Ethiopian children’s books

Ethiopia has set itself the goal of expanding access to education. Part of this strategy is to combat poverty in the country with more education. The more children in Ethiopia learn to read and write, the greater the need for literature for children – in addition to school books – including children’s books. Children need books to learn to read and write practically, but they also need literature that encourages them to read and that is fun. There is a shortage of books for children in Ethiopia. Outside the capital Addis Ababa, private bookshops are very rare. Gondar, for example, in north-western Ethiopia, is a city with a population of around 350,000. In Gondar, to find more than 10 children’s books for children aged three to teenagers in the branch of the bookstore chain “Mega” would be great luck. School books, on the other hand, are often plentiful.

Half of Ethiopia’s population is under the age of 21 – that’s more than 50 million children and young people. Around 65% of children between the ages of 0-12 can read – this means that 32 million children in Ethiopia are potential readers of children’s books. What children in Ethiopia need most in terms of literature are books that come from their own culture and are written in their own language. Amharic is the official national language, but around 80 other languages are spoken in Ethiopia. Children’s literature should be available at least in the most important languages such as Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya. However, instead of “Max and Moritz”, Ethiopian children need “Asni and Konjit”. Asni and Konjit would never buy a doll or a helicopter in a toy store – they would go to the local kiosk to get bread for breakfast. Harry Potter is certainly exciting for all children – but Ethiopian children need their own heroes and heroines with whom they can identify. Books are important to educate children to become responsible citizens. Characters in books become role models. Children learn to treat their environment responsibly and to behave socially towards others.

We have been producing books for children together with Ethiopian authors since 2016. Our books are financed purely from private donations. We provide our children’s literature free of charge to organizations that support public institutions in Ethiopia. We have already been able to bring over 20,000 books into the country with around 15 partner organizations.

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The idea…

The stories we are looking for already exist. Ethiopia is full of stories – a treasure that needs to be unearthed. There are contacts with authors and illustrators both in Ethiopia itself and in the Ethiopian diaspora worldwide. The initial idea is to reprint some books and make them accessible to children – especially in rural areas of Ethiopia. In addition, the aim is to support young Ethiopian authors and work with them to produce high-quality children’s literature.

How do the books reach our target group?

Here we cooperate with organizations that are active in Ethiopia. Our children’s books are offered free of charge in the facilities supported by the associations or NGOs, such as schools, children’s homes, libraries, hospitals or refugee camps. Here is a selection of our partners:

All Children Count (ACC) (USA) – Ayzon e.V. (Karben/GER) – Birhanethiopia Licht für Äthiopien (Tirol/AUT) – Die Grüne Brücke e.V. (Erkrath/GER) – Edget Baandnet Children Center e.V. (Hamburg/GER)  – Ethiopia Witten e.V. (Witten/GER) – Förderverein SunEko e.V. (Bad Tölz/GER) – Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Museen in Äthiopien e.V. (Berlin/GER) – Goethe Institute (Addis Abeba/ETH) – Habte Books (Berlin/GER) – Hawelti e.V. (Nürnberg/GER) – Hilfe für Afrika e.V. (Frankfurt a.M./GER) – Hope for Ethiopia e.V. (Jena/GER) – Humedica e.V. (Kaufbeuren/GER) – KaJo e.V. (Nuertingen/GER) – Leipziger Freundeskreis Äthiopien e.V. (Leipzig/GER) – Let me be a Child e.V. (Langabllig/GER) – MEDtiopia e.V. (Köln/GER) – New Creation (Wadern/GER) – Open Hearts, Big Dreams (USA) – Schule Äthiopien (Wies/AUT) – Stiftung Menschen für Menschen (München/GER) – Selam Kinderhilfswerk (Pfungen/CHE) – Together we Learn (London/UK) – Würde für Kinder e.V. (Hambur/GER)

Books

Previously published in the Edition Art of Buna:

Asni und 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 Jungle – A fable for children aged 2 and over
The Mouse and Mr. Squirrel / The Finder’s Reward – two traditional fairy tales from Ethiopia
The clever fisherman – by Heinrich Böll and Emile Bravo
At the Ark at Eight – by Ulrich Hub with illustrations by Jörg Mühle

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