Room to Read Blog

Half the Sky Movement Brings World Change to a Computer Screen Near You

Every month, users around the globe spend roughly 700 billion minutes on Facebook (according to MacWorld). It’s hard to imagine just how vast the positive impact would be if we spent some fraction of that time dedicated to conquering the world’s biggest social issues, but luckily we don't have to wait to find out. With its launch today on Facebook, Half the Sky Movement: The Game is designed to do just that!

Based on the real-world challenges faced by women and girls around the globe, as documented in the acclaimed book (and subsequent PBS documentary) Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, the game aims to raise awareness and of these issues and invest in real-world solutions.

Half the Sky: The Game allows players to take actions that mirror the solutions employed by seven nonprofit partners (The Fistula Foundation, GEMS, Heifer International, ONE, Room to Read, United Nations Foundation, and World Vision), tying those actions to real-world impact through partnerships with the Pearson Foundation and Johnson & Johnson.

“We want to reach a broader audience for these issues we care deeply about,” said Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, co-authors of the best-selling book that inspired a movement. In seeking to bring their message to computer screens around the globe, Kristof and WuDunn found a kindred spirit in Games for Change, a non-profit that catalyzes social impact through digital games. “Around 300 million people play games on Facebook across the globe on a monthly basis,” said Games for Change Co-Presidents Asi Burak and Michelle Byrd. “If we’re able to inspire this group of players to spend just 30 minutes of their time with this game the ripple effect of players’ actions will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars towards this critical cause.”

In the game, players embark upon a journey through India, Kenya, Vietnam Afghanistan and the United States, taking actions along the way that unlock funds from the game’s sponsors. For example, players can collect books for young girls in the virtual world which activates a real-life donation to Room to Read. Players who are inspired by their virtual journey can also choose to make personal donations to partners at any point throughout the game.

Watch the trailer: 

 

Learn more about Half the Sky: The Game.

In Nepal, Community Engagement Turns One School Library into a Hive of Activity

Three siblings are huddled over a book. The eldest is narrating. Her sister—also working diligently on a homework assignment—nods slowly, occasionally requesting that her older sister repeat a paragraph. At just two months old, the youngest is peacefully sleeping in his cradle.

Pratikshya, Pragya and Pragyan start most days this way, even though the youngest participant isn’t likely to remember.  Next door, Santosh and his father are ensconced in a similar scene. A few houses down, Ganesh is reading his mother a story while his sister listens in.

Pratikshya, Santosh and Ganesh are all students of Shree Jana Jagriti Lower Secondary School, located seven hours from the capital of Kathmandu. All three of them admit to reading at least one book before school each day, something that’s become a regular occurrence in the community since the doors of the school’s Room to Read library opened in 2001.

“After we established the library,” says Manoj Subedi, Room to Read’s School Libraries Program Associate, “we helped the school with the awareness campaign about the positive impacts of reading and worked on motivating them to use the library frequently.” At first sight, parents sitting with their children reading might not seem like a major event, but it is exactly this kind of activity that helps children develop a lifelong habit of reading.

The school’s chairman, Dev Bahadur Rana Magar, saw a stark difference in the community after the literacy awareness campaign. “Members of the local community rarely loaned books before because they assumed that the library catered only to the students,” he says. “The awareness camp dispelled that and introduced them to the library’s various resources.”

Som Bahadhur Mauarati has a son at Shree Jana Jagriti. “I was surprised to find books to suit my level,” he says. “Earlier I asked my son to loan books for me, but now I visit the library on my own whenever I have free time.” He is currently devouring a book about yoga in his spare time.

And it’s not just the adults of the village who are benefitting—the library has been a hub of activity for students like Santosh, an 8^th grader, for over a decade now. Santosh says the storybooks in the library helped him to be analytical thinker.

“I am reading Ghost’s Flute now about a cowardly boy,” he says. “The main character believes that ghosts gather in the bamboo groove near his house to play flute at night because he doesn’t realize bamboo ‘sings’ in a slight breeze. He soon realizes his mistake and becomes more practical after discovering the truth.” The moral, says Santosh, is not to jump to conclusions. As Santosh discovered, some of life’s greatest lessons can often be found on the pages of a book.  

Learn more about our work in Nepal. 

In India, Mandal Parishad Primary School Students Take Charge of Their Library

Located 62 miles from the regional capital of Hyderabad, Mandal Parishad Primary School partnered with Room to Read to establish its first-ever school library in 2008.

That same year, a Child Management Committee was formed to maintain checkout registers and ensure overall upkeep of the facility. Common across many of our school library projects, these student committees foster ownership and help teach skills like responsibility and accounting.

At Mandal Parishad Primary, the Child Management Committee is particularly active and regularly organizes literacy-themed events at the school. The last time our team stopped by, the schoolyard was buzzing with activity. 

Unable to contain her enthusiasm, a 5th grader named Smitha filled us in. “I am participating in the reading competition today,” she said. “My parents are coming to see me!” In addition to Smitha's contest, the day also included storytelling exercises and time for the students to read aloud to members of the local community—many of whom are illiterate.

Beyond these special events, says Ms. Karuna See, the school’s headmistress, the library has an incredible impact on the day-to-day operations of the school. “Not only has the absenteeism from classes dropped,” she reported with a smile, “but the level of community engagement in the school’s activities has also increased.”

Ms. See went on to share how the formation of the Child Management Committee for the library inspired other students to start similar operations. “I am amazed at the leadership capabilities of these children,” she says. 

Various clubs within the school have now taken on such causes as health and hygiene, organizing cultural activities and disseminating news to the local community. The health committee has even gone door-to-door with a grassroots campaign to decrease waste—inspired by a book from the shelves of their own school library.

Learn more about our work in India.

Guest Blog from our CFO: Earning Our 4-Star Rating, 365 Days of the Year

This is a guest post by Joanne Chou, who has served as Room to Read’s Chief Financial Officer since 2008.

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At Room to Read, we know that how we work is just as important as what we accomplish, so when we learned last week that our organization had received Charity Navigator’s highest-possible 4-star rating for the seventh consecutive year, we were positively elated.

Only two percent of charities rated by Charity Navigator can claim such a long string of 4-star ratings, which measures several factors of organizations’ financial health along with their commitments to accountability and transparency. Here are some examples of the ways in which Room to Read works that have helped us earn our “exceptional” rating:

Financial Efficiency – For the fiscal year upon which the current rating are based (2011), 85.2% of every dollar we spent went directly to programs (as opposed to fundraising and administration costs). Without downplaying the need to invest in infrastructure and our teams across all functions, we keep a watchful eye on expenses and use technology and innovative partnerships to work more efficiently. This includes video conferencing to connect geographically-dispersed teams and purchasing many of our materials in and around the communities where we work, where costs are significantly lower. We have also started looking at aggregating some purchases across program countries to get economies of scale.

Accountability & Transparency – We like to take a “more is more” approach to transparency, and publish six years’ worth of audited financials, 990 forms and annual reports on our website. We also make sure to post information about key staff, an extensive privacy policy and a full list of our board members, so that our supporters can invest with confidence.

As a global organization, we know that sound fiscal management, transparency and accountability are the responsibility of every member of our team, and have built a culture around these values that crosses borders and has permeated every level of the organization.  As chief financial officer, I am proud of the respect our worldwide staff shows every day for the fiduciary duty we owe to our supporters, partners and beneficiaries, and note that this latest recognition from Charity Navigator is a direct result of that organization-wide commitment.

To learn more about how we work, visit the financials page on our website or see the press release announcing our most recent rating.

Guest Blog by John Wood: Creating Room to Read...and Putting it all on Paper

The following is a guest post by John Wood, founder and board co-chair.

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It’s hard to believe that it has been almost six years since Leaving Microsoft to Change the World was first published. I am so grateful that the book introduced Room to Read’s work to thousands of supporters and catalyzed a whirlwind of activity.

What I thought would be a three-week book tour seemed to morph into a perma-tour.  Our supporters, chapters and corporate partners hosted events around the world that allowed us to share Room to Read’s mission with new audiences.  There was also enormous media interest.  

I found myself across the table from Charlie Rose, speaking to reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, and even sitting on Oprah’s couch!  The book’s release brought with it an unprecedented number of donations, a flood of passionate volunteers and a kinetic energy that set Room to Read on a path to scale with quality. As a result, today over 7.5 million children in 10 countries have now benefited from our work.  This next chapter in our organization’s history brought with it many challenges and successes, including learning to scale rapidly while maintaining our vision, fundraising during an economic downturn and learning to adapt our programs to new countries and regions.

As the organization grew and evolved, many of you suggested we refresh the Leaving Microsoft story. Building a world-class organization and watching our vision take off was one of the most exciting times of my life, and I am excited to announce that those anecdotes and more are all chronicled in my new book Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy, released today by Viking, a Penguin imprint.

In addition to sharing the Room to Read story with the world in print, I am once again hitting the road to share it in person with supporters around the world. As you read this, my 14-city North American book tour has already begun, with international stops to follow in March and April including Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Why go through the time and effort to write a second book?  Mainly because there is so much more to the Room to Read story that I want to share, particularly the heroes behind our organization’s growth—my co-founders, the worldwide staff, loyal investors, passionate chapter leaders and board members. I’ve always said, “I don’t want to be the leader of an organization. I want to be one of many leaders of a global movement.” None of Room to Read’s incredible results would be possible without those who are in the trenches making the organization’s engine run day after day. An authentic account of how we moved forward in the face of adversity, Creating Room to Read is a “we”, rather than an “I” tale and provides a window into what our successful trajectory has looked like.

Over the coming months, as I run through countless airports, drive to book signings and put on my best blue shirt for media interviews, I hope our paths cross. This book was truly a labor of love, and should you pick up a copy, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Creating Room to Read is your story as much as it is my own.   And so, enjoy “our book”. It’s an honor to work with you to make the world a better place for children who would have otherwise lost the lottery of life.

Learn more at www.roomtoread.org/creatingroomtoread.

Guest Blog from India: 10 Years. Two Million Children. One Big Reason to Celebrate!

The following is a guest blog by Kushal Mazumdar, acting country director for Room to Read in India. 

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The New Year of 2013 started with a bang for Room to Read India. This week, we were presented with the Times of India Social Impact Award—the only NGO recognized in the category of education.  I can’t think of a better way to kick off our tenth year of operation in India than an honour such as this.

The Times of India is the most widely-circulated (and highly respected) English-language daily newspaper in India, and its Social Impact Award is highly sought-after. The selection process includes a stringent preliminary review of all nominees, followed by site visits, meetings with staff and beneficiaries and a final deliberation by a jury of experts.

For our staff, this award represents a quality certificate of our work and impact. It is a testimony that we are headed in the right direction and should continue to do our part in helping our nation and society develop further. Room to Read India is part of a global movement—a network of people dedicated to building a better world through education, and I feel proud that I have the opportunity to work with such extraordinary people. The hard work and conviction my colleagues demonstrate every day has resulted in this award. Congratulations are due to all!

In addition to the validation it lends our work, the Times of India award has also given our organization a great platform. At Monday’s ceremony, which was televised nationally, the President of India, political leaders, ambassadors from all over the world and business leaders from many multinational companies were in attendance. Our work also graced the pages of the publication for weeks leading up to the event.

We are ready to take our work to the next level and impact the children we have yet to reach. In our first ten years, Room to Read India has benefited more than 2.8 million children, and this new recognition will help us do even more. Two of those beautiful children, Jyoti (9) and Ujala (10) presented the Times of India award on Monday, and their presence made the ceremony all the more meaningful. Both girls study in 5^th grade at government-run primary schools (one in Delhi, one in Rajasthan) and learned to love reading in their school libraries, established by Room to Read. Coincidentally, both girls’ names mean “light,” and as they confidently came on stage to do their part, no term could be more fitting.

On behalf of the entire team of Room to Read India, I would like to thank all of our supporters for joining us in the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children. We look forward to many more years of success.

Learn more about our work in India.

In Zambia, Room to Read Literacy Materials Inspire a Mother to Action

Literacy isn’t just about reading words on a page. The ability to read or write—even at a basic level—unlocks a world of knowledge and understanding completely inaccessible without those skills. Annie Ngombo knows this well, having learned to read and write fairly recently, through an adult education series held by the University of Zambia.

Ms. Ngombo lives in a shanty town in the Kafue distruct with her two young sons, both of whom attend primary school nearby. The school is one of the first in Zambia to receive support from Room to Read’s Reading and Writing Instruction program, but before a few months ago, Ms. Ngombo hadn’t thought much about it.

One day, she came home to overhear her 2^nd grade son, Kaimbo, reading out loud to himself from a newspaper. Slowly and clearly, he was digesting the text word-by-word. Surprised by his advanced skills, Ms. Ngombo asked Kaimbo to read another section from the paper, and was pleasantly surprised when he accomplished the task with ease and near-perfect accuracy.

Kaimbo’s remarkable progress made Ms. Ngombo wank to know more about her son’s schooling, so she decided to meet with his teacher. At school, she learned that Kaimbo’s teacher had received training and materials from Room to Read, including ongoing weekly support from a literacy facilitator. The new Cinyanja-language lessons had been paying off, and many of the students were making great progress.

Having witnessed the impact of our Reading and Writing Instruction program with her own eyes, Ms. Ngombo decided to visit the local Room to Read office to learn more. There, she saw a copy of the workbooks that had been provided to students, which gave her an idea. As one of her neighborhood’s few literate women, she would adapt the materials that helped turn her son into such a confident reader into lessons for adults.

Ms. Ngombo’s adult literacy class started small, with just one 34-year-old pupil who had never learned to read or write. After a short time, the woman, who was only three quarters of the way through her first workbook, was able to read simple texts with ease.

Encouraged by this early success, Ms. Ngombo expanded her course to include ten other women in her community. Using a copy of Room to Read’s three early reader workbooks in Cinyanja, she develops regular lessons for the women, who all look forward to the day they can read independently and send letters to family. Just like Kaimbo and his classmates, Ms. Ngombo’s students are already making great progress.

Learn more about our work in Zambia.

In Laos, Life Skills Training Helps One Little Girl Dream Big

In the village, many people call Pamoxong “the little one,” in reference to her height and slight frame, but friends say that the nickname is misleading given her big personality. 

Now 13 years old, Pamoxong is in 7^th grade and on her second year of support from Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program. Formerly a shy, uncertain student, she has enthusiastically joined all of the life skills training sessions provided by the program and says they have helped her find her voice.

“I can now say out loud with confidence that I will get a full education so that I can become the most capable female physician in my village,” she shares proudly. “It is not only a dream; I will make it come true.” 

According to Pamoxong’s social mobilizer (mentor), Thiphavanh, “her generous and active personality, smiling face and persuasive words are Pamoxong’s most featured characteristics.” Since joining the program herself, the “little one” has become a powerful advocate for girls’ education within her community.

Pamoxong’s village in Oudomxay, Laos is populated primarily by Hmong people, an ethnic minority in the country. For Pamoxong’s family, and many of their neighbors, the barriers to education are even greater than for the rest of the country, as many in the Hmong community cannot speak fluently in the Lao national language.

“Pamoxong is a crucial motivator who helps us translate between Hmong and the Lao language,” says Thiphavanh. “She convinces parents in the community to value education and send their daughters to school."

Thiphavanh’s sentiments are echoed by Padaiya, one of Pamoxong’s good friends. “When Room to Read visited my house to meet my parents, Pamoxong was the real behind-the-scenes lobbyist," says Padaiya. "She talked to me and my parents about the opportunities I would get from joining the program.”

A few months into the school year, Padaiya considered dropping out because of her family’s financial situation, but once again Pamoxong was there to encourage her friend to keep going. “I think I’m so lucky to be her friend,” says Padaiya with a smile.

In her own family, Pamoxong’s newfound commitment to education has had an incredible impact as well. The third-born in a family of six children, she has seen the consequences of a lack of education, as her older sibling both dropped out of school to help earn money for the family. 

Her father, Mr. Tong, says that after seeing his daughter succeed he is now committed 100 percent to keeping his other children in school, too. “I will do the best to support them as high as they dream to go,” he says.  

Ms. Xia, Pamoxong’s mother, can only speak Hmong, but doesn’t let the language barrier stop her from sharing her perspective through her daughter’s careful translations. “I do not want my child to live like me, to work hard and barely understand Lao language because I did not get chance to attend school,” she says. “My parents told me that studying was not necessary for a girl—that it was a guy’s business, but now everything has changed.”

With newfound confidence, a clear path forward and the support of her family, it seems that this “little one” is poised to accomplish some very big things.

Learn more about our work in Laos.

In South Africa's Eastern Cape, Library Doors Open up a World of Opportunity for One Young Reader

Sinothando doesn’t have a favorite book. He has dozens. The sheer prospect of choosing just one makes him laugh, and he rattles off a list: A Big Secret, Nkanishe, Books are Dear Friends, There Would Be No House...and those are just the beginning.

Hearing Sinothando’s enthusiasm, it’s hard to imagine the bright 5th grader as anything other than a confident, capable reader, but as he explained to our team, that wasn’t always the case.

Sinothando lives with his grandmother in a squatter camp in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, meaning he must walk 10 kilometers to school each day. His grandmother is illiterate and the only source of income for she and her three grandchildren is a monthly stipend from the government that does not even cover the family’s most basic needs.

“Before Room to Read built a library for us,” says Sinothando. “I was very shy because I could not read and I used to get very frustrated in class as I could not answer a single question.” He is now a fluent reader, and is proud of how far he’s come.

“My regular visits to the library have helped tremendously,” he says.  “I have improved my pronunciation and often study on my own at home.”

Sinothando is one of the Lumanyano Primary School library’s most regular customers, and shows no signs of slowing down. “Room to Read provides us with very interesting and captivating books,” he says. “It now takes me only a few days to finish reading a book because I am always curious to read the following chapter!”

Reading has opened up a new world of imagination for Sinothando—one that allows him to dream of a life beyond the squatter camp where he currently lives. “Education is the only solution for me because I will one day afford to buy a house with electricity, beautiful furniture, clothing and a car for my family,” he says honestly.

In the future, Sinothando dreams of becoming a social worker to help empower the children in his community to avoid abuse, rape and other problems. “Without an education,” he says, “I cannot help my community.”

Learn more about our work in South Africa.

Guest Blog: Celebrating Reading Day and the Power of Life Skills in Vietnam

Kim Anstatt Morton is a longtime Room to Read supporter and member of our global Board of Directors.

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In early December, I had the honor of traveling to Vietnam's Mekong Delta to visit Room to Read's Literacy and Gender Equality programs. Erin Ganju, Room to Read's CEO, our Vietnam team, eleven other supporters and I gathered in Ho Chi Minh City at the superb Park Hyatt Saigon. After delicious pho for breakfast (and some of the best French pastries I have ever had), we forged our way through the sea of motorcycles to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City to visit three girls in our Girls Education program. Then we drove 5 hours out into remote and poverty-stricken Can Tho Province, where the Mekong River divides the land like fingers on a hand until it empties into the East Sea (South China Sea). 

Our group was here to see firsthand the challenges facing these families and communities and how Room to Read's programs over the last 11 years are making positive, measurable change in the lives of children. As a Room to Read board member and longtime supporter, I love tracking results and seeing impact numbers and am proud of the efficiency and scale of Room to Read's work on paper, but nothing compares to being in the field with the children and communities who benefit from our programs. Below are two highlights from the trek and a few photos.

Visiting the students from our Girls’ Education program in their homes is an emotional experience. You do not leave the same as you came. Phuong—one of the girls I met on this trip—is a strong and stoic 18 year old in 10^th grade who has been supported by Room to Read since 2009. We climbed on motorcycles and wound along tiny paths over rickety bridges to get to her home in rural Long An province (where Half the Sky was filmed).

Phuong’s father died when she was four years old, and her mother passed a way after a boating accident a few years ago, leaving Phuong as the head of her household of four, including her mentally disabled sister and her sister's baby boy. In order to support her family, Phuong beads slippers in her small frond-covered shack along a Mekong tributary. She beads for eight hours aday, 5-6 days per week, making 10 pairs of slippers every day. All this effort amounts to a meager income of around US$1.50/day. But the amazing part about Phuong is that she refuses to drop out of school. 

On top of all that work, Phuong eagerly attends the afternoon shift of school and Room to Read's life skills workshops. She says the trainings are her favorite part of the Girls’ Education program. Specifically, she pointed to the financial budgeting training and explained how it helps her manage her household.

Phuong also loves learning and practicing her communication skills so she can be "more confident and raise [her] opinions". Phuong loves to run and wants to be a gym teacher after going to University. When we asked how else Room to Read could help her, Phuong graciously replied, "you are doing so much, there is nothing else I need—Room to Read is a very positive part of my life."  

Each of the girls we visited in their homes, like Phuong, are inspirational. Most notable was their extreme confidence despite dire circumstances and their clear message that without Room to Read (and in particular the life skills workshops we provide), they would never imagine themselves as the literature prize-winning, confident, university bound students they have become.

See more photos from the trip, including an exciting Reading Day celebration: