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Ethiopia native brings free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of children in his homeland.

Janet Lee
Nominated Yohannes Gebregeorgis | HIS STORY

The nomination of Yohannes Gebregeorgis as a 2008 CNN Hero has been over thirty years in the making. Although I have only met Yohannes twice, I feel that I have known him my entire life, for I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Ethiopia, serving from 1974-76. During that time I taught English in a remote village where my students would sit four or five to a desk and share a single textbook. There were far more boys than girls because of the distances that the students needed to travel and the perceived need to keep the girls sheltered and closer to home.

Shortly after my arrival, the government was overthrown. By chance, I was in Addis Ababa and watched as Emperor Haile Selassie left a church, perhaps with a premonition of what was to come. The next day, it was over. Thousands of young men filled the streets chanting and for a short time I felt relatively invisible. I was not fearful, but that could not be said for many Ethiopians.

Reports from the BBC and the Voice of America reported daily of imprisonments and executions. It is entirely possible that Yohannes’ and my paths crossed during that time. Perhaps we shared a taxi ride, or had tea in the same bar, or stood in line at the post office, or ate 'Injera and Wat' at the same restaurant. I returned to the tranquility of my remote village and Yohannes feared for his life.

In the thirty plus years since I have returned to Colorado, not a single day has gone by that I have not thought about Ethiopia and the beauty of its people. I often wondered how I could give back to a country that gave so much to me. Then one day, I saw a note in the newspaper about an organization called Ethiopia Reads that was building children’s libraries in Ethiopia. When I checked out the web site, to my great surprise, I discovered that the U.S. headquarters was in Denver of all places. As a degreed librarian, this seemed more than fate. It was then that I met Yohannes for the first time, heard his story, listened to his dreams, discovered how much he had accomplished, understood the sacrifices he had made, and knew that there was a role that I could play. I began first as a volunteer networking within the library community.

While watching the first all-star tribute, I knew that Yohannes belonged on that stage. The following season, I submitted the nomination fully confident when I hit the “send” button that he was on his way to being named a Hero. I must admit that I didn’t sleep the night before the final announcement, the announcement expected even earlier in the Mountain Time Zone. So much good can come from this. The first step to raising a people out of poverty is through the delivery of literacy, especially to young girls. There is a saying, “When you educate a boy, you educate a man. When you educate a girl, you educate a community.” Building free children’s libraries allows children to dream and lets their imaginations soar.