Room to Read Blog

Guest Blog from our Team: International Day of the Girl Child

Emily Leys is Global Director of Girls' Education for Room to Read and a passionate advocate for gender equality around the globe. 

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Today is the first ever International Day of the Girl Child (as designated by the United Nations), and if you ask me it is a long time coming. On behalf of the entire Girls’ Education team worldwide, I couldn’t be more excited to commemorate this day and the incredible opportunity it represents to engage girls, schools and communities around the globe in bringing about greater gender equality.

The benefits of educating girls are well-documented and they extend to families, communities, and whole nations. But most importantly, providing equal access to girls is simply the right thing to do. All children deserve an education and the opportunity it accords. For girls in the countries where we work—in places like the sandbar islands of Bangladesh and the Mekong Delta of Vietnam—education is the key to health, security, active citizenship and a better life for future generations. That’s why our teams in nine countries across Africa and Asia are hard at work each day providing the academic support, mentoring and life skills training that the girls on our program need to succeed in school and beyond.

On a recent trip to Zambia, where our program is wrapping up its fifth year of operation, I was humbled yet again by the lengths the young women on our program go to in order to get an education and expand their options. This includes the literal length of five miles walked to and from school each day, but also the hours poured into study and courage to break with traditions in conflict with their dreams. In a community where early marriage has been the norm for generations, these young women are determined to finish school before moving on to marriage and parenthood. I’m reminded of an 11^th grade student named Esther telling me, “I want to have a family, but only after I launch my career in journalism.”

Young women like Esther make me more confident than ever that gender equality in education is within reach. The fact is that despite all odds there are countless girls across the developing world who are bravely claiming their right to education, making important choices for themselves, and inspiring others in their communities to do the same.

This powerful ripple effect is the subject of a new documentary, Girl Rising, set to premiere in spring of 2013. The ground-breaking film, produced by our partners at 10x10, will feature the story of Suma Tharu, a Room to Read student from Nepal, along with nine other trail-blazing young women.  You can read more about Suma’s story on our website.

In honor International Day of the Girl, we are excited to share the film’s trailer, and announce that a group of generous Room to Read supporters has committed to matching all donations 2-to-1 through the end of the day in honor of this special occasion (up to $350,000). Learn more and donate at www.roomtoread.org/10x10act

   

This afternoon at 3:00pm PST, join Emily—along with representatives from Intel, CARE and more—for an Ashoka Changemakers Twitter chat on how to leverage technology to improve the lives of women and girls. Follow the action with the hashtags #SocEntChat and #IDG2012!

Guest Blog from Sri Lanka: Sajitha's Library Club

Trish Flanagan is a project fellow from the Clinton School of Public Service, who is currently researching community engagement best practices for our School Libraries. This work will inform Room to Read’s Global Guidelines on Family and Community Engagement. Trish has worked as a high school teacher at the Texas-Mexican border and a school principal in Honduras. In this guest blog, she shares her experience visiting one community in Sri Lanka.

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The room was dark and hot, full of eager library club members sitting in plastic chairs and a few visitors standing against the wall of the small house.  The rest of us sat quietly as the library club president, 11 year-old Sajitha, flanked by her executive officers, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

In a rural, farming community in central Sri Lanka, the team of dedicated Room to Read staff, brought me to this weekly library club meeting. We had spent the last few weeks darting around the country; visiting energized government schools and awe-inspiring libraries in the homes of young students. Yet, sitting in that small house, watching the bright eyes of the students and their quiet parents as Sajitha opened the meeting, I was amazed.

Sajitha’s family, living in this simple 2-bedroom house with curtains blowing in the doorways to offer privacy, transformed one of the bedrooms into the library.  The library is organized exactly as the Room to Read library at school; bookshelves holding books organized by reading levels and topics, a small desk covered with student drawings from the stories they read, a meticulous checkout list and a few English-Sinhala dictionaries.

A few minutes after the meeting started, I wanted to ask the students how they created the club. They were very shy, so I pulled out a few of my teacher tricks to encourage the students to feel more comfortable.

Sajitha, the president, proudly smiling in her chair, explained that she asked her two friends, the executive officers, to start the club. Her parents were very excited to oblige and offered the club a room in their house. One by one, students invited their friends to check out books and attend meetings. One parent even said that many adults in the nearby community check out books and have improved their reading with year-round access to books right in the neighborhood. With training and support provided during community awareness raising meetings at the library, Room to Read staff helped to prepare these students to bring their love of reading to their homes. This small library club, started by such a young girl, is changing the lives and possibilities for an entire community.

While this library club is amazing, it is not at all surprising. The work that Room to Read teams do, with the communities they serve, is incredible. Parents and school staff excitedly explain that Room to Read is different from other programs. They do not only deliver books and library resources, the staff build relationships and teach the community about the habit of reading and maintaining the library. What is even more outstanding is the energy and determination of these rural communities, all challenged with financial stress, and some, like in the northern regions of the country, are rebuilding their communities after 20 years of civil war. The schools and families place a high value on education and when offered support from Room to Read, incredible things happen.

During an interview with community members, one parent, leaning forward in his chair, explained that before they had nothing and now have an opportunity for a new life, calling rebuilding the school and establishing a library a “different kind of change.”

Learn more about our School Libraries.

Guest Blog: A New Chapter for the Tamil Community in Sri Lanka's Central Province

This is a guest post by Jen Spinner, Program Reporting Associate, who shares her reflections from a recent trip to visit Room to Read's work.

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Upon landing in Sri Lanka, one can immediately sense the impact and devastation caused by the country’s recent civil war. While the conflict officially ended three years ago, 300,000 Sri Lankans are still displaced and many communities still lack access to basic infrastructure.

Lying in the middle of the Central Province, Hatton is one of Sri Lanka’s largest tea production regions and home to one of the country’s largest Tamil populations, many of whom work upwards of 14 hours a day on tea plantations. Schools in this area fight for government assistance, often going months or years without access to new textbooks and learning materials.

It is within this reality that Room to Read’s Tamil Literacy and Girls’ Education programs operate, working with families and communities that have been largely forgotten by the country’s reconstruction efforts. As I moved from classroom to classroom and home to home, I heard girls we work with share stories of the personal impact their country’s war had on their lives, weeping for lost relatives and friends. But juxtaposed upon this immense sadness is a palpable sense of determination to succeed in school and provide for their remaining family.

One of my last stops in Hatton was a school at the top of the region’s highest peak that serves 1^st to 12^th grade students. Driving past homes which lacked access to electricity and running water, the obstacles these students face each day simply getting to school became obvious. As we stepped into the school’s main courtyard, students clamored to show our team their favorite books and literacy exercises, growing more excited which each new activity. In Sri Lanka, Room to Read is the only organization ever to provide an early grade literacy program in the Tamil language, so both students and teachers are extremely proud. As we prepared to leave school for the day, Sinthuja, a 10^th grader, invited our team to her home to meet her mother and see her “homework wall.”  During the trek from school, my heart sank at the realization that Sinthuja makes this trip every day, sometimes leaving school after dark to take the forested trail alone.

Sinthuja’s mother is a tea picker, spending 15-16 hours each day in the fields (despite terrible arthritis) to support her six children. Even with such an incredibly demanding schedule, Sinthuja’s mother comes home every night and asks about her daughter's day at school, without exception.  

Upon arriving at Sinthuja’s home, I was immediately drawn to a curtained corner at the far right of the 12x15 structure. This was the only part of the one room-house that was partitioned in any way for privacy from the home’s seven occupants. When I asked Sinthuja’s mother about the space, she explained that behind the curtain is her daughter’s study area/home library, meant to provide some reprieve from the distraction of the busy house. Despite its small size, this space really impacted me, a physical manifestation of the entire family’s commitment to Sinthuja’s education.

And it’s not just Sinthuja’s family who is benefitting from her staying in school. Her community, which sits on the outskirts of Hatton's city center, is extremely remote, and the only means of transportation for its residents is an ever-changing and unreliable bus system. Given the poor quality of local roadways, the routes themselves change frequently, leaving residents with a major challenge when they need to get to work.

As the only member of her village who can read Tamil, Sinthuja now wakes up before dawn to go outside and read the directions and route information to her friends and family. While this may seem like a small act, her efforts save neighbors hours each day, allowing them to arrive on time to work and relieving the extra stress that used to precede a 16-hour day.

“It’s a miracle,” says Sinthuja’s mother, as she describes the vital role that education allowed her daughter to play within the village. Neglected by so many institutions and organizations, Sinthuja and her peers now have hope—a means to a brighter future than the labor cycles they were born into.

Join Room to Read in celebrating International Literacy Day throughout the month of September. For each action you take, $1 will be donated to support our work.  Learn more at www.roomtoread.org/ILD2012.

Supporters Turn to Endurance Sports to Fuel Global Movement for Education

At Room to Read, we are constantly inspired by the creative, clever and sometimes crazy ways that individuals find to raise funds and awareness for our programs—from bake sales to book swaps, marathons to mountain climbing, we have seen it all!

This year in particular, Room to Read supporters around the globe are turning to endurance events to galvanize support for our mission in their communities. Over the next few months, adrenaline-fueled teams from Hong Kong, Sydney, Switzerland and New York City will run, walk, bike and climb their way to world change. Here are a few of those extraordinary stories:

Sydney City2Surf

In 2009—the year Room to Read’s first Australian chapter was established in Sydney—a few volunteers decided to run the City2Surf 14-kilometer race as s social activity. In 2010, they took it to the next level, gathering a team of more than 100 runners who raised over AU$30,000 for two straight years.

This year, the team—dubbed the Yak Pack (in honor of our good friend Zak the Yak)—is at it again, and has even recruited a local celebrity to join them  for this year’s race on August 12. Actor Pacharo Mzembe ran across the entire continent of Australia earlier this year to raise funds and awareness for literacy, and now he’s putting his running shoes back on to join the Yack Pack in their fourth year at the City2Surf. “I'm all about showing my appreciation for the quality education I received having come from a developing nation,” said Pacharo. “There are children around the world who are not afforded the same opportunity."

Jungfrau Marathon

Inspired by their counterparts Down Under, a few members of the Room to Read Zurich Chapter assembled their own Yak Pack this year to run the Jungfrau Marathon in the Swiss Alps. In addition to longtime friends of Room to Read, some of our very own staff will participate in the event, including founder John Wood and regional director for Asia Jon Beaulieu!

The steepest race of its kind, the course of the Jungfrau Marathon includes more than a mile of elevation. In order to keep motivated, the team has challenged themselves to raise enough money for at least one year of girls’ education for each kilometer they run, or as John Wood puts it, "no matter how much pain we're in, each kilometer we'll think to ourselves, 'one more girl goes to school.'"

Vietnam Bike Adventure

After reading John Wood’s book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, Ashwin Subramaniam of Singapore knew he wanted to make a difference, but wasn’t sure how. The answer came in the form of a bicycle, which he will ride across Vietnam this November—along with 15 others—in support of Room to Read's Girls’ Education program.

Winding up the Vietnamese coast from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Ashwin and his fellow travelers will hit the road for nine days and document their journey on film. "This idea was born out of my dual passions for adventure sports and social development," says Ashwin.

Inspired to start your own campaign for Room to Read? Find out how!

Hoeurn Him's Story: Paying it Forward in Cambodia

“When I got my first salary check, I went and placed the entire amount in my mother’s hand and said to her, ‘This is the power of education.’”

At 24 years old, Hoeurn Him is a natural leader with a warm smile and bright eyes. As a social mobilizer for Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program in Cambodia, she is currently responsible for monitoring the progress and development of 63 girls throughout the rural province of Kampong Cham. In this role, Hoeurn visits each girl’s home on a regular basis, helps facilitate life skills sessions and keeps a close eye on the academic performance of all her young students—providing support and encouragement along the way.

As the first person ever to graduate from secondary school in her village of 300 families, Hoeurn is particularly adept at understanding and navigating the challenges girls face in her community. “During my school days my parents were not at all concerned with my education,” she says frankly. “I finished school only because I wanted to have a better life and to not have to struggle for food.”

Her status as the village’s first-ever graduate has earned young Hoeurn a great deal of respect within her community and made her parents very proud. She says she will never forget that moment when she was able to share the fruits of her labor with them.

"When my first paycheck arrived, my father and mother were quiet for a long time and had tears in their eyes," she recalls. "Now they insist that my kid sister and brother stay in school, too.”

These days, Hoeurn is the primary breadwinner for her entire family, and plans to attend University within a few years. “I hope to receive a full scholarship, but my parents would still need a little bit of money to run the house,” she says. “Because of this, I set aside half of my salary each month to prepare for when I will be studying full-time and unable to earn for them.”

After university, Hoeurn has her sights set on becoming a teacher and returning to Kampong Cham to bring technology to the schools in her area. “I know from my own experience how much education can be empowering, so I must support all girls to see that as well,” she says.

Learn more about Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program.

Video Blog: Celebrating Mandela Day and the Power of Language in South Africa

July 18 is Mandela Day, a day aimed at inspiring individuals to take action to help change the world for the better. In addition to encouraging all people to spend 67 minutes of the day engaged in community service (one minute to mark each year Mr. Mandela spent in public service), it is about inspiring a global movement for good.

At Room to Read, we have seen firsthand the challenges South Africa's educational system has faced, not least of which is providing quality reading material in all 11 of the country's official languages. We launched our operations in South Africa six years ago to honor the country's rich linguistic diversity and cultural heritage in storybooks.

In honor of Mandela Day, we asked our South Africa team to reflect on the power of language, and how the availability of high-quality, locally-relevant children's books has affected the lives of the children served by our programs.

Take a look:

 

Lear more about our work in South Africa.

Photo Blog from Vietnam: The Color Palette

Phong Le is Room to Read’s Country Director for Vietnam. Last week, in addition to his usual duties, this meant hosting our annual Country Management Conference (CMC), a time when our country, regional and global management teams gather to make decisions on strategic and operational matters affecting the organization as a whole. An avid photographer, Phong agreed to share some of his pictures and reflections from the event.

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I named this post “The Color Palette,” because that is the best way I can think of to describe Room to Read—different people from different continents, countries and cultures working together to provide better education for our children. After hosting the Country Management Conference this year, I see us as colors on a palette, and am more confident than ever that together we are painting a bright picture.

This year’s CMC was a long-awaited and very inspirational event for me, and for the rest of the Room to Read Vietnam staff. We have been hard at work preparing enthusiastically for the arrival of our colleagues from around the world, and the effort was well worth it.

The week began with a celebration of CEO Erin Ganju’s 10 years of service to the organization. We then continued the conference with many meetings, workshops and discussions around how to make our programs the best they can be, and how we can learn from each other’s successes. We ended the week with a farewell dinner that introduced Vietnamese culture to our guests, with traditional dance and music performed by our staff and their friends.

The cap on a truly inspirational week was a group site visit to see some of Room to Read Vietnam’s projects in the field. I was so touched to see our Girls’ Education program participants speaking confidently with our guests from other countries and hearing the young students in our libraries read aloud for us. I was reminded of the power education has to connect people, and to make distances—even between countries—seem shorter.

Lear more about our work in Vietnam.

Guest Blog from CEO Erin Ganju: A Mother's Day Tribute

It is hard to argue that gender disparity in education no longer exists when one realizes that of the 793 million illiterate people in the world, two-thirds are female. Likewise, it would be difficult to challenge the importance of providing girls with an education, as we know that educating females is the most powerful and effective way to address global poverty. Educated mothers are more likely to educate their own children—ending the cycle of illiteracy in one generation. What is perhaps less definitive is how best to tackle this issue. With many barriers facing girls in the developing world that go far beyond simple economics, including cultural bias, tradition and safety concerns, the answer is admittedly not simple. Yet, for many areas in the world, one of the answers may lie in the synergy of parental support and the support of women in their families and communities.

Parental involvement plays a paramount role in shaping girls' expectations for themselves and deciding how long they will remain in school. As CEO of Room to Read, I have had the great fortune of meeting many parents during my travels. While of varying cultures, a common thread unites them all—a strong commitment to supporting their daughters' education. Even when the prevailing culture may not place a high value to girls' education, and despite the fact that they may not have been personally afforded such opportunities when they were young, many parents still remain steadfastly committed to the dream of having their daughters receive a quality education, and seeing them graduate from secondary school and perhaps even attending a university.

In Andhra Pradesh, India, a mother of one of our Girls' Education participants remarked, "I can now dream of my only daughter going for higher studies, getting a job and earning her own money. She won't have to live like us." In Siem Reap, Cambodia, a mother shared with me, "I am illiterate. I don't want her to have the same fate. I don't have an inheritance for her. I know only that knowledge will be a priceless and lifelong gift for her."

Parents' commitment to their daughter's education may also be reflected in other ways. I have visited some of the homes of our Girls' Education students, and been inspired to meet parents who have shown their commitment by utilizing the very best space in their small family home to create a study area. Additionally, despite the challenge of long work hours and great distances to their daughters' schools, 88 percent of parents and guardians find a way to attend parent workshops we offer.

It must be recognized, however, that in many countries, the sphere of parental influence is often extended to others, most often women. Grandmothers and aunts play an important role in ensuring that girls remain in school. I met a grandmother in Zambia who donated her time and energy to volunteering at the local school. In Vietnam, one elderly grandmother noted about her granddaughter Thu, "I cook for her so she can save time to concentrate on her studies. I don't want her to get married soon. I want her to study to get a good job first." This level of devotion is also reflected in the words of an aunt from Laos who remarked upon hearing that her niece would be part of our Girls' Education program, "When I heard Inkham was selected by Room to Read, I couldn't sleep. I felt as if I had won a kilogram of gold."

As another extension to familial influence, other women outside the family can serve as role models in the lives of young girls. Room to Read has invested in "social mobilizers," a term we use for women in the community that work directly with our Girls' Education students to serve as a personal advocate on their path to graduation from secondary school. This role may take many forms. In Bangladesh, it may include advocating against early marriage so that girls can remain in school longer. In Zambia, it may include exploring an attendance issue that has resulted because the walk to school may be too dangerous or far. As members of the community themselves, our social mobilizers understand the pressures that these girls face and can serve to exemplify the educated, empowered women they may become one day.

As a mother of a six-year-old daughter, I have been humbled to witness the extraordinary lengths taken by parents and women in the communities around the world to ensure a girl's education, despite the odds. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all." On this Mother's Day, I salute not only dedicated mothers everywhere, but all women who recognize that a mother's hope starts with education and devote a part of themselves every day to ensure this for the girls in their lives and communities.

This blog post was adapted from A Mother's Day Tribute: The Role of Women and Parenting in Girls' Education Around the World, originally published by The Huffington Post on May 10, 2012.

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 CEO Erin Ganju: A Call for Advocacy on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, not only provides an opportunity for all women to celebrate the progress we have made, but also a moment to stop and reflect on how we may ensure that the next generation of women are empowered to reach their full potential.

Despite the substantial advancements in many countries, some very sobering statistics remain. Of the 793 million illiterate people in the world, two-thirds are female. And although there has been a worldwide increase in the enrollment of girls in primary schools, there remains a substantial gender gap at the secondary level. This is particularly true in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where—according to a World Development Report—there were only 66 female tertiary students for every 100 male students.

It is widely known that educating girls is one of the most powerful and effective ways to address global poverty, but the barriers to education facing girls in the developing world go far beyond simple economics. Girls are often tapped to help in the home, including several hours of housework and sibling care before and after school, and parents may be reluctant to allow their daughters to trek the lengthy distances to school. Cultural bias only compounds these issues.

One of the most powerful ways to support girls to overcome these barriers is by acting as advocates. At Room to Read, our advocacy efforts include enlisting family support, engaging with governments and communities, and providing life skills workshops for girls. We also employ social mobilizers, women who serve as role models and counselors, and help girls navigate their individual journeys.

The power of advocacy is clear in stories like that of Suma Tharu, one of our Girls' Education scholars who was invited to perform at this week's Women in the World Summit, hosted by The Daily Beast and Newsweek in New York City. Such an invitation would no doubt have been unimaginable to Suma as a young girl trapped as an indentured servant in Nepal’s illegal Kamlari system, but today she stands as a thriving example of what a quality education and a lot of determination can yield. At 19, Suma is expected to complete secondary school in March 2014, and has plans to become an advocate herself.

Despite all the challenges that Suma has faced, her thoughts are focused on the needs of other girls. At this week’s summit, Suma will share with the world a song she wrote about the challenges faced by girls in the Kamlari system—giving a voice to a community whose struggles are often overlooked. We first heard Suma's song when she shared it with the producers of 10x10, a feature film and social action campaign aimed at highlighting the stories of 10 girls from 10 countries as they struggle to earn an education. When she returns to Nepal, Suma plans to become a health teacher, so that she may educate and empower other young girls.

The need for advocacy is not limited to girls and women in developing countries.  In 1950, only one-third of working-age women in America had a paid job, a figure that has now been doubled. Despite this incredible advancement however, women still represent less than 15 percent of corporate executives and board members at top companies. More alarmingly, only three percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.

Although there are undoubtedly numerous contributory factors inherent in such inequalities, a recent study revealed that one of the key issues for women as they seek to advance in business is a lack of senior executives who would advocate for them; someone who could help navigate the internal politics in companies. Men were much more likely to have such an advocate to help guide and facilitate their advancement.

So on International Women’s Day, let us all look toward ways to advocate for girls and women—those in our personal lives, professional networks or in the world at large. Perhaps Suma’s courage can guide and inspire us, an extraordinary example that no matter what challenges we may be faced with, there may still be room in our lives to advocate for another.

Watch the live stream of Suma's performance in New York today at 6:30 PM EST or Saturday, March 10 at 11:00 AM EST, and find out how you can support girls like her across the developing world on our website.

This blog post was adapted from International Women's Day: Advancing the Next Generation of Gals, originally published by the Huffington Post on March 8, 2012.