Mamas

Vibrant watercolor illustrations capture the beauty and color of Mamas' daily routines in this touching tribute to mothers in Ethiopia and beyond. Most of the illustrations were inspired by photographs taken in the Harari region of Ethiopia. The historic walled city of Harar itself is located in the eastern part of Ethiopia and sits atop a hill. In 2006 Harar was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is often referred to as the fourth holy city of Islam. Also deemed the city of saints, Christian and Muslim families have lived peacefully side by side in the city for centuries. Women play many important roles in Harari culture and enjoy robust social lives built around friendship and kinship. Harari women work inside and outside of their homes as farmers, merchants and weavers in addition to traditional household roles. Women also work in labor and service, education and medicine. Simple bilingual text in French and English supports emerging readers with side by side text. Sales of this book support Open Hearts Big Dreams, a nonprofit devoted to increasing literacy in Ethiopia.

Ready Set Go Books, an Open Hearts Big Dreams Project, is focused on increasing the literacy rate in Ethiopia through giving readers books with stories in their heart languages, full of colorful illustrations with Ethiopian settings and details. Profits from book sales are used to create, print, and distribute more Ready Set Go Books to kids in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country. Ethiopia's population is 44% children, ages 0-14 (43 million out of 97 million total). Only 5.5% of children attend pre-school or kindergarten, and the adult literacy rate is 49%. Our books are based on wise Ethiopian sayings that often rhyme in Amharic. If an adult says the first half, many children can chant the second half. Sometimes the meaning of these sayings is clear. Sometimes it has to be puzzled out and argued over. But sayings and idioms and proverbs help people express truths and beliefs in unusual ways. Since late 2017, OHBD has published over 100 unique #ReadySetGo dual language titles in four Ethiopian languages plus English and has plans to publish another 100 titles and add more languages in the coming years. New titles and/or languages are added monthly; follow our author page to get new release announcements. Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund (OHBD) is a 501(3)(c) not for profit organization that believes the chance to dream big dreams should not depend on where in the world you are born. Our mission is to inspire and enable youth in Ethiopia through READY SET GO books, STEM and Innovation Projects in collaboration with individuals and organizations providing literacy, education, and leadership opportunities.