The gift of literacy: Spokane-based nonprofit promotes a culture of reading for Ethiopian children

Growing up in the 1980s, Kassahun “Kass†Kebede did not know the luxury of computers, school buses or even a favorite book. Raised in Sendafa-Beke, located nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the rural highlands of Ethiopia, Kebede and his family worked a farm tending cows and harvesting wheat. They struggled to make ends meet. As a child, Kebede often walked three miles to school on a dirt road in harsh winter conditions. Many of his peers made that same trek with bare feet and no gloves. “Most people think it's hot there, but it is actually really cold,†he said.

Libraries were nonexistent.

At school, instructors taught by chalkboard. Books were coveted and rarely loaned out to students. Once, a teacher noticed Kebede's passion for learning and sent him home with her sole copy of a textbook. Anxious to explore it, he spilled coffee on the book while reading under a makeshift kerosene lamp forged from a tin can.

“I was terrified to go back to school and face the teacher,†he said.

Embarrassed and ashamed, Kebede played hooky from school for several days. His parents eventually convinced him to fess up about the incident.

“The teacher said, ‘You've got to pay for it,' †he recalled.

The cost for a replacement textbook was less than two dollars, but nonetheless a financial hardship for his family. Kebede and his mother sold odds and ends to come up with the money.

It was a pivotal event in his life.

About 180 children attended Kebede's elementary and middle school when he began there. Some kids dropped out. A few left for better schools. By the time he completed 12th grade, just 18 students remained. The only person from his class to pass the national college exam, Kebede was accepted at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia where he studied sociology. His education at the university was free. After graduation, he worked repairing sewing machines for a social welfare agency which helped women secure jobs. It was a grand moment of self-discovery.

“I said, ‘Wow! So I can make a difference,' †Kebede recalled.

He continued his schooling at Syracuse University in New York and was quickly initiated to the costs of a college education in the United States.

“I got a bill, an activities bill, I was shocked,†Kebede said.

While at Syracuse, he was mentored by Professor Peter Castro. Castro took Kebede under his wings treating him to restaurant meals and clothing while also providing critical moral support.

“I said, ‘Thank you,' and then he said, ‘Yeah, you can thank me, but do it for others,' †recalled Kebede.

That idea of paying things forward stuck with him.

In 2008, Kebede crossed paths with author, Jane Kurtz, the co-founder of Ethiopia Reads. Impressed by her charitable works, his own wheels to cultivate a culture of literacy for kids in his hometown of Sendafa-Beke were set into motion. After a three year stint working at Southwestern Oregon Community College, in 2015, Kebede resettled in Spokane to teach with the Sociology Department at Eastern Washington University. Despite having traveled more than 8,000 miles from his childhood home, he never lost sight of his literary vision for Sendafa-Beke.

“I made several trips to Ethiopia where I asked kids what their favorite book was … the kids looked puzzled. In short, they do not read. No favorite books. I decided they need a library,†Kebede said.

With big dreams, he founded the Spokane-based nonprofit, Libraries for Ethiopia. After sharing his ideas for a library with the mayor and community leaders of his hometown, Kebede was offered a parcel of land for the project, but only managed to raise about $5,000. Dejected, he returned to Ethiopia to deliver that bad news and was bestowed a vacant building in need of heavy renovation.

“It's not about whether you're going to succeed, you have to succeed. That's kind of how I grew up. No one told me it was impossible,†Kebede said.

The building was repaired on budget and his story was later chronicled in the Fig Tree, a nonprofit Spokane newspaper.

Proof to the reach and power of local journalism, the article triggered an outpouring of financial support. Kebede also found a friend in Karen Winston. An active member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Spokane, Winston now serves on the board of Libraries for Ethiopia. The two brainstormed fundraising ideas and Kebede attended a fall festival at the church.

“He had a table there for people to learn about what he was doing in Ethiopia and people were just so excited. They loved it,†Winston said.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church raised additional money for Kebede's nonprofit through two Share Your Love events along with an Ethiopian dinner and coffee hour. Donations also flooded in from Kebede's friends at EWU and the Spokane community.

With assistance from countless volunteers, the Sendafa-Beke Public Library opened in February.

“It's a safe place where kids can gather to read where they don't need an ID card or pass to get in … free and open to all,†Kebede said.

The library recently began hosting weekly story times for children. The events include free books and refreshments. A grant from the Spokane North Rotary provided funding for smaller-sized furniture.

“Our rotary had about $1,200 available in their International Program. We suggested that the $1,200 would do very well to bring in tables and chairs for the children in this library in Sendafa-Beke,†said Spokane North Rotary board member Chuck Rehberg.

Libraries for Ethiopia also works with the Seattle-based nonprofit, Open Hearts Big Dreams to procure bilingual books and culturally relevant reading materials for kids at a lower cost. Kebede is working to establish a library hub on the outskirts of Sendafa-Beke to better reach the 70% of Ethiopians living in rural areas.

“There's no effective public transportation,†he said.

He shared this inspirational story from his childhood in Ethiopia: Kebede said, one day, a boy arrived late to physics class. The teacher sent him away for tardiness, but the student lingered outside. After his classroom emptied, the boy jotted down three questions from the blackboard. Back at home, he struggled to solve them, but eventually scribbled down a single answer. The next day, his professor shared that the questions were famous physics stumpers considered impossible to solve. Shocked, the student announced, ‘But professor, I solved one of the questions.'

“I feel my life has been a story of not hearing ‘impossible,' †Kebede said. “Ignorance is bliss. We solved one of the questions with one library, but there are 22,000 students and 142,000 residents in Sendafa-Beke.â€

Down the road, Kebede hopes to “plant another library†in his Ethiopian hometown.

“We do accept donations,†he said.

Cynthia Reugh can be reached at cynthia13048@gmail.com