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 German help emerging bilingual readers develop fluency and vocabulary.

Open Hearts Big Dreams Ready Set Go (OHBD-RSG) Books were created to help increase 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 OHBD-RSG books to kids in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country. Ethiopia's population has a high percentage of children ages 0-14. Only a small percentage attend pre-school or kindergarten, and the adult literacy rate is around 50%.

Some of 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. Other books are based on STEAM topics, cooking, colors, counting and more.

Since late 2017, OHBD has published over 150 unique OHBD-RSG bilingual titles in a number of Ethiopian, African and global languages plus English and has plans to publish more titles and add more languages. New titles 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 Literacy, Innovation, Inclusion and Leadership Projects in collaboration with individuals and organizations in Ethiopia and globally.