Yohannes Gebregeorgis

A fitting tribute.

https://www.facebook.com/56306074/posts/10101721700820114/?d=n

“ብኣድጊ ዝጉተት ቤተ-መጻሕፍቲ” ዘላለየ ጅግና ሲኤንኤን ዮሃንስ ገብረጊወርጊስ መን’ዩ? - BBC News ትግርኛ ቅድሚ 12 ዓመታት [2002 ኣቆጻጽራ ግእዝ] ናብ ትግራይ ኣብ ዝኸደሉ እዋን ከምዝተላለዩን ካብቲ ሽዑ እዋን ጀሚሩ ንነዊሕ ጊዜ ብስራሕ ከምዝራኸቡን ዝዛረብ መምህርን ደራስን ብርሃነ ኣቻሜ “ወለ...

It is with a heavy heart that we inform the world that Yohannes Gebregeorgis passed away in Addis Ababa on January 18, 2022 due to illness.

Born in rural Ethiopia, Yohannes had little access to books in the classroom or in the home, but became an avid reader at the age of 19 when he came upon a romance novel. It changed his life.
He fled Ethiopia as a political refugee in 1981 and put himself through school. His newfound love for books and reading led him to complete a BA in English Literature and Journalism from the University of Buffalo in 1989. After obtaining a Masters degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas, Austin in 1991, he thought he would become an academic librarian. As fate would have it, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a children’s librarian at the prestigious San Francisco Public Library afforded him an opportunity to share his passion for reading with children.

While reading books to children during story time, he thought of the children in Ethiopia who had none. It was at this time, that he wrote, “Silly Mamo” based on an Ethiopian folktale. Proceeds from the book and discarded books from the San Francisco Public Library, allowed him to return to Ethiopia in 2002 to set up a library in Ethiopia. He founded the Ethiopian Books for Children Educational Foundation later known as Ethiopia Reads. In 2010 they departed ways.

He went on to set up many libraries throughout Ethiopia, including the Segenat Children’s and Youth Library in Mekelle, a school library at Fre Sewat elementary school, a library at Myliham Elementary as well as in the small village of Debri. A Donkey Mobile Library was stationed at Sefra Jeganu, the Heroes’ Residence, a family unit for disabled members of the resistance movement.
In addition, to “Silly Mamo,” he also published “Tirhas Celebrates Ashenda,” illustrated by Rahel Blutts and translated into Tigrigna by Girmay Gebru, after experiencing an Ashenda celebration in Mekelle. He also published “Under the Tamarind Tree,” a story based on his own childhood in Negelle Borana.

He is the recipient of many awards, most notably, being named a CNN Hero in 2008 and selected to be one of the “top ten” nominees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hM1rU-Wr18

In 2003, “Silly Mamo’ was the recipient of the Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA), which is presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the US.

In July 2008, he received the Presidential Citation for International Innovation from the American Library Association.

He delivered the keynote presentation, “Literacy in Ethiopia, the Key to Development and Informed Citizenship” for the President’s Program at the American Library Association 2010 Midwinter Meeting,

In May 2010, He received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service, at Regis University, Denver, Colorado.

He was among 100 Honored Alumnae, University of Texas at Austin, “Changing the World: Stories Celebrating 100 years of Graduate Education at the University of Texas at Austin.” November 2010.

Yohannes was elected to honorary membership in the American Library Association (ALA). Honorary Membership, ALA’s highest honor, is conferred in recognition of outstanding contributions of lasting importance to libraries and librarianship. He received an honorary membership plaque in June 2011 during the Opening General Session of the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.

He was also honored by the Society of Ethiopians Established in Diaspora for his work in Developing libraries and literacy in Ethiopia. The award dinner was held at the Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center in Washington D.C. on May 24, 2015.

In 2012, he founded the Segenat Foundation, named after the Children and Youth Library he established in Mekelle to advance his work in children’s book publishing and literacy.
http://segenatfoundation.org

We ask the community to reflect on how Yohannes has impacted their lives and to keep his sons in their thoughts and prayers.

Beyond Access has truly done great things. We are proud to be part of this organization.

Literacy in Ethiopia: Using Tech to Engage Community | Beyond Access This week, Beyond Access is hosting a literacy app hackathon in Addis Ababa. As we planned the event, I began to reflect on my experiences teaching English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. When I would open the door to the new English Language Improvement Center (ELIC) at the Aman Primary Sch…

Update on the Auxumite Heritage Library and Cultural Center in Axum Ethiopia:

1. Five sea containers (3 forty feet and two 20 feet) should ship from Dubai this Monday. This should take us to 90% of the interior construction material.

2. Will be loading a 40 feet sea container this Thursday and Friday at ECDC office. To be shipped from Baltimore sometime next week.

3. Included in the sixth container will be some material for the children's area, plus the special paints for the River floor, 3 sewing machines for teaching sewing, 2 electrical transformers and over 6,000 books including 2,000 illustrated children's books.

Congratulations to all of the volunteers for their hard work in promoting this project.

The Axumite Heritage Foundation library is a major project of the Ethiopian Community Development Council, which serves as an advocate for refugees from all nations.

News coverage about Yohannes' recent award from the Society of Ethiopians Established in the Diaspora. http://ethsat.com/video/esat-dc-weely-news-may-31-2015/ (Fast forward to 32 min to see coverage)

ESAT DC Weel;y News May 31 2015 Visit the post for more.

Just published! "Abune Petros" and "Under the Tamarind Tree." Funding provided by family and friends of Dr. Thomas Hooyman. For more info contact [email protected]

Award dinner honoring Yohannes Gebregeorgis:

http://www.tadias.com/04/18/2015/seed-society-of-ethiopians-established-in-diaspora-announces-2015-honorees/

SEED: Society of Ethiopians Established in Diaspora Announces 2015 Honorees at Tadias Magazine Ethiopian Business and Lifestyle

Yohannes Gebregeorgis will be honored by his peers at the 23rd Annual Seed (Society of Ethiopians Established in Diaspora) Awards Dinner at the Georgetown University Hotel & Conference Center, Washington D.C. on Sunday, May 24th 2015. http://www.ethioseed.com/

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Sincerely Ethiopia is now available online! If you missed showing, you can now see it online. Yohannes Gebregeorgis and the Segenat Children and Youth Library is featured in a later track of the video. Direct link to the Segenat Library: https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5C9WPlcUhA?annotation_id=annotation_650498945&feature=iv&src_vid=koJ4p7152Iw

Sincerely Ethiopia |

Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder of the Segenat Foundation, was featured both in this post and the film Sincerely Ethiopia. Thank you Hellen Emeariel Kassa for your hard work in telling the many untold stories of Ethiopians who have accomplished great things.

A Documentary That Is Changing The Face Of International Development For instance, in one of the most memorable scenes of the documentary, its director Nate Araya interviews a number of locals in a taxi minivan. In all of the segments, there were no Bono, Bill Gates nor Bob Geldof explaining what is working in Ethiopia but local citizens giving us a glimpse of their ...

Melkam Genna. Merry Christmas to all. Wishing family and friends a blessed holiday season.

Abraha, Girmay, and I were very fortunate to participate in the Beyond Access conference in Cape Town. We are energized to continue the work of Library Development.

The Segenat Foundation, a member of the Beyond Access Initiative, attend the Beyond Access conference in Cape Town, South Africa, December 5-8. Nine countries from Africa and Europe attended the conference to build partnerships and exchange ideas. The event gathered brarians, development professionals, and government and community partners in order to share their experiences and generate new ideas on the ways libraries can help improve their communities.

Representing the Segenat Foundation were Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Founder; Girmay Gebru, community representative and VOA reporter; Ato Abraha, City of Mekelle.