Now he's working to bring books to children in the

poverty-stricken country.

Tibebu, 50, says he was locked in an Ethiopian prison for 1½

years as a young man for protesting the country's military government. He

caught a flight from Djibouti, where he lived in a refugee camp for more than a

year, to New York in 1980 with the help of United Nations High Commission for

Refugees.

In January, the real estate agent was persuaded to travel

back to Ethiopia with his son to see how it's changed in nearly 30 years.

Tibebu said the scary thing was, very little had changed.

It was still a country where the majority of children have

little chance at an education.

"It felt like a dream," he said.

Tibebu and his 8-year-old son, Paris, visited schools to

find out that there are few books in classrooms and only a handful of community

libraries in the country. He heard about a nonprofit group called Ethiopia

Reads that plants libraries. Tibebu knew this is how he could help.

He will hold an ongoing book drive at his office, Realty

World Millennium, to try to get books in the hands of Ethiopian children. He

will turn around and sell some of the donated books to help pay for shipping

and for books that are translated into Ethiopian languages.

"Most of these children have never owned a book,"

Tibebu said. "If a child can read, the world is opened up to them."

Book donations of any reading level can be dropped off from

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at Realty World Millennium, 1486 W. 11th St.

Money donations can be sent to Ethiopia Reads, 50 South

Steele Street, Ste. 325, Denver, CO 80209.

For information: 629-3765 or www.ethiopiareads.com.

We

want to hear what you have to say. Comment on this story at www.tracypress.com, or to reach Tracy Press

reporter Danielle MacMurchy, call 830-4221 or

e-mail danielle@tracypress.com.