Room to Read Blog

Literacy by the Numbers: Guest Blog from Our Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Team

This is a guest post from Peter Cooper, Room to Read's Senior Officer for Research, Monitoring and Evaluation.

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As an organization, Room to Read has always been committed to the sustainability of our programs. We know that a library is only as good as the number of lives it enriches, so we design each and every one of our programs to ensure the greatest possible sustainability and sense of community ownership.

In an effort to learn more about the sustainability of our school libraries and to put our own theories to the test, we launched a multi-country study in 2011 that examined a statistically representative sample of our post-completion libraries (i.e., projects that have “graduated” from our program and are now run without support from Room to Read). Over a period of months, independent evaluators funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation visited 517 school libraries in three countries—Cambodia, Nepal and South Africa—to see how effectively each project was functioning on its own and where Room to Read might enhance our program to improve the odds of success for all school libraries.

Our team put together the infographic below, featuring highlights from the study, so that our supporters around the globe can catch a glimpse of what we found. Take a look (to view the image full-size, use this link):

Read more about Research, Monitoring and Evaluation on our website.

Guest Blog from John Wood: Kicking off the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative

The excitement is palpable as the world descends upon New York for today’s opening of the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). I’ve been lucky enough to attend CGI on behalf of Room to Read for the past five years, and now sit on CGI’s Advisory Board. Every year I’m in awe of how the forum has turned into a catalyst for game-changing partnership and collaboration in the field of international development. Each year, I leave with new connections and new ideas that we have been able to implement to make a difference for millions of children across the developing world.

This year’s CGI will be no different. Room to Read will unveil an innovative report, the inspiration for which was born at a meeting convened by CGI last spring. At the meeting, Cory Heyman, our chief program officer, met with representatives from FHI 360 and Amenons Nos Filles á l’Ecole (ANFE), two other nonprofits working in the field of girls’ education. Despite the multitude of organizations around the world dedicated to girls’ education, they noted, there has been very little research dedicated to identifying the factors that contribute to girls’ success in reaching higher education.

Together they questioned: If we know that gender bias, safety concerns, early marriage, pregnancy and financial disadvantage are major roadblocks to tertiary education, then what are the success factors that can help girls in the developing world overcome them? In other words—let’s not focus on the barriers, let’s learn about the real-world solutions that actually work.

As the idea for a study identifying such factors began to take shape, The MasterCard Foundation, with whom we first connected at CGI 2010, stepped in to provide guidance and financial support—kicking off six months of rigorous research.

The fact is, even under the most challenging conditions, there are young women across the developing world charting new territory and taking the bold step of seeking higher education. We wanted to hear from them—in their own words—about the factors that were positively contributing to their success.

Our team conducted in-person interviews with 160 of these trailblazing young women in Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India and Mauritania, and found that despite political, cultural, and economic differences between their communities, the girls identified very similar success factors as being instrumental in their ability to reach university.

The young women we met shared personal stories that illuminated their common attributes of determination and courage. Many cited the encouragement of their families, teachers and communities as being paramount to their success, coupled with the material and emotional support they'd received from nonprofit organizations.

For Room to Read, these findings will help shape our Girls’ Education program curriculum, which we’ve built out over the years to go beyond financial support and to include extensive life skills training and mentoring as well as family and community engagement.

By releasing the final report at this year’s CGI Annual Meeting, we hope that these girls’ voices can reach across borders and help shape best practices in the field of girls’ education for years to come.

Read the complete report, Through Their Eyes, In Their Voices: Young women in five countries share their experiences navigating tertiary education, on our website.

Tune in tomorrow at 3:20pm EST to watch John Wood answer your questions live from CGI in an interview with Randi Zuckerberg broadcast on Facebook.

It's Her Choice: Proud Fathers and Grandfathers Support Their Girl's Education

Room to Read is in the midst of conducting a post-secondary transition study of our Girls’ Education Program. Researcher and guest blogger, Kirsten Anderson, traveled to India, Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia to interview girls who are currently enrolled in our Girls' Education program as well as those program alumnae and parents. Findings from this study will be released later this year. In celebration of Father’s Day, Kirsten shares her conversation with a grandfather and father in Cambodia. This is the third in the series of blog posts from her travels. (Read her previous posts here and here.)

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There is a Khmer proverb ស្រីបង្វិលចង្រ្កានមិនជុំ (srey bang vil chang kran min chum) that literally translates to: “Women are unable to walk around the stove.” The meaning being that woman can never be far from the kitchen. Yet the participants in our Girls' Education program have strayed from the kitchen into the classroom—the most fortunate of which have the support of their family, including fathers and grandfathers. Meet, for example, Mr. Huon, the proud grandfather of a girl scholar in rural Cambodia. Sitting on retired school benches in the shade of a teacher’s home, he stayed behind after our official research meeting ended to discuss girls’ education.

Mr. Huon explained that he has been blessed with many grandchildren and today, in fact, was the wedding day of one of his granddaughter’s. However, instead of celebrating with his family, Mr. Huon had other priorities. He had decided to miss some of the festivities to discuss the future education of another one of his granddaughters who was being supported by Room to Read and about to graduate from high school.

Mr. Houn explained, “Poverty is the biggest challenge facing young women and education today.” In rural Cambodia, if a family is struggling financially, girls often drop out to help in the fields or to work at a garment factory. He admitted that he needed some convincing at first, but after talking with Room to Read’s Social Mobilizer and with the help of Room to Read’s Girls' Education program, he realized work and marriage could wait, but knowledge could not. One of Mr. Huon’s granddaughters is working in a garment factory. He is convinced his other granddaughter who is gaining an education will have different opportunities and more choices. His hope is that she will go to university and he is educating himself about her options.

The proud father of Champey (highlighted in our 2009 Girls' Education Yearbook) thinks similarly. I met him, along with other parents of girls supported by our program, in a rural village near the Thai-Cambodia border. Champey’s father described the employment opportunities for uneducated young women in his community—illegal migrant agriculture labor or factory work across the border in Thailand. Because of the limited employment opportunities for uneducated young women these parents spoke about the honor their daughter has brought to their family. Neighbors often comment and admire their families because they have a daughter that is studying. They feel lucky because their daughters have access to knowledge, reading and writing.

“I’m so proud of my daughter. She has the chance to continue her studies. She wants to be a teacher or a doctor. I will support her decision either way, it is her choice,” her father said.

These two men demonstrate the encouragement male figures can provide to enable girls to walk around the stove, out of the kitchen, into the classroom, onto university, and beyond. The girls on our Girls' Education program agree: “Disregard this proverb because it no longer applies to us, we are capable of doing anything we want.” These young women now have choices and dreams of giving back to their communities, their country and their family. This grandfather and father are proud and in awe of their accomplishments—happy to offer support and encouragement every step of the way.

Learn more about our programs in Cambodia and our Girls' Education program.

Photo caption: above, Champey (2nd from the left) and her friends celebrating their soon-to-be accomplishment: graduating from high school!

A Mother’s Wish for Her Daughter: A New Proverb

Room to Read is conducting a post-secondary transition study of our Girls’ Education Program. Researcher and guest blogger, Kirsten Anderson, travelled to India, Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia to interview current Girls’ Education Program scholars, alumnae and their parents. In celebration of Mother’s Day in many countries, Kirsten shares her conversations with the mothers of some of our scholars in Nepal. This is the second in the series of blog posts from her travels (read her previous post here). Findings from the post-secondary study will be released later this year. 

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Sitting in the shadow of the majestic Himalayas in Nepal, Dilmaya, a mother of one of the Girls’ Education Program scholars described her childhood:

"When I was young I went to school for two days. I had to walk two hours. My family refused to give me food because they didn’t want me to study. They thought that if girls studied, we would write letters to boys. So I gave up my dream of education because I couldn’t go without food.

Later, when I got married, my parents told me 'Santan le dadha kadha dhakos' (which translates to 'May you have children to reach from the Himalayas to the plains'). That is why we have so many children. We really used to think it was a good idea to have many children."

The other mothers in the group nodded and smiled in agreement. They remembered that particular proverb well. Their ancestors wished them a future of many children—a wish that had come true for all of them. Among them, only Dilmaya could sign her name on our interview consent form. The other mothers watched as she very carefully wrote each of the letters of her name. She had been taught to write her name by her daughter, a participant of Room to Read's Girls' Educaton program.

When asked a probing question about what the mothers wished for their daughters’ futures, they described a future that included finishing their studies, acquiring a higher education, finding a good job, and making their own decisions about marriage. Dilmaya added:

"I have six daughters and one son but I don’t differentiate between my son and my daughters; they are all equals to me. But it’s really difficult to manage everyone’s education. We have a constant financial problem. It’s been six years since I have been involved with Room to Read. My daughter is working very hard. In addition to studying, she helps to look after the house and also helps to sell wool. She likes studying computers. I want her to get a job in the computer field. I have suffered a lot because I’m uneducated—but I want my children to be educated."

Another mother agreed, “In our generation, we would tell our daughters to get married, have children and have a good life. But now life is different. I want my daughter to be independent and have her own job and do well in her life. I want her to be able to make her own decisions in life. That is what I wish for my daughter.”

In conversations across Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, and India, the young women in our Girls’ Education Program overwhelmingly agree that the support of their mothers is crucial. Mothers often take on extra work to support their daughter’s education and without their mothers’ help, it would be next to impossible for these girls to continue their studies.

Sitting in the shadow of the Himalayas, Dilmaya and several other mothers sat together and joked. They were optimistic about the lives their daughters may have. They described a changing world where the proverbs of the past no longer apply. And they expressed hope that future Nepali proverbs might include wishes for young women to be independent, educated, employed and able to make their own decisions about marriage and family.

Dilmaya spoke with assurance when she said, "I want my daughter to follow her dream and become a success in her life. If young women are educated and independent—that is a great combination. Study and aim high."

 

All gifts matched through May 31! From now through the end of May, all donations to our Girls’ Education program will be matched up to $250,000. Honor mom -- or any other special person that has shaped your life -- by supporting the next generation of women. www.roomtoread.org/MayMatch.

Making the Transition: Graduates Surveyed about Life After Room to Read

Room to Read is committed to tracking results and improving programming. Our monitoring and evaluations team conducts studies on an on-going basis, and this year, we are conducting a post-secondary school transition study of our Girls’ Education program participants. In November 2010, Kirsten Anderson joined Room to Read as the Girls’ Education Program Fellow to conduct this study. She began research in India and shares her thoughts and experiences of conducting fieldwork with our inspiring girls. Stay tuned for updates from Kirsten’s research in India, Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia over the next several months.

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Weaving in and out of Delhi’s traffic on dusty streets, the research assistants and I finally arrived at our destination—a poor urban community located on the back side of an old fort wall. We had scheduled a focus group with four young women, each the first person in their family to graduate from 12th grade. This was our first day of research and our task was to make sure our freshly translated interview questions made sense for the young women we were interviewing.

The day was bitterly cold, and fifteen minutes into our first focus group, the power went out. For the young women we were interviewing, power cuts are a common occurrence. They didn’t even flinch and continued to talk about their financial struggles and having to balance work with university courses. For the research team, the darkness was a frustrating disruption. Not only is it hard to take notes and refer to the list of interview questions, reading facial expressions and body language in the dark is next to impossible. But the darkness was also a blessing, as it allowed us to really focus on the women’s voices—to listen to the details of their stories and feel what they were saying.

As of December 2010, 234 of Room to Read's Girls’ Education program scholars from India, Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia have graduated from secondary school. This number will quickly multiply as the Girls’ Education program provides scholarships and material support to more than 10,000 girls across eight countries. What are the young women doing now? What do they plan to do in the next ten years? How has Room to Read influenced their lives and their goals?

For the next four months, the research team and I will conduct interviews and focus groups with the program’s recent and upcoming graduates. The purpose of this study is to learn more about how these young women navigate this time of transition and opportunity. How do they make decisions about higher education, employment, as well as marriage and possibly parenthood? What are their challenges? What are their success stories? The stories they share of their struggles, accomplishments and ambitions will teach us and inform our current and future programming, and give us insight as to how we can better prepare future graduates.

Collecting these stories, however, requires constantly balancing the rigors of research and the realities of the field. It means listening intently, asking the right questions and learning about the whole person and her story.

We recently met with a young woman who had just graduated from 12th grade. Her shaky hands and quick, quivering voice were not the results of the Delhi winter, but of an obvious sense of shyness and nervousness. Midway through, she stopped to tell us that she did not usually develop bonds with adults so easily, but she felt comfortable with us and wanted to share her story. She talked about her future ambition: to study English, to get a job and to support her family. She described her family and how her parents have supported her education—sometimes giving up meals to pay additional fees for her and her sister. Wanting to maintain an objective distance, the research assistant and I quickly busied ourselves with our notes so as not to show our eyes tearing.

As we presented her with a small thank you gift—a notebook and pen—she thanked us for giving her the opportunity to share her story. Yet, I am the thankful one. I am humbled and honored to spend time with these young women—so full of courage, strength and determination.

Every day, we emerge from our interviews to a different Delhi—warmer as the days grow longer. We have adjusted our vision, as these young women do every day when they think about and plan for their future. We anticipate our next interviews with a renewed sense of hope and focus.

Read more about how Room to Read tracks results in its programs.  

Guest Blog from Board Director: Room to Read's Numbers Tell the Story

Craig Bruya, former CFO of Microsoft Business Solutions and audit manager with Arthur Andersen & Co, and now a professional philanthropist, has been actively involved with Room to Read since 2002 and joined the Board of Directors in 2008. From the perspective of both an investor and a board member, Craig shares his thoughts as to why numbers matter, how Room to Read is getting it right -- and how the world seems to be finding out about it.

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In 2002, when I was first approached by John Wood, a former colleague at Microsoft, to get involved with helping to develop a financial model for Room to Read, I did what every self-professed number-cruncher does: I reviewed their financial statements, budgets and five-year plan.  Eight years later, I find myself happily ensconced on the board of an organization that has grown exponentially, both in revenue and results.

As the head of the Audit Committee, I work closely with Room to Read CFO, Joanne Chou, and her skilled staff of finance and accounting experts, and with pencils sharpened, we continue to refine and improve procedures to keep our efficiency level extremely high. Apparently it’s working, and word is getting out.

Last week, Barron’s, a publication targeted for a financially-sophisticated audience, included Room to Read in their second annual “25 Top Givers” list. This list calls out individuals and organizations that get big results from their donation dollars and this year, includes the standard heavy hitters of philanthropy with Bill Gates, Jr. at #1, Bill Clinton at #8 and Oprah Winfrey at #21. And, I am proud that among that list is John Wood/Room to Read at #9, up two positions from last year -- and one of the only on the list that didn’t start out as a billionaire or celebrity-led endeavor.

We also learned last week that we had qualified for membership in a very elite group in having been awarded Charity Navigator’s four-star (the highest) rating for sound fiscal management for a fifth consecutive year.  Only 6% of their rated charities can claim this five-year streak. Charity Navigator is the recognized report card for U.S. charities, and each year, 5,500 nonprofits are evaluated on various criteria, including levels of overhead, direct program spending and program results.

So what exactly do these honors mean? Simply put, they mean that Room to Read has developed a formula for growth and efficiency that is rarely seen in the nonprofit (or even for-profit) world. That formula, which includes innovative thinking, transparency, diversified funding and planned growth, attracts investments from business giants such as Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs, as well as individuals looking for a philanthropic partner who can take their dollars and turn them into a tool to change the lives of children. Investors know they can trust Room to Read -– which is why, in an economy that is challenging at best, Room to Read managed to grow its revenue by over 20% last year and is on target to do the same in 2010!  As an accountant, I love to see great revenue growth, but as an investor I take greater comfort knowing that we are helping many more children gain the lifelong gift of literacy.

What’s Room to Read’s secret? That’s just it –- we don’t have secrets. One of our core beliefs is transparency, which means that all the books are on the table –- data about donation totals, project expenses and program results are updated regularly and made available to all of our key stake holders, including staff, board, volunteers, donors and potential donors.

Of course, it helps when you have good data to report, which, in general, we do. Thanks to our “cheap and cheerful” mantra, more than 80 cents of every dollar is funneled directly into our program work. That being said, we don’t believe in being penny-wise but pound-foolish. Room to Read invests in the necessary infrastructure that allows our worldwide team to excel at their work. It costs money to build accounting systems and donor management systems and to monitor and evaluate our programs to make sure that they are cost effective and getting the desired results. We work hard to strike a careful balance between donation efficiency and infrastructure investment.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Bangladesh, India, Zambia and South Africa to see our programs at work. It is one thing to be impressed with our numbers and to be happy that we are a well-managed organization, but it is a very different thing to see donor dollars in action. The children are thrilled to be learning -- and they are sharing their new-found knowledge with their families. The experience was life-changing, and my commitment to the organization has never been greater. I know of no investment with greater return than that of educating a child.

Read more about Room to Read's recent honors on our website. And, consider giving a unique gift this season through our Room to Read’s Holiday Gift Catalog where your gift can help share education with children in Asia and Africa. Plus, through the end of December, all online donations will be matched 100% up to $500,000. 

 

Loving Books Too Much? One Boy's "Secret" Discovered in Laos

Classroom libraries, small collections of age- and reading level-appropriate books provided directly in the classroom, are seen as viable options for schools that don’t have space for separate library facilities. Two years ago, Room to Read initiated a pilot program to bring classroom libraries into schools in eight countries. Jen Daly, Room to Read Senior Program Associate for Reading Rooms, shares this story about a recent trip to Laos where she was evaluating some of our classroom libraries. 

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The little boy thought he was being sneaky, but everyone knows teachers have eyes in the back of their heads. While most surreptitious student behavior involves chewing gum or passing notes, this teacher in Laos discovered something rather refreshing happening behind her back. 

Houa Keng Complete Primary School houses one of Room to Read’s 10 pilot classroom libraries in Laos. The classroom library allows teachers to more easily integrate books into their lesson plans and support recreational reading. Because children have easy access to the books, they are more likely to read them, as was made evident the day I visited this classroom.

One young boy obviously couldn’t wait to re-read his favorite book, Our New Pond, one of Room to Read's children's books. While the teacher stood in front of the classroom, the stealthy reader would slowly and quietly pull the book out of the cubby of his desk and continue reading the story, being careful to turn the pages gingerly so he wouldn’t be found out. Despite his best efforts at being sly, his teacher was well aware of what the young boy was up to. She repeatedly walked over and stood near him when he was reading, giving him a stern look. Each time, he would quickly shove the book back into his desk. Despite being caught red-handed, he was undeterred, and as soon as the teacher turned her back, out came the book once again.

After the class ended, the teacher explained how much the young boy had learned to love books and, in particular, really enjoyed Room to Read’s Local Language Publishing books. Our New Pond, a 2008 picture book about a group of animals who band together to find water for their pond, was his definite favorite. In fact, it was a rare occasion when the book was ever back on the library shelf!

She explained, “He loves animals, and I believe this is the first book he’s ever seen with animals he’s familiar with." Despite trying to keep the boy focused on the day’s lesson, she nevertheless found it amusing and encouraging to see him trying to sneak reading. "For many of my students, reading used to be almost a chore," she noted. "But now that we have the library in our classroom, the children can't wait to read -- some more than others!"

Room to Read has established over 800 libraries in Laos since 2007. Our Local Language Publishing program in Laos has produced 82 original children’s book titles, some of which have won national awards for excellence. To learn more about our work in Laos, visit our website.

And the Results Are In! More than 4 Million Children Reached!

This week Room to Read announced its latest cumulative results numbers from year one (2000) through year nine (2009) and we're excited to report it all out to you here.

As many of you who are familiar with us know, Room to Read is a results-focused organization and we take great pride to set ambitious goals just like any other global corporation would do, and we work hard to meet them.  Each year, our nine country offices work closely with our Regional and Global office teams to set their program goals for the year ahead and this year is no exception.  As 2010 begins, our Asia and Africa teams have already started working on their program targets –- whether that means establishing libraries, publishing new children’s titles, building schools, or accepting more girls into our Girls’ Education program.

At the same time, through our database system (and thanks to the Salesforce Foundation), Room to Read tracks each program project and monitors its progress.  It is this same tracking system that allows us to accurately report out to our investors at the end of the year what their donor dollar helped us accomplish.

Without further ado, we are proud to share that through the end of 2009 Room to Read has…

Established: 9,220 libraries
Constructed: 1,129 schools
Published: 433 local language book titles
Printed: 4.1 million local books
Donated: 3.3 million English language books
Supported: 8,707 girls’ educations
Benefitted: 4,066,775 children!!

We had an incredible first decade and we thank you all for being such a significant part of our success.

As we always say around here, onward and upward and…just you wait…there is definitely more to come!

Our new 2008 annual report

Our 2008 Annual Report is out and available for download!  We encourage you to read all about the remarkable successes and milestones we experienced last year, including the fact that over 3 million children now have access to improved educational opportunities thanks to our programs and your support.