It’s been years in the making And we’re proud to declare Zak the Yak has arrived And his story’s quite rare
In the Nepal Himalayas He sets out on a quest To bring books to the children He will work without rest
With his two young helpers Named Manju and Arul The team has a simple goal Books for every child in the school
To find out the ending We invite you to read for yourself We hope Zak’s tale will inspire These books to fly off the shelf!
We are proud to announce that Room to Read Founder and Board Chair, John Wood, has published his first children’s book, Zak the Yak With Books on His Back. In fun and rhythmic prose, Wood tells the story of sturdy, lovable Zak, a yak whose determination and strength help to bring thousands of books to a rural village in Nepal.
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at the Republic of Tea, who have underwritten the printing costs of the book, every dollar raised from Zak the Yak With Books on His Back funds Room to Read’s educational programs. The book's publication coincides with Room to Read's 10 year anniversary and the triumphs that accompany it: establishing our 10,000th library, opening our 1,000th school and funding the education of 10,000 girls.
We have to admit, we were intrigued when we were invited to join something called the Conspiracy For Good (CFG) –- a first-of-its-kind interactive experience from the imaginative and Emmy award-winning mind of “Heroes” creator, Tim Kring. To hear him describe the project in his own words, click here.
The idea was to combine Tim’s storytelling abilities with Nokia's Ovi platform to create a dynamic experience using interactive theatre, mobile and alternate reality gaming and more, to empower you, the audience, to take real-life action and create positive change in the world. It’s a unique blending of fact and fiction that they call "Social Benefit Storytelling."
If you haven't yet been following the conspiracy, since June, users from all over the world have been logging on to www.ConspiracyForGood.com and following the interactive mystery of a school library in the village of Chataika, Zambia, where a teacher (Nadirah) has gone missing, a shipment of books has been hijacked and a shady corporation may be behind it all. Sound intriguing yet? Followers are playing along and uncovering clues online that are furthering the narrative, and in doing so, they are helping to eventually build a real-life library stocked with children’s books.
Confused? Stay with us because here’s where we come in…
Uniquely interwoven into the fictional plot, Room to Read has become part of the Conspiracy For Good storyline operating alongside Nadirah, the main character, and the CFG collective, or secret "members” that are fighting the forces of social and environmental injustice. The good news is that in the narrative, when the books are found and Nadirah is located thanks to the Conspiracy for Good, Nokia will establish five real-life Room to Read libraries in Zambia, including one to be built at the Chataika Basic School (which really exists!). Plus, Nokia will fund the education of 50 Girls’ Education Program scholars in the country.
The "real" books for the new libraries will be furnished by Room to Read’s long-time partner, the Pearson Foundation, an organization that has teamed up with Nokia to establish a one-for-one giving campaign, whereby a new English-language book will be donated to a Room to Read library for every digital book read online at www.wegivebooks.com.
Catch up on the storyline here and join the conspiracy today to follow the clues and see if you can figure out what's next as the plot thickens.
And don't think we haven't had some fun with this as well! Already some ingenious trackers have cornered Room to Read Founder John Wood to get to the bottom of things. Here's what he had to say about the Chataika situation and being a Conspiracy For Good "member" ;)
They’ve done it again! In just 12 short months, global software company Atlassian has once again exceeded all expectations by raising an incredible $500,000 for Room to Read through their Starter license program, which you can read more about here.
The promotion was launched last fall as an extension of the overwhelmingly successful Stimulus Package that was introduced in April 2009. Through the promotion, small software startups can purchase six of Atlassian’s most popular software products for just $10 each, with all proceeds benefitting Room to Read programs in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
The funding from Atlassian is already making a big difference, with current and future projects to include 34 new libraries, four schools and two local language books. Money is also being set aside to provide 250 scholarships for the holistic education of participants in Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program. All told, more than 32,000 children will have benefitted from educational opportunities thanks to the Start License promotion.
According to Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes, selecting Room to Read as their charity partner was an easy choice after having been inspired for years by our efforts to promote literacy. What was unexpected, he said, was how quickly the promotion “took on a life of its own,” with 31,000 licenses sold to date.
The software company’s support of Room to Read is an extension of the their model wherein 1% of employee time goes to volunteer work, 1% of company equity goes to the Atlassian foundation and 1% of products are donated to non-profits. It’s a model that, according to Room to Read Founder John Wood, “shows how companies can succeed while also doing good for their community.”
Atlassian was also a major player in the Financial Times’ seasonal appeal to readers this year, which raised over $4 million for Room to Read. The company pledged to match readers’ donations up to $100,000, effectively doubling the impact of those readers’ individual contributions.
“If we are to teach real peace in this world…we shall have to begin with the children.” – Gandhi
Exciting news from India! The Indian Premier League (IPL) has officially kicked off its third season and has chosen to put its incredible popularity to good use – by partnering with Room to Read to shed some light on the country’s educational issues and challenge its 200+ million viewers to do something about it.
Of all the world’s illiterate people, approximately 35% live in India; and, unless drastic measures are taken to address the issue, it’s estimated that by 2020 that figure will skyrocket to over 50%. What’s more, women in India are nearly twice as likely as men to be illiterate, pointing to serious gender disparity in education.
That’s why IPL has pledged to promote Room to Read’s work throughout the tournament. Both during games and through social media, IPL will challenge cricket-lovers around the world to recognize the gravity of the issues India faces around literacy and inspire them to get involved.
“We are thrilled that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has identified this cause and has come forward to support our mission. This tie-up will bring the issue of illiteracy to the forefront of the national consciousness and help create awareness about the solutions that we must implement to ensure that all children, regardless of gender or background, have access to enhanced educational opportunities,” said Dinesh Shrestha, Room to Read Co-founder (and acting India country director).
Having taken note of Room to Read’s impressive results in the country since 2003 (3,200 libraries established, 620,000 local language books printed in five languages, and 5,500 years of girls’ education funded), IPL has chosen to throw their weight behind the organization, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them on our team.
Taking the challenge directly to cricket fans, Room to Read’s Chief Program Officer, Dhir Jhingran, proclaimed in a recent interview with IPL, “Just as our favorite cricket players are batting for their fans, we are all collectively batting for the children of this country. We are batting for their rights and their futures!”
The new year is bringing new (and great changes) to Room to Read and to start our announcements, we’re thrilled to welcome Barclays Capital president Jerry Del Missier and Harvard education professor Fernando Reimers to our board of directors. Last but not least, we’re excited to report that Dr. Cory Heyman will be joining our management team as strategic advisor.
For those that don’t know these gentlemen's distinguished backgrounds, we’ll tell you about some of their many accomplishments below:
Jerry Del Missier is Barclays Capital President and Co-Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking. Jerry joins the Room to Read’s board of directors after serving as a founding member of our U.K. advisory board and with a distinguished background in international finance. Most recently, Jerry was appointed to the Barclays Group Executive Committee at Barclays Capital, where he is responsible for the firm’s global markets businesses, encompassing the trading, sales and research functions globally. Before joining Barclays Capital in 1997, Jerry was the senior managing director of derivatives products for Bankers Trust in London.
Fernando Reimers is Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and Director of International Education Policy at Harvard University. Like Jerry, Fernando also is joining the Room to Read board after having previously served on its advisory board. Prior to joining the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Fernando was a senior education specialist at the World Bank. He has extensive experience in the area of international development assistance with the United States Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and other development organizations. Fernando is best known for his theory of 'Informed Dialogue', an approach to bridge scientific research and education policy through the mapping and mobilization of social networks.
Dr. Cory Heyman is joining the executive team of Room to Read as strategic advisor supporting the organization’s Girls’ Education program and monitoring and evaluation units. Cory has acted as a close advisor to Room to Read since 2004 when he assisted in developing the organization’s first monitoring and evaluation study. He has also been an active member of its advisory board since 2008. Cory will be starting full time with Room to Read in March and bringing along his extensive experience in international development and education, having recently served as the vice president and deputy director of the Academy for Educational Development’s Center for Gender Equity. Cory has worked at the nexus of public, private, and non-profit sectors for nearly two decades and brings with him great experience in managing large-scale educational projects in the United States, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
"We are thrilled and honored to have such talented, smart, passionate and well-connected people joining the leadership team of Room to Read. Each will provide his incredible insight and extraordinary talent to help Room to Read to 'grow with quality' as we begin our second decade," said John Wood, Founder and Executive Chairman. “All three of these amazing individuals will bring such a wealth of knowledge and experience that will make us even more effective as we pursue our goal of bringing educational opportunities to 10 million children across the developing world. I can say with complete confidence and pride that a strong team just got stronger."
This is only the start to what we have in store for Room to Read in 2010. Watch this space for more to come!
To read the press release about this announcement, click here.
Room to Read's Board of Directors also includes Hilary Valentine (Chair), Christopher Beer, Craig Bruya, Scott Kapnick, Kim Anstatt Morton, Dambisa Moyo, John Ridding, Muneer A. Satter and John Wood. Click here for full bios of our board.
Below is a re-post from Twitter's official blog from December 30, 2009. We are re-posting it here with permission by the author.
When Twitter announced The Fledgling Initiativein October—making and selling wine to benefit an organization called Room to Read, I was thrilled.
This past month, my enthusiasm and commitment increased dramatically when I had the chance to visit some of the sites where Room to Read works in India.
Teachers and students in Hardiwar gave me the warmest of welcomes. I was given the opportunity to help children read books in English and one group of students even invited me to sing a song for them. My performance of Itsy Bitsy Spider (see above—pit stains included), sent the kids into fits of laughter.
The schools in these areas face incredible obstacles but the community approaches problems with passion and vigor. One school was having trouble with a dangerous elephant so parents volunteered to take turns walking the kids to school and would even sleep there for a night or two. When I was little there were snow days but nothing like this. Seeing kids get excited about learning to read made my heart skip a few beats, and made me feel proud to work at a company that chooses to partner with world-changing organizations like Room to Read. Here are some of the photos from my trip and you can learn more about Room to Read at their web site.
We heard this morning from our Country Director of Room to Read Sri Lanka, Glen de Mel, with some exciting news:
It is with great pleasure that we inform you that we have successfully concluded the 2009 Local Language Publishing book launch with the Honorable Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Rathnasiri Wickremanayake.
The Prime Minister spent almost two hours with our team — along with our authors and illustrators — and each author and illustrator personally presented their titles to the Prime Minister. One of the leading authors in the country, Dr. Leel Gunasekera, made a speech on our local language book titles and following, the Honorable Rathnasiri Wickremanayake gave a speech highlighting Room to Read's efforts and presented us with a Letter of Appreciation under his seal.
At this event, we ceremonially handed over 44,000 books (approximately LKR 15 million or USD $131,153 ) to be distributed among the children in IDP camps and re-settled areas in the war-affected north. These books will serve 22,000 children and provide each child both an English-language and a Tamil-language book.
***
This news is on the heels of the Financial Times reporting from our programs in Sri Lanka. Read more through the links below and don't forget that all donations made toward the Financial Times campaign (up to US$1 million) will be matched thanks to the generosity of three of Room to Read's corporate donors: Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Atlassian.
Room to Read builds libraries in Sri Lanka December 18, 2009
It looks like a normal prize-giving ceremony at a normal school. Children are arranged by age on rows of seats in the barn-like hall. They wait patiently, a burble of chatter rising on the boiling air towards the tin roof....Read
the full article
Drawing out talent to create children’s books December 15, 2009
By day, R.C. Pradeep Kumar runs the gauntlet of Sri Lanka’s political and ethnic divide as a cartoonist working for a Tamil daily newspaper.By night and at weekends, he turns to the less politically sensitive pursuit of drawing illustrations for children’s books...Read the full article
Room to Read's results in Sri Lanka December 11, 2009
The first thing I noticed about 11-year-old Kasun Amarasinghe was the state of his shirt. Theoretically white, it was tinged with a bluish sheen, possibly the result of being washed together with his navy blue shorts.....Read the full article
It is an exciting week for Room to Read in the press. This week, Barron’s magazine unveiled their cover story on The 25 Best Givers and John Wood and Room to Read ranked 11th out of 25 worldwide philanthropists.
Being on the list at all was an honor itself. Being ranked 11th above Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George Soros, Peter and Jennifer Buffett, Brad Pitt and "Magic" Johnson was truly humbling. But, to be included in the list along with our funders and friends Jeff Skoll and Bill and Melinda Gates was the icing on the cake!
This list itself was compiled by Barron’s, in collaboration with the Global Philanthropy Group, to highlight the “best of the best” and most effective charities when people are looking for the greatest “bang for their buck.” As reporter Suzanne McGee suggests, “With the recession squeezing donors and charities alike, it's more important than ever to make sure your giving really makes a difference.”
Room to Read has always been committed to transparency with our donors and considers itself, as Barron's called those on the list, a "high-impact giving" organization that takes care with each dollar invested with us. Especially considering the state of the economy during this giving season, we are particularly proud of our accomplishments and we thank Barron’s for recognizing us and bestowing us with this award. Read the full article here.
And...because we have your attention, we also can’t help mentioning that the Financial Times published their second large feature story on us in their FT Weekend edition on Saturday about the Kamlari girls we support in Nepal. In Servant to schoolgirl, Asia editor David Pilling profiles Asha Tharu, whose parents sold her at age five into bonded labor for USD $40. She worked as a servant for eight years until one of Room to Read’s partner organizations rescued her. Room to Read now supports her in school and provided her with special classes to get her caught up to the mainstream curriculum. Asha is now a happy 15-year-old schoolgirl, with an aptitude for math; on the weekends she works at a brick factory to help her elder sister pay for her schooling. Read the full story here.
You can read all the Room to Read stories from the Financial Times by visiting www.roomtoread.org/FT and don’t forget, through this FT seasonal campaign, all donations are being matched thanks to our corporate sponsors: Barclays Capital, Atlassian and Credit Suisse.
LONDON: 'Tis the season to be thankful and Room to Read certainly has much to be grateful for!
I’m now in London for the kick-off of the Financial Times’ annual seasonal giving campaign that this year benefits Room to Read and it's been a whirlwind of activity and excitement!
In case you haven't heard, we were chosen as the Financial Times' charity partner for its 2009-2010 seasonal appeal in a vote by 1,600 FT employees worldwide. Read the official press release here.
Also as part of the launch, tonight in London I joined the Financial Times CEO John Ridding, Room to Read Board Member Dambisa Moyo, our UK Advisory board and staff, our corporate sponsors, and many others, at a celebration of our partnership at the elegant Quintessentially Soho at the House of St Barnabas. The evening included our first generous donor commitment to fund a school in Nepal as part of the campaign! We hope to replicate that success and enthusiasm at other launch events with the FT that are planned for Hong Kong and New York in early December.
Just as exciting is that starting today and through mid-January, the Financial Times will run print and online stories as well as public service announcements on behalf of Room to Read to raise money and increase awareness of our work. The first story, All sitting comfortably? by FT Asia editor, David Pilling, hit news stands this morning and paints a great picture of our work in Laos. We will be posting all the upcoming stories and videos at www.roomtoread.org/FT as well as www.FT.com/appeal throughout December.
FINALLY, all donations made to the campaign (up to US$1 million) will be matched dollar for dollar and pound for pound thanks to the generosity of three of Room to Read's corporate donors: Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Atlassian.
It goes without saying that Room to Read is truly honored to be the selected beneficiary for this Financial Times campaign and we will do all that we can to reach our goal of raising US$2 million over the next 8 weeks. Millions of children are counting on us!
To make it easy, we are accepting donations in seven different currencies to make sure everyone who wants to support this campaign can. Visit www.roomtoread.org/FT and consider making a gift that will give more children the chance to learn.
We want this to be the most successful appeal in Financial Times’ history and we appreciate anything you can do to help us to accomplish this dream through the incredible networks that you bring to Room to Read!
-- John Wood, founder and executive chairman of Room to Read
P.S.To mark the launch, the Financial Times and Quintessentially are also holding an Online Charity Auction through eBay where you can bid on some exclusive luxury and money-can't-buy items such as: a rare signed auction booklet for J.K Rowling’s ‘The Tale of Beedle the Bard’, your name as character in a future novel by bestselling writer Adele Parks, a holiday for two at the Half Moon Resort in Jamaica, and an elite membership to Quintessentially for one year. Bidding has already started and goes through November 30 at http://www.quintessentially.com/auction/. Happy bidding!
Last night, the Microsoft Alumni Foundation announced the first class of Integral Fellows, a fellowship program that recognizes and supports a Microsoft alumnus who has made a meaningful difference to others by contributing to the community.
The 66 nominees were narrowed to six finalists by a group of prestigious judges: Former President Jimmy Carter, Bill Drayton, Bill Gates Sr., Pierre Omidyar, and Tom Tierney. Of the six finalists honored at the gala last night, John Wood was announced as one of the three inaugural Integral Fellows along with Trish Millines Dziko of Technology Access Foundation and Patrick Awuah of Ashesi University.
John left Microsoft in 1999 after visiting a primary school in Nepal and seeing first-hand the absolute poverty and extreme lack of educational resources. As a result, he started Room to Read in 2000, and since then the organization has provided educational opportunities to over 3.1 million children across Asia and Africa.
I’m very proud to be a member of the Room to Read Board of Directors. The work this organization does is outstanding, and the momentum continues to build as we move forward into our second decade. Room to Read is working with the Microsoft Alumni Foundation to identify how to partner in a variety of ways. We look forward to their support of and engagement in our work so that more former Microsofties can join us in our efforts to change the world through the lifelong gift of education.
Please join me in congratulating John and Room to Read for receiving this honor. Our accomplishments are due to a growing global network of supporters, and we thank you for being a part of it!
-- Craig Bruya, Former Microsoft Employee, Room to Read Board Member
To watch a video on John from the event and to read more about the Microsoft Alumni Foundation, click here.
