By Christin Fynewever | Examiner.com
Ethiopia — What do you get when you cross a donkey and a book? A mobile library! Yes, thanks to Liberian Yohannes Gebregeorgis, tens of thousands of Ethiopian children have learned to read.
Gebregiorgis, a native of Ethiopia, was taught to read by Peace Corps volunteers in his village. He was inspired to create the program Ethiopia reads while working as a children’s librarian in the San Francisco Public Library.
Gebergiorgis became cognizant of the importance of a good education after securing an education himself, and wanted the children in his native country to embrace the love of reading. He came up with the idea of a mobile library, that would deliver books to the different villages throughout Ethiopia. His program would help many Ethiopian children gain access to literature.
Together with author Jane Kurtz, they established the Shola Children’s Library, which has served thousands of children, connecting them to a wide range of educational programs like art, dance, sanitation and more.
In honor of literacy and Yohannes Gebregiorgis’s remarkable program, the Aurora Central Library will host a celebration on May 9th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be dancing, and you guessed it donkeys! So come celebrate a noble program and get down with the donkeys