Ethiopian Children’s Books

We were in Ethiopia in 2017, implementing our project, when we received an email from Cologne asking if we were interested in participating. Since education in Ethiopia is one of our main goals, we immediately agreed!

We thank Thomas Berghaus and the “Art of Buna” association in Cologne for allowing us to be part of this wonderful project and are very happy about this collaboration!

We could describe the project ourselves here, but we thought the originator of the idea could describe it much better…

The initial situation:

The Ethiopian government has committed to expanding access to education. Part of this strategy is to combat poverty in the country through increased education. The more children in Ethiopia learn to read and write, the greater the need for children’s literature—in addition to textbooks—will be. Children need books to learn to read and write practically, but they also need literature that encourages them to read and is enjoyable. Currently, there is a lack of sufficient quality children’s literature in the country—there are a few authors like Michael Daniel Ambatchew, Tesfaye Gebre Mariam, and Alem Eshetu—but far from enough.

There is therefore a shortage of children’s books in Ethiopia. Outside the capital, Addis Ababa, private bookstores are very rare. Gondar, in northwestern Ethiopia, for example, is a city with over 350,000 inhabitants. In Gondar, finding more than 10 children’s books for children aged three to teenagers in the branch of the government-owned bookstore chain “Mega” would be extremely lucky. Schoolbooks, on the other hand, are often readily available.

Half of Ethiopia’s population is under 21 – that’s more than 40 million children and young people. About half of these children can read – meaning 20 million children in Ethiopia are potential readers of children’s books. What children in Ethiopia need most in terms of literature are books from their own cultural background and written in their own language. Amharic is the official language, and around 80 other languages ​​are spoken in Ethiopia. Children’s literature should be available in at least the most important languages, such as Amharic, Tigrinya, and Afaan Oromo.

Instead of “Max and Moritz,” Ethiopian children need “Asni and Konjit.” Asni and Konjit would never buy a doll or a toy helicopter at the toy store—they would go to the local kiosk to buy bread for breakfast. Harry Potter is certainly exciting for all children, but Ethiopian children need their own heroes and heroines they can identify with. Books are important for raising children to be responsible citizens. Characters in books become role models. Children learn to treat their environment responsibly and to behave socially towards others.

Therefore, it is essential to produce culturally appropriate literature—for different age groups—to educate and entertain children and young people, and to enrich their lives.

The Idea…

The stories we’re looking for already exist. Ethiopia is full of stories – a treasure trove waiting to be unearthed. We have contacts with authors and illustrators both in Ethiopia itself and in the Ethiopian diaspora worldwide. We are currently exploring several projects. The initial idea is to republish some books and make them accessible to children – especially in rural areas of Ethiopia. Furthermore, we aim to support young Ethiopian authors and collaborate with them to produce high-quality children’s literature.

How do the books reach our target audience?

Here, we cooperate with partner organizations that are privately active in the Ethiopian education sector. Our children’s books are made available in the school libraries of the schools supported by these organizations, making literature accessible to as many children as possible.

Project Update April 2019:

Besides us, 10 organizations are now participating in this wonderful book project. In 2018, we were able to distribute the following books to 6 schools outside of Aksum, as well as to the city library:

• 730 copies of “Counting Addis Ababa” were given directly to preschool students to keep
• 100 copies of “Dance, Saron, Dance” 24 copies of “Asni & Konjit”
• 85 copies of “Deep in the Ethiopian Jungle”

More titles are already in preparation, and we look forward to distributing them to the libraries as well.

Already published:

• Asni and Konjit – a young adult novel by Nasrin Siege
• Counting Addis Ababa – a counting book by Fitsame Teferra Dance,
• Saron, Dance! – 14 Short Stories by Ethiopian Authors
• Deep in the Ethiopian Darkness – A Fable for Children Ages 2 and Up by Fitsame Teferra
• The Mouse and Mr. Squirrel / The Finder’s Fee – Two Traditional Fairy Tales from Ethiopia

Project Update December 2019:

In 2019, we were once again part of the wonderful “Art of Buna” project and were able to donate more books to schools and the city library. In addition to the existing books, this included a “special edition” with two Ethiopian comics and large posters displaying the alphabet.

In 2020, we plan to include more schools in the Aksum area.

Project Update 2022:

Our last trip to Aksum took place in February 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic made a planned trip impossible.

On November 3, 2020, a war broke out between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray region.

This project relies on us bringing children’s books and distributing them to schools and libraries. Sadly, this has not been possible for us since February 2020.

Of course, we remain partners in this wonderful project and will actively support it again as soon as possible.

Project Update 02/2025

We have now visited Aksum twice and remain partners in this wonderful project.

However, due to the war, many items are still urgently needed, so our luggage was once again primarily filled with medicines, vitamins, and other essential supplies.

This doesn’t mean, however, that we didn’t check whether “our” books were still available – and we were pleased to find that most of these books are still there, despite the war, both in the schools we visited and in the library.

And last but not least, there were a few remaining books in Aksum from before the war.

We have now delivered these to Endayesus and May Berazyo and hope the children will enjoy them.

If the situation and our resources allow, we will certainly support this project again with enthusiasm. This will also include inviting guests to help out…