Two facts about me - I love reading and donkeys! So it makes sense that one of my favorite PaperTigers posts was Marjorie’s Books At Bedtime: Silly Mammo - an Ethiopian folktale. Marjorie shared the story of Yohannes Gebregeorgis, his book Silly Mammo, his organization Ethiopia Reads and his amazing donkey-drawn library in Ethiopia. Yohannes’ donkey-drawn library has been so successful that three more officially went into service during a gala inauguaration ceremony on January 10. These libraries will bring books and learning materials to children who live in rural areas surrounding Awassa, an agricultural town in southern Ethiopia. Check out these photos of the inauguration.
In 2008 Yohannes was voted one of CNN’s Top 10 Heros of the year and had this to say:
I think the recognition that Ethiopia Reads has received is primarily for the recognition of the importance of literacy to the development of a country’s future; for its power to change individuals and society. What we’ve accomplished in the last six years is a drop in the ocean compared to the need. It’s a good beginning that needs to be kept alive and going until we cover all regions of Ethiopia.
The accomplishments of Ethiopia Reads are amazing. Over the past six years, it has established two free public libraries for young readers and 16 school libraries which, combined, have had over 100,000 visitors. Library and literacy training has been provided to about 120 teachers and assistant librarians. Ethiopia Reads has published 8 children’s books and distributed over 30,000 books at no charge to children with another 75,000 to be given over the next six months to a year. An annual Ethiopian Children’s Book Week is held in early April in Addis Ababa, and a new children’s book award – the Golden Kuraz Award - rewards literary excellence and encourages the writing and publishing of high-quality Ethiopan children’s books.