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Monmouth College building ties with Ethiopian village

Jane Kurtz grew up in Ethiopia with her sister, Caroline. The two are children of Presbyterian missionaries and lived near the small village of Maji.

After the Kurtz sisters graduated Monmouth College in the early 70s, they continued their close ties to Ethiopia. Jane helped found Ethiopia Reads, a non-profit that works alongside communities to build schools and libraries while boosting literacy.

Now, Jane and Caroline are participating in the “Odyssey II” project to Ethiopa where artists from the US and Ethiopia will create artwork to be sold in the US to benefit Ethiopia Reads.

Monmouth Associate Development Officer Jeri Candor will be will join them as a photographer and two children’s books written by Chicago-native Daphne Nelson, a Monmouth senior, will be read to children in Maji.

Furthermore, a class will be creating a business and marketing plan for an apple orchard in the community around Maji.

As Monmouth College Communications Director Jeff Rankin tells WGIL, the series of projects impacts several facets of the school.

“Students can learn in multiple disciplines from one story that may be happening and be connected to a part of the world through one of our graduates,” Rankin says. “It’s really a neat symbiotic relationship.”

Rankin says students in Ethiopia will fill in blank pages in one of the books to be displayed at Monmouth college once the Kurtz sisters return.

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