Ethiopia Reads
|
Jane Kurtz was the daughter of missionaries who spent decades in
Ethiopia where they raised their five daughters and one son in a remote
village. Once Kurtz returned to the United States to attend college
she married and raised three children -- but she longed for her
childhood home. She began to write stories from her childhood. The
first, Fire on the Mountain, was followed by Pulling the Lion's Tail.
These books came to the attention of a San Francisco Librarian who was
searching for Ethiopian Children's books. |
In 1996, Jane
unceremoniously opened an e-mail from Yohannes Gebregorgis who said,
"We have to get books to Ethiopian children." Jane's interest was
sparked and soon the two literacy advocates were involved in a
non-profit Ethiopian Children's Book and Educational Foundation (EBCEF)
and Ethiopia Reads. Now Yohannes is back in Ethiopia as the director
of the countries first children's reading library. Jane and her
brother Chris and others serve on the Board of Directors and work to
promote organization from their base in the United States. Good
Housekeeping featured an article about the organization in their
October 2007 issue. (PDF file to download)
|