Long ago, forests covered much of the world. They provided shelter and protection, food and resources, and held together complex ecosystems from the soil to the weather. But as people stopped moving from place to place and began to clear away trees to plant crops, the landscape began to change. The soil began to wash away and what was once lush and green became dry and dusty. Like many countries, Ethiopia has suffered widespread deforestation. In response, Ethiopia initiated a country-wide reforestation program called the “Green Legacy” that culminated in the planting of over 350 million trees in 2019, a world record. This tremendous effort, consisting of indigenous and fruit-bearing trees, may help regrow the lush forests that once covered much of East Africa. Environmental restoration on this scale has the potential to not only improve the local ecosystems, but may impact the climate of the entire region. Trees strengthen the topsoil, increase the amount of oxygen and provide protection and habitats for wildlife. They are some of the oldest living things on earth, and we honor them with lush watercolors by art students at Clark College in our look at the vital role trees play in the lives of all living creatures. Side by side text in English and Ethiopian languages like Amharic, Tigrinya and Afaan Oromo support bilingual readers in developing vocabulary and fluency.
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.
