Yohannes IV left Ethiopia for U.S. as political refugee in 1981 . Reading storybooks to children who have no access to television or computers , Gebregeorgis believes that literacy and education will emancipate his impoverished land , gripped by HIV/AIDS . As librarian , he found there were no children 's books in Ethiopia 's main language . After reading one himself , he set up the nonprofit Ethiopia Reads and moved home .
Yohannes IV left Ethiopia for U.S. as political refugee in 1981 . As librarian , he found there were no children 's books in Ethiopia 's main language . After reading one himself , he set up the nonprofit Ethiopia Reads and moved home .