st time parents in 2013, and then again in 2015. The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful baby girls (Jayda and June).