CODE-Ethiopia (CE) is a registered, non-profit non-governmental organization, established in 1994, working in the area of library development in rural areas of Ethiopia. CE has so far established 97 community libraries and trained more than 200 community librarians in Ethiopia, all connected in a library network. They have been increasing literacy in rural Ethiopian communities by establishing community libraries that draw schools, teachers, librarians and citizens together to achieve results. Its vision is to contribute to the creation of literate environments throughout Ethiopia, among both school-children and society more broadly. In the next five years its mission is to increase the rate of literacy and to establish additional community libraries in underserved areas.
CODE-Ethiopia´s success lies in the strength of community involvement, use, and value of its community libraries. Students, especially girls, who use CODE-Ethiopia´s libraries fare better at school and adults benefit from books on education, health, better farming, business and childcare. CODE-Ethiopia´s strong relationship with the Ministry of Education ensures that its work strengthens and supports national education goals. The NGO supports the entire culture of reading and writing, from the author through the publisher through the community library and the teacher to the reader. It develops authentic reading materials that take local culture into consideration, and has published hundreds of thousands of books, more than 500 unique titles in six national languages.
CODE-Ethiopia has established 97 community libraries spread across the country, each containing some 5000 books, and together servicing more than 700 academic institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It has established additional 15 community libraries under its 2012-2016 project period.
They work with stakeholders in seven regions. Its financial and material support comes from Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE) with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).
