Catching the Sun

Many rural Ethiopian homes rely on fires for light and heat when the sun goes down, which causes bothersome smoke and requires large quantities of firewood. Gathering firewood for home fires takes a heavy toll on Ethiopian women and forests alike. Author Caroline Kurtz grew up in Maji, Ethiopia, where women delivered babies by flashlight before she arranged for a solar light to illuminate the delivery room. Next she turned her efforts to the homes of Maji, which lies 80 miles beyond the national power grid. With the help of friends she began a nonprofit, Maji Development Coalition, which is installing solar powered lights in households in this gorgeous part of Ethiopia. Now children do their homework by the bright light of solar-powered electricity and their homes are filled with smoke-free air. Illustrated with beautifully detailed watercolor landscapes by Luz Adriana Montes de Oca. Side by side text in English and Ethiopian languages like Amharic, Tigrinya and Afaan Oromo help emerging bilingual readers develop fluency and vocabulary. Ready Set Go Books, an Open Hearts Big Dreams Project, is focused on increasing the literacy rate in Ethiopia through giving readers books with stories in their heart languages, full of colorful illustrations with Ethiopian settings and details. Profits from book sales are used to create, print, and distribute more Ready Set Go Books to kids in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country. Ethiopia's population is 44% children, ages 0-14 (43 million out of 97 million total). Only 5.5% of children attend pre-school or kindergarten, and the adult literacy rate is 49%. Our books are based on wise Ethiopian sayings that often rhyme in Amharic. If an adult says the first half, many children can chant the second half. Sometimes the meaning of these sayings is clear. Sometimes it has to be puzzled out and argued over. But sayings and idioms and proverbs help people express truths and beliefs in unusual ways. Since late 2017, OHBD has published over 100 unique #ReadySetGo dual language titles in four Ethiopian languages plus English and has plans to publish another 100 titles and add more languages in the coming years. New titles and/or languages are added monthly; follow our author page to get new release announcements. Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund (OHBD) is a 501(3)(c) not for profit organization that believes the chance to dream big dreams should not depend on where in the world you are born. Our mission is to inspire and enable youth in Ethiopia through READY SET GO books, STEM and Innovation Projects in collaboration with individuals and organizations providing literacy, education, and leadership opportunities.