(L-R) Erich François, Founder of step by step SA; Sophie Glesener, SOSVEM Director;
Credit: SOSVEM
On Tuesday 7 July 2026, SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde (SOSVEM) reported that Luxembourg event organiser step by step SA had recently donated €7,648 to support the organisation's humanitarian work in Ethiopia.
According to SOSVEM, the donation was presented during a recent meeting between the founder of step by step SA, Erich François, and the NGO's Director, Sophie Glesener. The meeting also marked ten years of partnership between the two organisations, during which step by step SA has donated nearly €45,500 through various sporting events.
Registrations have already opened for the 20th edition of the ING Night Marathon Luxembourg, scheduled to take place on 8 May 2027.
The €7,648 was raised through donations made by runners when registering for the 2026 marathon and will support children in Ethiopia, where the organisation has been working for many years with its local sister organisation. This marks the third consecutive year that the marathon has supported the project.
The funds will contribute to a multi-year project in the Moyale district in southern Ethiopia, near the Kenyan border, combining emergency assistance with long-term resilience building through an approach focused on nutrition, development and peace. Supported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (MAEE), the project seeks to address food insecurity, malnutrition, fragile livelihoods and intercommunal conflict, with particular attention given to young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and the most vulnerable households.
The initiative also includes the creation of peace clubs bringing together pupils from different communities. The clubs will organise sociocultural activities, sports tournaments and inter-school artistic exchanges aimed at promoting intercultural dialogue and peaceful coexistence in the region.
More than €22,000 was raised overall during this year's fundraising campaign. Sophie Glesener thanked the marathon organisers, runners, partners, fundraisers, volunteers and spectators for their support.
SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde also confirmed that it will once again serve as the humanitarian partner of the 20th ING Night Marathon Luxembourg, with funds raised continuing to support children in Ethiopia
