Haile Gebrselassie was born in 1973 into a farming family in the Arsi region of Ethiopia. Haile had nine siblings, five brothers and four sisters. The family survived on what they grew and could buy at the local market. As a young boy Haile used to fetch water from the local river a few miles away. His mother died when he was just seven years old. Fast forward forty years to where Haile is today in the thick of a fast-paced life far removed from his childhood days. Having retired from a 25-year career as one of the world’s most successful distance runners of all time, Haile is now working on a range of businesses which provide employment to several thousand workers across Ethiopia. Haile has always nurtured an ambition to grow coffee, a drink at the heart of Ethiopian culture and a treasure which enjoys almost sacred status in his country’s history. "I am so proud of what we have done for the community in Masha, building a school and constructing an all-weather road to improve access for the local people.” In becoming one of Ethiopia’s biggest producers of specialty coffee, Haile is going back to his roots, helping local communities to develop and doing what he can to move his country forward.