The Cheetahs Of Long Distance Running

One of the fastest animals in the world, the cheetah streaks across the plains and valleys of Ethiopia. But there is another kind of “cheetah” renowned for speed who are famous for running on 2 legs instead of 4. Some of the world’s elite marathon and long-distance running athletes hail from Ethiopia, including Abebe Bikila, the first African Olympic gold medalist; Belayneh Densamo, who broke the world record for long distance running; and Haile Gebreselassie, who broke a world record 27 times! Read about the Baby-Faced Destroyer, youngest World Champion runner and cousin to Derartu Tulu, the first woman to run a 2-mile race in less than 10 minutes and champion who earned 6 gold medals. Filled with detailed digital portraits of 10 legends of long distance running by Ethiopian artist Daniel Getahun.

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.