FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 2024 – Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) and the Ethiopian Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY Ethiopia) are elated to announce that two of the OHBD Ready Set Go Books (OHBD-RSG) were honored at the 29th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2023 in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia. Friends […]
OHBD’s Literacy Initiatives Continue to Garner International Recognition Read More »
July 2023 – Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) is delighted to announce that two of their OHBD-Ready Set Go Books (RSG) have been honored with Gourmand Awards 2023. My Five Senses, by Elizabeth Spor Taylor, was listed as First in “Food Books for Children—Africa.” And Letter from a Plow Nation, by Dr. Worku L. Mulat,
Open Hearts Big Dreams Ready Set Go Books Honored Among “Best in the World” Read More »
Open Hearts Big Dreams Launches Black History Month Collaboration with Etan Comics February 2023 – To celebrate Black History Month, Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) is launching a special collaboration with Etan Comics, the creator of the character Jember, the first Ethiopian superhero. The partnership makes the children’s book version of Jember available in
Open Hearts Big Dreams Launches Black History Month Collaboration with Etan Comics Read More »
Open Hearts Big Dreams Creative Lead Jane Kurtz Honored with a Prestigious International “Reading Promoter” Award August 2022 – Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) is delighted to announce that Jane Kurtz, who volunteers with OHBD as the creative lead on OHBD Ready Set Go Books (RSG), will be receiving an exceptionally high honor from the
We are delighted to kick off a series of posts celebrating our volunteer Creative Lead Jane Kurtz whose work with us (and others) was recognized by IBBY with a Reading Promoter Award. In a couple weeks, Jane will be accepting the award in Malaysia. Leyla and I are thrilled to be joining her. There is
OHBD RSG Book Distribution and Library Training in Gondar By Caroline Walker, Executive Director of Together We Learn (an OHBD collaborating organization) Access to reading materials is very important to the lives of the young people we work with. Across the country, many children do not have books at home. Those that do have access
OHBD RSG Book Distribution and Library Training in Gondar Read More »
How do we do it—pull meaning from symbols on paper, or from bits of light and dark in flickering electric impulses? This miracle is called reading. I learned to read in Maji, in deep southern Ethiopia. My mother taught me in my own childhood language of English. As I filled workbooks at our dining room
My educational journey started in Gambella, Ethiopia where I was born. Growing up, I never had nongovernmental printed Anuak books. The school provided textbooks which we always returned at the end of each year. Since the schools couldn’t afford to print new copies each year, we were always given the same recycled books. It’s only
Preserving a Rare Ethiopian Language for the Anuak People of Gambella Read More »
When Daniel Aklilu and I connected on Facebook, he generously offered to illustrate a #RSG book for us. I sent him a title from our new inclusion series, which is part of the Mike Carr Legacy project. Each day he would work on one illustration and share it with me via Messenger then I would
Connecting through art, social media, and stories Read More »
In a study published last year in the Journal of Happiness Studies, researchers looked at data from nearly 70,000 subjects and concluded that volunteers were happier. People who start out at a lower level of well-being seem to get even more benefit from volunteering. But I don’t need a study to tell me that volunteer
Why Do I Volunteer for OHBD? From our Creative Lead, Author Jane Kurtz Read More »
