Giving Back-Ethiopia Reads

From time to time, I'd like to share about different organizations working in Africa and ways you can be involved. As I present opportunities to give back from time to time, please do not feel pressured or guilty because that is not my intention. I have talked to people that want to give, but simply did not know how or where to start or how to make a difference. For those of you who want to give, I hope that we can encourage you by giving you opportunities and connecting you to organizations that speak to our hearts. As I shared in an earlier post, Paul and I made a commitment that we want to encourage Kenyon Belachew to make a difference in his birth country. As a family, we want to find ways to give back to a country that we have come to love.

While we were in Ethiopia, we had the opportunity to visit Ethiopia Reads. It is an amazing organization that is promoting literacy and education in Ethiopia. We were at their Shola Library one day after school. We saw a group of school children running to the library gate, with smiles on their faces. These kids could not wait to get their hands on a book. It was incredible to talk to these kids and hear about their favorite books. Until Ethiopia Reads was established, there was only one library in the capital city of Addis Ababa and people had to pay to use it! Ethiopia Reads is starting libraries throughout the country and their mission is to build a reading culture in Ethiopia by connecting children with books.

When you think about basic needs, books is not one. However, I believe that books have the power to change lives. Books can give people hopes and dreams, and can expand their world. Paul and I are both book lovers and we were greatly impressed by this organization and it's vision.

Over the next several weeks, Paul and I will be collecting books to send to Ethiopia Reads. If you would like to donate a new or gently used book, please leave a comment or contact me. We are specifically looking for books for children or youth. Check out Ethiopia Reads' website for more information or other ways to support their work.