Room to Read Blog

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:

 

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!

Guest Blog from John Wood: Catching Up with Phung from Vietnam

Last fall, Nicholas Kristof wrote about a Vietnamese girl, Dao Ngoc Phung, and her family. Her story inspired readers of The New York Times to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Room to Read's work around the globe, to support other children like Phung in achieving their dreams. This past month on a trip to Vietnam, John Wood had a chance to visit Phung and her family in the Mekong Delta to check on her progress and hear about what she has planned in the future. 

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For Phung and her family, life continues to present challenges, and yet they remain optimistic and resilient.  

Her father, Mr. Hiep, has realized his dream of running a small furniture assembly business close to home. This means that he is no longer working in Ho Chi Minh City, and is now able to be with his family seven nights a week. A neighbor loaned him a small piece of land, and he borrowed $2,000 from a relative and from the local veteran’s committee. He showed us his shop, where currently he is building a bed frame for a local newlywed couple along with a large cabinet for their living area. The work pays as well as a day’s labor in Ho Chi Minh City, so he is very happy. If he had more capital he could hire an assistant and do even more, but for now he is content. 

His four children are all so delighted to have their father home. Phung said that she feels more secure and added that she is no longer the one responsible for the morning wake up call for her younger siblings. “My father now wakes me up each morning.”

Mr. Hiep wakes up at 1:00 am to begin his day’s labor, having gone to bed between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm most nights. There is a hammock in his work shed, leading me to believe that he must supplement his sleep with an afternoon siesta. I hope so, as he still has lingering effects from malaria contracted during the Vietnam War. 

Phung is fantastic. Her face lit up when I told her that as a result of the Times’ story about her, Room to Read raised enough funding to send an additional 3,000 girls to school. I told her this number rather than raw dollars raised, as I just don’t think she can contemplate a number like $750,000 (or, for that matter, 15 billion dong). Mr. Hiep chimed in to say that he is so proud that through the family’s story, “other girls in Vietnam and beyond” are being helped.

This year, Phung’s class sits for two exams: one to pass 9th grade and another to enter 10th grade. Phung already passed the former, as did the 144 girls in the Room to Read program who sat for the same test. I asked Phung if she thinks she’ll do well on the 10th grade entrance exam, which affects where she will attend upper secondary school. “Yes, of course,” she said, without hesitation. She described her physics homework as “easy.” I told her that I did terribly in physics class in school, which elicited a small smile.

Both of her younger siblings are also in school and doing well. During our conversation, they upgraded themselves to the main table with the adults, rather than sitting off to the side as they did when I visited in November. They paid attention the whole time and did not fidget at all despite a long conversation. They seem to be gaining self-confidence from their sister.

Mr. Hiep said that he still attends all the parent-teacher meetings and tries to encourage other parents to do the same. “If I were to give my children land, they could sell it and spend the money,” he said, adding: “But if I give them education, they will always have that.”

As for her future, Phung is most definitely on track to make it to university and said that is very much her plan. And thanks to Times’ readers, there is now money available to help make that dream a reality. 

This blog post was originally featured on Nicholas Kristof's blog from The New York Times, On the Ground.

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.

Mark Your Calendars: Half the Sky Brings Girls’ Education to the Small Screen

“How we treat women and girls is absolutely essential to who we are as a people.” —Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State

Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide—that’s the aim of Half the Sky, a groundbreaking documentary that will air on PBS October 1 and 2 across the United States. Inspired by the best-selling book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the film is aimed at galvanizing public action for the rights of women and girls.

Over two days, Half the Sky will take viewers on a tour of ten countries to explore the most pressing challenges facing women and girls around the globe, including maternal mortality, gender-based violence and human trafficking. It will also showcase tangible solutions to fight these problems, such as gender equality in education—highlighted for its uniquely transformative power to alleviate poverty in one generation.

Last fall, Half the Sky's film crew made its way to Vietnam’s Mekong Delta to learn more about the success of our Girls’ Education program in the region. Led by our local staff, founder John Wood, author Nicholas Kristof and actress Gabrielle Union—one of six celebrity advocates in the film—met with several of the girls supported by our program, documenting their stories and learning about the challenges they face.

Those stories, along with others from Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the United States, will be broadcast nationwide on October 1 and 2 in the United States on PBS. Until then, here is a sneak peek to tide you over:

Learn more about our Girls’ Education program.

With Newfound Confidence and Her Family’s Support, Ngoc Gioi Finds Her Own Path to Success

Beneath her friendly demeanor and dimpled smile, sixteen-year-old Ngoc Gioi is all business—a dedicated student who starts her days at 4:00am.

The youngest of four children, Ngoc Gioi says she is lucky. Despite financial hardship, her parents always stress the value of education, and do everything they can to help their daughter stay in school. Her older sister, also a bright student, was forced to drop out after the fifth grade to take care of the three younger children, and is determined to ensure her sister does not suffer the same fate. “My brother is supportive, too,” says Ngoc Gioi. “He helps with my studies, and often gives me pocket money from his earnings.”

That small bit of extra money comes in handy for Ngoc Gioi, who lives alone in a small rented room close to school. Thu Khoa Thua High School is more than 40 kilometers from her parents’ home, a trip that would be far too difficult and dangerous for the teenager to make daily. Living on her own, says Ngoc Gioi, is difficult, but she has developed a routine that helps her manage.

At 4:00am, Ngoc Gioi starts her day with a light breakfast and some last-minute studying before school starts at 7:00. She attends classes from 7:00am to 5:00pm, except for a short lunch break that she uses to do grocery shopping and prepare her lunch and dinner for the day. After school, Ngoc Gioi goes to tutoring until 8:00pm. Although she has been comfortably ranked at the top of her class throughout secondary school, she knows that good grades are key in helping her achieve her dream of becoming a teacher, so she never misses a session.

After finishing her homework and chores, Ngoc Gioi ends her days with a little relaxation, listening to music on a second-hand mobile phone her dad purchased for her as a gift.

The support Ngoc Gioi receives through the Girls’ Education program has helped her remain focused on her schoolwork “I used to be burdened by guilt—watching my parents struggle and sacrifice so much just to keep me in school,” she says. “Now that guilt is washed off and I can study in peace.”

In addition to easing her family’s financial burden, the program has developed Ngoc Gioi’s confidence. “I find the life skill training and camps very empowering,” she says with a smile. “I have learned to be more confident and how to articulate myself well. “

The skills she has gained will serve Ngoc Gioi well as a teacher, but that’s not the only goal she’s set for herself. “I would like to help other girls by passing on some of the skills that I learned through the Girls’ Education Program and to see the world outside of my village,” she says of her future plans. “I think my first stop would be France, to see the Eiffel tower and French fashion!"

Learn more about our Girls Education program. 

Girl Graduates Gather for Annual Alumnae Meeting in Vietnam

The sun was shining brightly over Vietnam's Long An province on October 16 and over Can Giuoc Secondary School. Sundays are normally quiet on school grounds, but this is an exception—with more than 40 graduates of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program on campus for the annual alumnae meeting.

All of the attendees have completed secondary school and most are scattered among colleges and universities in and around Ho Chi Minh City. Each year, our team invites these girls from four provinces to return to the local high school for a meetup, to share successes and swap advice on school, friends, love and life away from home. Through these meetings, the young women are able to retain connections they made in secondary school and refresh what they learned through the program.

The day’s activities began with an exercise in reflection and goal-setting called Vẽ lại “cây cuộc đời (the tree of life). Each one of the young women was given a blank outline of a tree and art supplies, with instructions to add flowers and fruit to represent personal success, leaves for future goals, worms for obstacles and roots for motivation. The girls then shared their experiences with the rest of the group—including Room to Read staff. 

One scholar, Nguyen Thi Yen Xuan spoke of how the life skills training she received had helped her achieve greater independence: "I have gained a scholarship for university, learned how to use a computer and become more confident compared to my classmates."

Another girl, Vo Thi Kim Tram, agreed. “I have gained interpersonal and leadership abilities,” she said. “I know how to set clear objectives for every activity and how to prioritize well.” She also shared her motivation to continue in school with the group. “My sister only completed grade two," she said solenmly. "I have to do more.”

After sharing their stories, the girls reflected together on the mutual challenges they have faced since graduation and those that lie ahead, including transportation, finding accommodations and balancing school with work.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong voiced her frustration that her journey to school every day requires a commute of more than 2.5 hours. Another girl, Nguyen Thi Cam Giang, who takes three separate bus trips to get to school each day, was comforted to hear that other girls had experienced struggles similar to hers.

After the sharing period, the young women were led in a resume writing workshop by our local team and discussed their individual career goals. Girls like Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thao, who just graduated with honors in Intermediate Medicine, provided inspiration for others like Tran Thi Cam Hong who currently works eight hours in a factory every day and studies accounting in the evenings.

For our Girls’ Education program team in Vietnam, these alumnae meetings are not only a chance to catch up with former scholars, but also to see their hard work in action. Every day, throughout the surrounding provinces, these girls are putting their education and life skills training to use. They are confident, empowered young women and role models in their communities, armed with the tools they need to succeed.

Learn more about our Girls’ Education program and meet some of our Girl Graduates.

Show & Tell: Postcards from Vietnam's Mekong Delta

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

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Today’s show and tell comes from Danielle Reichner, senior global program operations officer.  

Along with colleagues John Beaulieu (regional director for Asia) and Steve Wisman (director of international operations), Danielle had the chance to visit a Room to Read library in the Tieu Can District of Vietnam's Mekong Delta earlier this month. 

Danielle sent back these photos from her visit:

Learn more about our School Library program and our work in Vietnam.

Hitting Another Room to Read Milestone: 10 Million Reasons to Celebrate

Today, in the Tien Giang Province of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, Room to Read celebrated a milestone eleven years in the making.

At a ceremony held at Ngu Hiep 2 Primary School, founder John Wood and the Room to Read Vietnam team delivered a brand new box of books to the school’s library, symbolizing the 10 millionth book donated to our network of over 12,000 libraries in nine developing countries.

The emblematic book, Floating Market, is a Room to Read original title produced through our Local Language Publishing program, which comprise more than half of all books donated to date. It is also a “big book,” of which we’ve printed many in Vietnam—designed to help teachers and librarians facilitate shared reading activities.

The commemorative ceremony was indeed a moment of reflection and pride for our hard-working team, but most of all it was about the children we work with. The day’s festivities included literacy games, story time and a workshop lead by one of our talented illustrators, and attended by a bustling crowd of enthusiastic young readers.

Below are several photos of this morning’s ceremony, which we hope you’ll enjoy. After all, without our passionate community of supporters around the world, none of this would be possible. On behalf of the entire Room to Read family, thank you for joining us in our belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children, and for helping make it a reality.

 

 

Read the full press release related to our 10 millionth book milestone on our website.

Six Short Weeks: Room to Read’s First Ever (Mini) Film Festival!

Over the past year, documentary filmmakers James Connolly and Rachelle Escaravage visited Room to Read projects throughout Asia. They met the children and communities that are benefitting from our programs, and recorded their stories on film.

Now those stories are the subject of six mini-documentaries, each focusing on one aspect of Room to Read’s work promoting literacy and gender equality in education. Over the next six weeks, we’ll be releasing those videos one at a time—providing you with a closer look at our programs than ever before.

The videos will take you to India, Laos, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, inside the libraries, homes, classrooms and communities of the children we serve. So grab some popcorn, press play and enjoy the show!

 Watch the videos on our website.