Room to Read
An Overview
Room To Read is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide children in the developing world with an opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education and help them break free from the cycle of poverty. Room To Read has already established over 5,000 libraries and 400 schools for children in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Clinician's Choice is proud to be associated with this wonderful organization and is currently sponsoring the building of a new school in Nepal.
There are more than 770 million illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds of whom are women and girls. In addition, there are over 100 million children not currently enrolled in primary school and millions of others not currently in secondary school. The need for Room to Read's educational programs spans the globe.
Mission
The Room To Read Story
Founded in 2000, Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure. This not-for-profit organization seeks to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education is a lifelong gift that empowers people to ultimately improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only an education can provide, Room To Read strives to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.
Brief History
John Wood, Founder and CEO, launched Room to Read after a trek through Nepal. He visited several local schools and was amazed by the warmth and enthusiasm of the students and teachers, but also saddened by the shocking lack of resources. Driven to help, John quit his senior executive position with Microsoft Corporation and built a global team to work with rural villages to build sustainable solutions to their educational challenges.
Room to Read started working with rural communities in Nepal in 2000 to build schools and establish libraries. The organization's geographic reach expanded rapidly as significant needs and opportunities were identified in Vietnam (2001), Cambodia (2002) and India (2003). The tragedy of the Asian Tsunami in December 2004 provided a catalyst for entry into Sri Lanka followed shortly by Laos. In 2006, Room To Read expanded to its second continent by launching Room to Read in South Africa.
Programs
Room To Read's Educational Programs
Room to Read has developed a holistic, multi-pronged approach to help children in the developing world gain the lifelong gift of education. The approach includes the following programs:
1. Partnering with villages to build schools
2. Establishing bi-lingual libraries and filling them with both donated English books and local language books purchased in-country or self-published, creating a colorful space with posters, games, furniture, and flooring
3. Sourcing new content from local writers and illustrators and publishing high-quality local language children's books
4. Establishing labs to provide students with vocational skills and employment access
5. Funding long-term girls' scholarships for young girls who would otherwise not have access to an education.
To increase the likelihood for success and long-term sustainability, Room to Read enlists community involvement and co-investment through our Challenge Grant model. Villages often raise a significant portion of the overall expenditure in the form of dedicated space, labor, materials and/or small amounts of cash. These challenge grants act as catalysts for community building while also maximizing the local participation and expertise brought to our programs.
Room To Read hires local staff, who are personally vested in their nation's educational progress and are empowered to make key programmatic decisions within their country. They are already familiar with the language, conditions, customs and governments and understand the specific needs of the educational system.
The Results To Date
Since its inception in 2000, Room to Read has impacted the lives of over 1.7 million children by constructing 442 schools, establishing over 5,160 libraries, publishing 226 new local language children's titles representing over 2 million books, donating over 2.2 million English language children's books, funding 4,036 long-term girls' scholarships, and by establishing 155 computer and language labs.
Over the past few years, Room to Read has received several distinguished awards, including The Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and the Sand Hill Group Foundation's Social Entrepreneurship Award. In addition to these organizational awards, Founder and CEO John Wood has been selected for several honors, including the Draper Richards Foundation Fellowship, the Young Global Leader award from the World Economic Forum, and Time Magazine's Asia's Heroes Award.
©2002-2006 Room to Read. All Rights Reserved.
Interested In Helping Room To Read?
For more information about Room To Read's educational projects please go to http://www.roomtoread.org |
