Ellenore’s Note: Our “Small” Connected World -- Ethiopian Delegation in Seattle

I am constantly reminded that the world is connected and smaller than we think when we approach as a citizen of the globe. I caught up recently with dear friend and Advisory Board member Metti Mulugeta over a delicious Ethiopian lunch at Ibix Restaurant. She pulled her three favorite #ReadySetGo books, Only in Ethiopia, Butterfly and Giraffe and Me, out of her purse. She shared that she is using the books in her Amharic classes at the Ethiopian Community of Seattle Center. She wanted to bring all of our books to the community to help preserve language and culture. She also had great ideas for new books.

A couple days later, we were honored to present our work to the Ethiopian Delegation that came to Seattle as well as with other leaders within the Ethiopian community here. Dr. Worku Mulat helped us arrange and meet representatives from Bahir Dar as well as the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC. We received much positive feedback on the work of our #ReadySetGo books project and were able to share samples of these little reads with others. Most exciting was the interests we received in supporting our “new” Innovation Center Model Project in Gondar from local Bahir Dar representatives. It was a delight to run into Board member, Assaye Abunie, and Advisory Board member, Metti Mulugeta as well as a number of long time OHBD supporters. Metti also took the opportunity to share her support of our efforts there too. It was really empowering to get the response we received and look forward to using this support to help us make a bigger impact on behalf of deserving kids.
~ Ellenore

Education was my powerful tool in engineering my future
- by Worku Mulat

My name is Worku Mulat and I currently live in Bellevue, Washington. Born in Ethiopia, when going to school, l was viewed as a luxury, education was my powerful tool in engineering my future. While I was pondering how to give back to my community, serendipity made it possible to meet Ellenore Angelidis who has been devoting her time, energy, and resources to bring positive change in the lives of kids in Ethiopia.

I was excited the first day I met her during recent gala she organized to raise funding for OHBH. Throughout that evening I was winnowing her digital identity to learn more about her profile.

Bahir Dar, is a favorite city of Ellenore’s because it is the birthplace of her daughter, Leyla. Ellenore is not alone in glorifying Bahir Dar. Herodotus wrote 2300 years ago:

"Wisemen occupying the Upper Nile, men of long life, whose manners and customs pertain to the Golden Age, those virtuous mortals, whose feasts and banquets are honored by Jupiter himself."

Worku Mulat Cont'd....(photo of Bahir Dar)

For a long time, I was eager to help a non-profit organizer that garnered trust among the donor communities and has the capacity to implement successful projects in Ethiopia. I found that person in Ellenore Angelidis and joined OHBD recently.

Unlike many of her peers growing in Ethiopia, Ellenore and Michael’s daughter, Leyla already has started to dream big because she has all the resources she needs to excel. But Ellenore's principle is that dreaming big should not depend on the place where a child is born. Thus, she has launched OHBD projects to support K-12 education throughout Ethiopia.

A week after we first met, Ellenore asked me to lead the effort of establishing Innovation Centers in Ethiopia. I accepted the offer without hesitation and am looking forward to collaborating with the entire team.

Thank you, Ellenore, for giving me the opportunity to serve!

FREE ~ "Weekly" READY SET GO books, Kindle Version...

We are offering one of our #readysetgo books Kindle Versions FREE each Friday and Saturday. Don’t forget to follow our author page to hear about all our new books. We added two new ones since the last newsletter – both on wolves, The Ethiopian Wolf and The Wolf Runs From Bole to Bale.

Launch of New Innovation Center in Gondar, Ethiopia

In 2019, we will start a bold new Model Program to develop an Innovation Center starting in Gondar with a goal to expand to Bahir Dar, Wollo and beyond. The Mayor of Gondar and the President of the Gondar University are ready to support. We have $20K in committed funds thanks in large part to the generous support of Mekonnen Kassa and Microsoft.

Dr. Worku Mulat Ph.D. will be leading this Model project for OHBD and has already gotten additional support for a center at Wollo University.

The centers will include a library, computer lab, art studio and writer’s workshop. It will create capacity within each community to address their greatest needs and more closely connect them to institutions of higher learning. Volunteers from Ethiopia and the Diaspora would share knowledge and expertise including technologist, artists, teachers, writers, entrepreneurs and professors. We already have a number who are ready to participate. We also have two #ReadySetGo books about this famous city on Amazon Books.