Over Thanksgiving weekend, millions of people tuned into the inspiring CNN Tribute to Heroes special, which highlighted my work with Ethiopia Reads as well as that of nine other amazing, dedicated visionaries around the world.
For those of you who watched, thank you. I hope you enjoyed seeing footage of our libraries in action, and the smiles on the faces of children who have come to love the books and stories introduced to them by Ethiopia Reads.
Though I was deeply honored to be nominated a "Hero" by CNN, the greatest reward is watching young people bloom into readers.
This year, Ethiopia Reads opened our 20th school library for children.
We published our eighth bi-lingual children's book.
We connected approximately 100,000 Ethiopian children with books.
In a country of 40 million children, where nearly half the population is illiterate, there's plenty yet to do. In 2009, we'll expand our rural programs by bringing donkey mobile libraries to more villages and towns. We'll publish more books, train more librarians, and plant libraries at the rate of one per month.
We will continue to grow and serve with your support. With your help, we will brighten Ethiopia's future.
Please visit
our web site to learn more, get involved and
make a donation.
On behalf of myself and Board President Jane Kurtz, thank you for making a difference in the lives of Ethiopian children, one book at a time.
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Still, that is pretty durn cool.
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