Children's author and Ethiopia Reads volunteer Jane Kurtz.
As you probably know,
GoneReading was started to help bring the magic of reading to the far corners of the world where it doesn’t exist. We’ve committed all year-end profits from the sale of our gifts for readers to fund new reading libraries in the developing world.
As I learned while volunteering in Central America, I don’t personally bring anything to the process of mixing cement in the middle of the jungle! That’s why we need amazing partners, non-profit organizations with the experience, relationships and proven models to actually do the difficult work in the field.
One such organization is Ethiopia Reads. Jane Kurtz, a volunteer from Ethiopia Reads, was kind enough to pen the following article for our enjoyment. Besides her role with Ethiopia Reads, Jane is an award-winning children’s book author; it’s nice to have this blog in the hands of a professional writer, if only for today. I encourage you to check out her blog.
Many thanks to Jane for her invaluable counsel to me over the last six months. GoneReading is just getting started, but we hope to play a meaningful role in Ethiopia Reads’ future as they do their incredible work in that country.
Happy reading!
Bradley S. Wirz, Founder & CEO
http://www.gonereading.com/
Guest Blogpost by Jane Kurtz
An eager young reader, thanks to the work of Ethiopia Reads!
Look at that smile: Ethiopia Reads truly provides the magic of reading!
The man laughed. “I asked my friends, how can I go to school? They told me to stand by the path with my goats and you would surely come by.”
Determination is fierce for reading in Ethiopia. Ours is the easy part: we readers put our money together for books, shelves, donkeys, rooms, and people. The kids show up. Who knows the solutions these new young readers will find for the future of their world?
Tags: gifts for book lovers, gifts for readers, philanthropy
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[...] Jane Kurtz, board member and volunteer with Ethiopia Reads (and a published author of 30+ children’s books), gave a presentation on their past work and future plans. They’ve developed almost 50 school libraries across Ethiopia, and are currently working to develop 10 more, including one in each of the 10 regions of that country. She explained that a typical school library costs about $10,000 to fund, with half of that going towards furniture. Jane also took everyone through the troublesome logistics of shipping books and material to Ethiopia. Jane Kurtz, far right, answer questions following her presentation. [...]