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Room to Read

Room to Read
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Website: www.roomtoread.org
   
1998 John Wood, then a Microsoft executive went trekking in the Himalaya. He learned that the illiteracy rate of Nepal was one of the highest in the world. The reason for this being the lack of resources such as schools, teachers and books. Subsequently John Wood decided to help. He roused friends and colleagues to donate childrens books and money. The first load of books was distributed with a "donkey train" to the remote areas of Nepal. In the year 2000 John quit Microsoft in order to dedicate himself completely to fighting illiteracy. Room to Read was founded. The organisation grew quickly and currently works in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and South Africa. Our plans include expansion into Bangladesh and Zambia.

The Room to Read Room Mission
Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education is a lifelong gift that empowers people to ultimately improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only an education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.

To increase the likelihood for success, Room to read enlists community involvement. We hire local staff who know best the needs of their country. Our challenge grants require villages to co-invest with us on all of our projects, promoting community empowerment and the long-term sustainability of our projects.

Room to Read is committed to transparency and treating our donors as investors both in our
organization and in education throughout the developing world.

Current Projects (2):

  • Room to Dream

    Donors resident in Germany receive a donation receipt for this project. We cannot guarantee that this receipt will be accepted for tax deduction outside of Germany, but we are working hard to make donations tax deductable in as many countries as possible. Room to Dream
    Location: Bengaluru, India • Supporters: 3

    € 3000,- are necessary to fund a library within an existing room in a school. The libraries will be furnished and supplied with 300-1000 local language and English language books and thus provide a child-friendly learning environment.

  • Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship Program

    Donors resident in Germany receive a donation receipt for this project. We cannot guarantee that this receipt will be accepted for tax deduction outside of Germany, but we are working hard to make donations tax deductable in as many countries as possible. Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship Program
    Location: Pnom Penh, Cambodia • Supporters: 14

    We fund long term scholarships for young girls who would otherwise not have access to an education. "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela

Completed Projects (1):

  • The Reading Room Program

    Donors resident in Germany receive a donation receipt for this project. We cannot guarantee that this receipt will be accepted for tax deduction outside of Germany, but we are working hard to make donations tax deductable in as many countries as possible. The Reading Room Program
    Location: Kathmandu, Nepal • Supporters: 0

    We establish bi-lingual libraries and fill them with local and English language children's books. Every library is built with co-investments from the respective local villages.

English (2):

  • Room to Dream

    by Renée F., posted 11 months ago

    At the Clinton Global Initiative former President Bill Clinton together with John Wood announced Room to Read’s historic commitment to double the reach of its programs by establishing 10000 bilingual libraries by 2010. The campaign has been named ... …more

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