Children

New Gonder Library Built in OHBD Advisory Board Member’s Former Elementary School

My name is Mekonnen Fentahun Kassa. I was born in a very small town located south of Gonder, Ethiopia. My parents brought me to Gonder, a small town that has evolved into a city in the last half-century, when I was probably a little over one year old. My mother, Tewoda Gebeyehu and father, Sergeant

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Developing stories in people’s native language is of paramount importance by Jazmil of SEEDS of Africa

Developing stories in people’s native language is of paramount importance, as people learn to read best in their mother tongue. Our students and teachers at Seeds of Africa were thrilled when they received the Ready, Set, Go! books. This enthusiasm stemmed from finally having cultural stories they can connect and relate to written in Amharic

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Entrepreneurial Focus: OHBD Founder Ellenore Angelidis is Interviewed by All Things Habesha

💐Hi IG family✋🏽This week’s big-up goes to Ellenore Angelidis, Founder & Board President of Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD), a nonprofit organization. Under the direction of Ellenore and her board of advisers, OHBD focuses on #Literacy, #Art and #Education in #Ethiopia. she has an amazing entrepreneurial spirit as well…enjoy her insight below: 🔻 1. Describe

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An insider’s perspective on what drives OHBD’s mission: Founder Ellenore Angelidis is interviewed by EthioFresh

Imagine not being able to read this article or anything written into words for that matter. People often forget children’s literacy is one of the key issues still problematic in Ethiopia but also the rest of the world. That’s where the Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund comes in. Through their mission of inspiring and enabling

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Meet Yaya!

This month’s blog is a guest post by D Yael Bernhard and reprinted from her site with permission. Meet Yaya! This energetic young fellow is the main character in my forthcoming picture book, Yaya, Come Here!, to be published by Open Hearts Big Dreams, a wonderful literacy program that is bringing books to over 40 million

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Junior Board Blog Series: Julia Mayner – Why I Joined OHBD

I got involved with Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) during the 2016 fall semester of my sophomore year in college. I knew very little about the organization, other than that the people involved are continuously working toward something great and that joining served as a phenomenal opportunity to learn and serve. My mother is friends

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Books: Ready, Set, Go!

When I helped start Ethiopia Reads in the 1990s, there was little support for childhood literacy in Ethiopia. Even though the government had lofty goals for getting more children into school (and was generally meeting those goals), many schools had under-trained teachers and no books.  Ethiopia Reads focused on shipping English-language books and planting libraries

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