My name is Nadine Roose. I am 17 years old and I am a senior at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California. My mom is Ethiopian, and my dad is Dutch and almost every summer since I was 5, my family and I have visited Ethiopia. I always stay with my grandparents in Addis Ababa, but throughout my visits I see many aunts, uncles, and cousins. I love going to Ethiopia, I feel at home there and connected to my roots.
I first collaborated with Open Heart Big Dreams in the summer of 2022. That year, I traveled around Addis to promote literacy. I visited the Siddharta orphanage for children living with HIV, the large Miazia 23 public school, and the Ethiopian children’s 
TV station. At these places, I read with children out of the “OHBD-ReadySetGo” book series, printed in Ethiopia by Yoseph Ayalew, OHBD in country leader.
Upon return to Mill Valley, I designed my own project, working closely with Ellenore Angelidis, OHBD Founder and Board President, with a goal to raise money for books going to children in the Addis and Gondar regions of Ethiopia. My first initiative will be to send OHBD-ReadySetGo books to the Miazia 23 school I visited in Addis. While I was there, the director explained how they were lacking education supplies like books and she and I have stayed in touch to collaborate on this project.
My immediate goal is to raise money for 500 books in 2 weeks. At 4 dollars a book, this will require $2,000. My family will match the first $1,000. For the Miazia school, we want to secure the funds for at least 2000 books as well as $2000 that will be spent on training elementary school teachers how to incorporate OHBD-RSG books in their programs.
Please share our initiative with your friends and family and donate to help the Miazia 23 school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!