Jane and Bob Breisch, Chairpersons                 610-415-9783

 

MISSION:  The statistics on illiteracy are staggering. UNESCO estimates that worldwide there are 770 million illiterate people, two-thirds of which are women and girls. More than 115 million children aren't enrolled in primary school. Over 250 million more will never have the opportunity to attend secondary school.   

 

Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to build schools, libraries and other educational infrastructure.  They 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 education can provide, Room to Read strives to flight illiteracy and break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.

 

Room to Read doesn't swoop down on a community and shower it with its Western-funded largesse. Room to Read requires strong local participation for its projects. Villages must cover a portion of a project's expense, often by donating labor, land or materials. In the group's view, the local commitment is critical to a project's success and sustainability. The majority of the nonprofit's staff members and volunteers live in countries where its projects are located.  Indeed, they hire local staff who are personally vested in their nation’s educational progress and empower them to make key programmatic decisions within their country.  They are already familiar with the language, conditions, customs and governments and understand the specific needs of the educational system and work to ensure Room to Read crafts new solutions to existing problems.

BRIEF HISTORY:  John Wood, Founder and CEO, launched Room to Read after a trek through Nepal.  He visited several local schools and was amazed by the warmth and enthusiasm of the teachers and students.  He was saddened, however, by the shocking lack of resources.  Driven to help, John left his senior executive position with Microsoft and built a global team to work with rural villages to build sustainable solutions to their educational challenges. 

 

Currently, Room to Read has launched projects in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zambia.

RESULTS TO DATE:  Since its inception in 2000, Room to Read has touched the lives of over 3.1 million children throughout the developing world. How?  They’ve constructed 765 schools, established over 7,000 libraries, published 327 new local language children's book titles with print runs of over 2.9 million books, donated over 2.8 million English language children’s books, established 179 computer and language labs and funded 6,817 long-term girls’ scholarships, which pay for tuition, school supplies and uniforms. 

In summary, John Wood states it best:  “Without access to education, people don't have a reasonable chance of rising out of poverty.  Yes, people need immunizations; they need access to clean water," he says. "But there's a failure to realize that we're asking people to fight with one arm tied around their back if we don't address education." 

 

More information is available on Room to Read’s web site:  http://www.roomtoread.org/  Or better yet, read Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood.  It might change yours!

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