Tadias Magazine

Above: Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder of Ethiopia Reads &
one of the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2008, pictured here in NYC,
will serve as keynote speaker for ALA’S President’s Program.
(Photo by Jeffrey Phipps for Tadias Magazine).

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Wednesday, December 30, 2009

CHICAGO – Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder and executive director of Ethiopia Reads, will serve as keynote speaker for the American Library Association’s (ALA) President’s Program 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 17 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

The program will take place as more than 11,000 of the nation’s library leaders convene in Boston for the ALA Midwinter Meeting held Jan. 15 – 19.

Ethiopia Reads focuses on his organization’s literacy work. The organization encourages a love of reading by establishing children’s and youth libraries in Ethiopia, free distribution of books to children and multilingual publishing. The organization’s founder, Gebregeorgis was selected as one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes in 2008 for his work in establishing children’s libraries in Ethiopia.

Tadias Photos: Yohannes Gebregeorgis in New York
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“The ALA is thrilled that Mr. Gebregeorgis has accepted our invitation to speak to the nation’s library leaders on the value of libraries,” said ALA President Camila Alire. “In a world where knowledge is power, libraries make communities more powerful! By motivating children to read, librarians are creating lifelong readers, and that makes for better citizens and sets the cornerstone for democracy.

“Without reading, everything in life is harder. Low literacy is linked to poverty, crime, dependence on government assistance and poor health. And research has shown that parents who struggle with reading pass this legacy on to their children.”

In his native Ethiopia, Gebregeorgis has established libraries and literacy programs to connect Ethiopian children with books.

“Books change lives – of individuals, communities and nations for good,” said Gebregeorgis.

Forced to flee Ethiopia to the United States as a political refugee in 1981, Gebregeorgis put himself through college, obtaining a graduate degree in Library and Information Science. It wasn’t until he became a children’s librarian at the San Francisco Public Library Children’s section in 1985 that he realized what the children of his native home were missing.

Gebregeorgis quickly realized that due to prohibitive publishing, purchasing and importing costs in his home country, there were no children’s books available in Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia, and none representing the places and characters of Ethiopian lore. This inspired him to produce an Amharic children’s book, “Silly Mammo,” the first bilingual Amharic-English children’s book. He then established Ethiopia Reads in 1988. Using proceeds from book sales and grassroots book-a-thons, the nonprofit financed his efforts to bring children’s libraries to Ethiopia.

In 2002, Gebregeorgis returned to Ethiopia with 15,000 books, most of it donated by the San Francisco Public Library. With them, he opened the Shola Children’s Library on the first floor of his home. Young readers quickly overwhelmed the three-room home, requiring the addition of two large tents to provide shade for hundreds at a time.

Ethiopia Reads established the Awassa Reading Center and Ethiopia’s first Donkey Mobile Library, which makes weekly visits to rural villages around Awassa.

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Source: The American Library Association.

Above: Board members of the newly formed Abyssinian Fund
and president of the organization, Rev. Nicholas S. Richards,
(far left), at a reception held on Friday, December 4th, 2009
at the Harlem Stage. (Tadias photo).

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Tuesday, December 8, 2009

New York (Tadias) – This past weekend we attended the launching of Abyssinian Fund, an NGO dedicated to fighting poverty in Ethiopia. The event was organized in Harlem by members of the legendary Abyssinian Baptist Church and was held on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at the elegant Harlem Stage.

The reception attracted local politicians, business leaders, and diplomats, including representatives of Ethiopia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

The evening also showcased an exhibition of recent images of Ethiopia by Photojournalist Robert E. Eilets. The photographs were auctioned and helped to raise $2,500 for the new organization.

“This was a terrific launch reception,” said Rev. Nicholas S. Richards, President of the Abyssinian Fund. “To see 240 persons, including political dignitaries, the business community and local residents concerned about reducing poverty in Ethiopia through economic development was fantastic.”

According Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, the church’s current pastor – who made a brief introductory remark at the VIP reception – the project was born out of the group’s historic trip to Ethiopia two years ago. The pastor, who led over 150 delegates to Ethiopia as part of the church’s bicentennial celebration and in honor of the Ethiopian Millennium, told the crowed that the journey rekindled a long but dormant relationship that was last sealed in 1954 with an exquisite Ethiopian cross, a gift from the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie to the people of Harlem as a symbol of love and gratitude for their support and friendship during Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia. The cross has since become the official symbol of the church.

“The Abyssinian Fund is inspired by the pilgrimage taken by The Abyssinian Baptist Church to Ethiopia in 2007, “said Rev. Richards in an email after the event. “We saw the biggest enemy Ethiopia faces is poverty, so on our arrival back in the USA, we dedicated our energy and love for Ethiopia to establish an organization dedicated to creating and supporting sustainable development.”

The organization hopes to raise one million dollars in the next five years. “ The mission of the Abyssinian Fund is to reduce poverty in Ethiopia by increasing the capacity of farming cooperatives and by developing programs for the wider community, which will lead to sustainable improvements in health care, education and access to clean water, Rev. Richards said. “I strongly believe in the success of our goal to develop Ethiopia, one community at a time.”

According to the church’s official history, in 1808, after refusing to participate in segregated worship services in lower Manhattan, a group of free African Americans and Ethiopian sea merchants formed their own church on Worth Street, naming it the Abyssinian Baptist Church in honor of Abyssinia, the former name of Ethiopia.

Slideshow: See photos from the event:

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African American & Ethiopian Relations (Tadias)

The Case of Melaku E. Bayen & John Robinson (Tadias)