05/16/2026
Q&A: Connecting Ethiopia and the Diaspora Through Children’s Books
Tadias Magazine
May 2026
In the final part of Tadias Magazine’s three-part series, OHBD founder Ellenore Angelidis reflects on how a family journey grew into a global literacy initiative publishing books in 15 Ethiopian languages while connecting children, communities, and cultures across Ethiopia and the diaspora.
New York (TADIAS) - In the concluding installment of Tadias Magazine’s series on Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD), founder Ellenore Angelidis shares the deeply personal story behind the organization’s evolution from a single library project in Bahir Dar into an international literacy movement rooted in Ethiopian languages, storytelling, and access to books. Based in Seattle and working closely with educators, writers, translators, Rotary partners, and communities across Ethiopia and the diaspora, OHBD has helped bring more than 600,000 books to young readers while championing the idea that every child deserves stories in their own heart language. In this conversation, Angelidis reflects on the journey, the challenges of building a “books economy,” and the larger vision driving the next chapter of the work.
Photo: Mother and daughter, Leyla and Ellenore Angelidis, at the Rotary Club of the University District in Seattle, Washington. (Courtesy photo)
Photo 2: From left: Jekap Omod, lead of the OHBD Gambella Project; Ellenore and Leyla Angelidis; and Yenenesh Shewaneh, OHBD board member and writer based in the Washington, DC metro area, at the 2025 USBBY Conference in Boston. The conference, hosted by the United States Board on Books for Young People, centered on children’s literature as a mechanism for change and action. All four participants served as panelists, sharing their work in Ethiopia through OHBD books. (Courtesy photo)
Read the full interview at Tadias.com
www.tadias.com/05/15/2026/open-hearts-big-dreams-qa-connecting-ethiopia-and-the-diaspora-through-childrens-books/
Ellenore Angelidis