Room to Read Blog

Photoblog from Zambia: Meet the Next Generation of World-Changers

Last month, eight teens (ages 15-23) from all around the world gathered in Zambia to embark on Room to Read’s first-ever Teen Trek. Along with their parents (or in some cases, grandparents), Nick, Tegan, Kate, David, Kyle, Rachel, Robert and James spent a week in the Lusaka province, visiting schools and libraries, and learning more about what they can do to support the global education movement.

Their story is a powerful one, and best told through the photos they brought back with them. This photoblog is a taste of exactly that. Our thanks to all of our participants for making the Teen Trek such a success, and to the Room to Read Zambia team for being a gracious host.

 

 

Learn more about how students of all ages can get involved with Room to Read through our Students Helping Students initiative.

Guest blog from Australia: Best-selling Author Markus Zusak Celebrates Children's Book Week

This past week, Australia celebrated Children’s Book Week—the oldest running children’s festival in the country. At Room to Read, we love celebrating reading, so we asked Australian author Markus Zusak to mark the occasion by sharing what he loves most about books.

Markus is the author of the internationally best-selling novel The Book Thief, a father, and a Room to Read ambassador.

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It’s only when you sit down to do a one-off blog about your day that you realise how much you depend on words, and reading and writing.

I’m writing this after reading There’s a Wocket in My Pocket for possibly the four hundred and fifty-eighth time to put my daughter to bed. And I still love it.

To tell you the truth, Dr. Seuss is almost a god at our house. The books are lined up like the silliest soldiers ever. A giant picture of Sam-I-Am stands proudly in our children’s bedroom. When I walk past, I feel like he’s winking at me. He’s saying, ‘Oi, Markus. Quick. Come here…Do you like green eggs and ham?’ And I feel like shouting back: ‘I DO NOT LIKE THEM, SAM-I-AM!’

But I’m lying.

I do like them, or at least I know I’ll come around.

Most days, I work as early as I can, and it’s the best job in the world because I’m not me anymore. I get to travel thousands of miles, within myself.  Most importantly, I’m allowed to attempt the magic act of believing something that isn’t true.

That’s what made me want to be a writer.

It was reading stories and novels and knowing that none of it was real, but believing it anyway. That, to me, is the best magic act in the world; every time I sit down and read, I see a rabbit pulled out of a hat. I get to be the rabbit, or at least talk to it, or hear what it has to say. Every time I sit down to write, I try to find a new way to make those same things happen for someone else.

In the end, I realise how lucky I am. I have so many stories at my fingertips because there are so many books on the shelves here.

Tomorrow night I hope we’ll choose The Sleep Book instead of There’s a Wocket in My Pocket. It might be because I’m slightly scared of the vug under the rug…but it would also be timely.

In The Sleep Book, Dr. Seuss goes about counting how many kids and creatures are going to sleep at that exact moment. For me, it will also be a realisation that more and more kids in the world are being read aloud to, with the help of Room to Read.

Guest Blog from Laos: Looking Ahead to the Next Five Years

On a recent trip to Laos, our Regional Director for Asia, Jon Beaulieu, signed a five-year agreement with the government of Laos to extend our programs there. He shares his thoughts on the experience, as well as our work in the country so far in a guest post from the field.

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Last February, I went to Laos to meet with our team on the ground there to discuss Room to Read’s Global Strategy and how it can be localized to further our partnership with the government. The goal was to find ways to make a bigger impact in the country, and the government, which is currently encouraging growth through private sector investment, was enthusiastic from the start.

What began as months of strategic planning between our local team and the Ministriy of Education, became an official Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed into effect on July 28, outlining the next five years of our partnership.

It was an incredible experience working closely with the various government entities and teams on the ground to come to a consensus about our goals for the next five years, with the best interest of the children of Laos at the forefront of our discussions.

The new MoU outlines our programs and targets over the next five years, including establishing 500 libraries, building 150 schools, publishing 75 new Lao-language children’s books, and supporting the holistic education of an additional 1,500 girls.

In addition to those very specific targets, Room to read will focus on maximizing the sustainability of our investments in Laos. By partnering with communities and the government, we seek to ensure continued quality and long-term success for our programs in the country, including the 851 libraries and 172 schools we established in Room to Read Laos’ first five years of operation.

Read more about our programs in Laos.

 

Guest Blog from India: U.S. Ambassador Gets a Closer Look at a Room to Read Library in New Delhi

This is a guest post from Sunisha Ahuja, Room to Read's Country Director for India (pictured).

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The excitement was palpable when we reached the MCD Andrews Ganj Primary School, with dozens of children sitting on the floor of the library, poised to meet their special guest. The room had been buzzing since the day began—after all, a visit from a U.S. Ambassador is not something that happens every day!

“We are very excited that the ambassador has come to visit our school today,” said Abhilasha, one of the library's facilitators. “The children have been preparing for her visit for two days and learning new poems.”

Melanne Verveer, the U.S. Government’s Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, is one of the most high-profile visitors the school has ever seen, and the children were eager to show her what they had learned. Her visit—the result of an emerging partnership between Room to Read and the U.S. government—started off with a traditional Indian welcome, where she was greeted with flowers and a song, sung by the school’s 1st grade class.

After the welcome, one 5^th grader, Sachin, read a book aloud to the ambassador about the power of friendship. It was the guest’s turn next. Selecting an English-language book from the library, Ambassador Verveer read to her hosts, with a student volunteer translating each page into Hindi as she read—an exciting experience for the children who had never before witnessed such an interaction.

“India is going to celebrate Independence Day soon,” Kiran, a 5^th grader, shared with the ambassador. “I am drawing children flying kites!”

“Do you want to be an artist when you grow up,” asked the ambassador. Kiran nodded enthusiastically.

Ambassador Verveer then met with 10 of our Girls' Education program scholars. “I had never imagined that I could become an engineer one day,” said Bharati, who was recently admitted to a graduate computer science program at a college in New Delhi.

“If I wasn’t here today, I would be married,” shared Shweta, another one of the girls, whose aspirations now include starting her own business—a dream she's had since participating in an entrepreneurial skill development workshop through our program.

Ambassador Verveer had one final question for the girls, “What is the biggest change that you notice in yourselves today?”

A few spoke up immediately: “We are confident and able to speak to you,” they shared, adding, “we never imagined that we would meet someone like you.”

More photos from the Ambassador’s visit:

 

Read more about our Girls' Education program and about our work in India.

 

Show and Tell: Story Time at Chreav Primary School

This post is part of the ongoing series, Show and Tell, where we bring you photos and stories collected by Room to Read team members on the road. 

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Today’s show and tell comes from Danielle Reichner, a senior global program operations officer based out of our San Francisco global headquarters.  

Danielle is currently traveling to several of our program sites in Asia, supporting our teams in-country as they plan their next year of operation. During her time in Cambodia, Danielle visited Chreav Primary School, where she witnessed a reading competition. Each child in the competition had memorized their favorite book, and presented it aloud to their audience, Danielle included. 

Here are some of her photos from that special day: