Friday, January 4, 2008

January 4, 2008 - Ethopi* (for Ethiopia)

Ethopi* appears 32 times in OhioLINK, making it a typo of "high probability" on the Ballard list. As my Ethiopian niece (adopted as a teenager) and nephew (as an infant) are both currently learning, spelling is very important when it comes to bridging cultures and otherwise making their way in the world. A much-loved and lauded children's librarian from the Albany area, Micki Nevett, passed away suddenly a couple weeks ago and a fund has been established in her name for Ethiopia Reads, a non-profit group to which Micki was devoted. The organization was founded to "improve literacy and create a culture of reading in Ethiopia, in order to bring hope, vision, and educational skills to this generation of Ethiopian children." In 2003, it established the Shola Children's Library in the capital city Addis Ababa, where the library now reports 60,000 visits a year. (Photograph of Haile Selassie, who introduced Ethiopia's first written constitution in 1931, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid

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