My Nonprofit Reviews

At the beginning of 2024, I decided that I wanted to raise money to make an impact in Ethiopia. My family was already planning a trip there over spring break, as my younger brother is adopted from the country. This would be my first trip there, and my family's first time back after he came home. My mom helped me to brainstorm how to start the process, and we contacted Ellenore Angelidis at Open Hearts Big Dreams. I organized a fundraiser and raised over $2500 to print 700 books. Open Hearts Big Dreams works with a local printer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to print books for $4/ book.
A few days after our arrival in Addis, it was time to visit Bethel Mekane Yesus School, a girls' school in the city that will be celebrating its 100th birthday in November 2024. The process to bring the books to the school was very easy. When we arrived, the head of school gave us a tour and a brief history of the school. When the books were brought in, the librarians and other staff members’ faces lit up. Seeing the books written in native languages with beautiful stories and illustrations brought them so much joy. Our tour guide was so excited to see a book about his hometown, Lalibela! It made me so happy to see how these books made the staff so happy, and I believe they made the children very happy too. The OHBD books are available in a variety of Ethiopian languages, but the ones we used were in Afaan Oromo, Amharic, and Tigrinya. It is so important for children to read in their native language, and to read books about places that are familiar to them. Open Hearts Big Dreams makes this possible for children who would not be able to experience this otherwise. I will never forget how happy the staff were with the books, and OHBD made it possible!