This two-page case study describes CODE-Ethiopia’s Ebooks and Family Literacy pilot project which improves the environment for early literacy development of pre-school children in rural areas of Ethiopia.

The project, which is funded by the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), uses local language books in print and electronic formats, desktop computers, projectors and projection screens to offer family literacy sessions, in which parents learn to help their children interact with books.

The project works through rural community libraries. Assessment by CODE-Ethiopia found that print awareness levels of children who took part in the project improved from 54% to 78%. Based on the success of the pilot project, CODE-Ethiopia has trained 22 more community libraries to provide family literacy programmes in their communities.