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Room to Read

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 8 months ago

 

Room to Read

 

http://www.roomtoread.org/

 

profile of John Wood and Room to Read

 

 

Room to Read is a nonprofit charitable organization founded by former Microsoft employee John Wood and based in San Francisco. It is dedicated to building education infrastructure and awarding scholarships for girls in developing countries to end the cycle of poverty. Their unique "adopt a project" form of donating, in which you are told how much money is needed to build a school/library/computer lab or award a scholarship and therefore know exactly what your money goes to, has met with considerable success. They have operations in many South and Southeast Asian countries, including Nepal, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Sri Lanka. They are currently expanding to Africa, with South Africa being their first country in that region.

 

 

History

In 1998, John Wood went on a trekking vacation from his job at Microsoft Australia in mountainous Nepal. There, he met an "Education Resource Officer" named Pasupathi who offered to show him one of the schools he managed. When they reached the school, Wood found what he saw as a depressingly small and inappropriate library: Finnegan's Wake, a romance novel, a travel guide for Mongolia, and little else. They were so precious that they were kept under lock and key for fear that the children might damage them. Pasupathi said to him, "Perhaps, Sir, you will someday come back with books." After returning from the trek, Wood managed to collect over 3,000 books from friends, acquaintances, and donors. He then returned with eight donkeys and delivered the books. In 2000, after a rough transition out of Microsoft, he founded Room to Read and is operating it to this day.

 

 

Summary

 

Room to Read was founded in 2000 by John Wood after he left his career in Microsoft in order to form and lead this innovative NGO. RtoR partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure.

 

Room to Read currently operates in six countries in Asia and South Africa, and is expanding to Latin America, Africa and further into Asia. RtoR plans to expand its geographic reach to 15 countries and 10,000 libraries by 2010, including a launch into Latin America. The organization has also promised to self-publish over 3.5-million children's books in local languages across three continents.

• School Room — RtoR partners with villages to build schools.

• Reading Room — RtoR establishes bi-lingual libraries and fill them with donated English books and local language books purchased in-country or self-published, creating a colorful space with posters, games, furniture, and flooring.

• Local Language Publishing — RtoR sources new content from local writers and illustrators and publish high-quality local language children's books to distribute throughout our networks.

• Computer & Language Room — RtoR establishes labs to provide students with vocational skills and employment access.

• Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship — RtoR funds long-term girls' scholarships for young girls who would otherwise not have access to an education.

 

Links

 

 Educational Charities

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