Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a native of Ethiopia, learned to read in his village school--with high school classes taught by Peace Corps volunteers. He fondly remembers the first book he held in his hands outside of school…at the age of nineteen years old. Eventually, he came to the United States as a political refugee, where he earned a master’s degree in library science and became a children’s librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. When he was asked to purchase books in various languages for the library, he was surprised to discover that, despite a large Ethiopian population in the area, he was unable to find books printed in any of the Ethiopian languages. Recognizing the importance of reading for children in his native country, he organized a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Ethiopia Reads in 1998.

As Yohannes worked to develop his project, he contacted American author Jane Kurtz who has written books for children set in Ethiopia. She grew up in that country where her parents worked as missionaries for many years and his vision caught her attention as well. When Jane was asked to help explore global missions at First Presbyterian Church in Grand Forks ND, Yohannes and his dream came quickly to mind. Could this congregation in the midwest participate in his vision for poor children on the other side of the world? Knowing first hand the power of books to open minds and to change lives, members enthusiastically joined Jane, her family and the librarian in accomplishing the dream of books in the hands of Ethiopian children.

Now president of Ethiopia Reads’s board of directors, Jane led the first step: publishing a picture book for Ethiopian children in 2002. The book "Silly Mammo" is the first bilingual english/amheric book ever and one of the few books at all published in an Ethiopian language. The text was done by Yohannes Gebregeorgis and the book design and editing were donated. "Silly Mammo" is used as a fundraiser for Ethiopia Reads. For more information on "Silly Mammo visit the "What Can I do to Help?" page. For a "Silly Mammo" order form click here!

First Presbyterian members raised $10,000.00 with a read-a-thon, book sales, donations, and several matching grants from the Presbytery of Northern Plains.The church collected new and used books for a book center in Addis Ababa, with a great deal of help from the San Francisco Public Library. 15,000 books from all over the United States were shipped to Yohannes in California, where he put them in a container on a ship bound for Djibouti. After six years of laying groundwork and developing his idea in the US, Yohannis returned to Addis Ababa, determined to make books available to the children. There he began the difficult process of getting NGO status in Ethiopia (similar to nonprofit status in the US) which often takes years.

April 7, 2003, was opening day for the Ethiopian Children’s Book Center, the first free library for children in Addis Ababa, a city of more than three million people. Established in a poor neighborhood with no safe spaces for play, reading or art activity, the center consists of two tented reading areas and three indoor reading rooms available free of charge to children eighteen and under.

The library has seating for up to 126 children and houses approximately 15,000 books on a variety of different subjects and reading levels, some in Ethiopian languages. A $20,000 grant from the Presbyterian Women’s Thank Offering provided much of the first year’s operating expenses. Now in the second year, the library’s operation relies on income from book sales, church partners and donations. Currently nine staff members keep the center open and running. The center is alive with storytelling and reading programs, arts and crafts days, movies and a theater program in addition to children quietly reading. In the first year the library hosted over 40,000 visits. It is hoped that the reading center will serve as a model for Ethiopia and other African countries.

The main purpose of Ethiopia Reads is to improve literacy and create a culture of reading in Ethiopia, in order to bring hope, vision and educational skills to this generation of Ethiopian children. We do this by:

• providing quality reading materials, as far as possible in local languages, in accessible locations with encouraging and supportive adult supervision;
• publishing attractive books in local languages; and
• promoting literacy and the importance of reading.

Ethiopia Reads believes that education is the key to improving the lives of the next generation of Ethiopians, a country filled with children, and that books are the key to fostering a genuine love of learning. We invite all who love children and books to join us in this endeavor.