How Room to Read Is Improving Language Education

Do you love reading? When did you first fall in love with books? Some voracious readers cannot pinpoint a particular moment because they grew up surrounded by books. Others remember a special teacher who read aloud in class or a funny, exciting story that awakened their passion for the printed page. How would your life be different if you never learned to read or if books were not readily available to you? These may be what-ifs for you, but they are the reality for a significant portion of the world’s population, resulting in poverty and lack of opportunities.

Think back to one of the stories that you enjoyed as a child. Was it perhaps a romance written by Danielle Steele? Likely not, but the children of one small village school in Nepal might have only her stories to remember. In 1998, John Wood, a Microsoft executive at the time, visited a school near the Himalayan mountains on a whim. He was surprised to discover that except for a Danielle Steele romance and a few other discarded tourist novels, the school had no books. Motivated to help, John personally delivered three thousand books collected from family and friends two months later. Yet, he realized that this school—these children—were not unique. Millions of schools around the world need resources. Millions of children deserve kid-friendly, educational books written in their native language. The next year, John left Microsoft to start the nonprofit organization Room to Read with a Nepali co-founder, Dinesh Shrestha.

Room to Read began by establishing libraries and building schools in rural communities. In doing the work, John and Dinesh decided to focus on three objectives. First, they realized that the earlier they could intervene, the more likely students were to acquire strong literacy skills and the love of reading. The charity needed to support the education of children starting early in their primary school career. Second, they needed to focus particular attention on girls deprived of education due to cultural bias. Third, they needed to publish reading materials in local languages because suitable existing texts were hard to find.

Has Room to Read made a difference in the communities of the ten countries that it serves? Each year, the organization collects data from the field to ensure that goals are being met. Every five years, Room to Read uses field data to analyze and adjust organization goals and teaching strategies. The local teams have constructed nearly 2,000 schools and established over 17,000 libraries in developing countries. Their programs have benefited some 10 million children.

Prashanthi, a young woman in Sri Lanka, shares her experience with the Girls’ Education program. Sri Lankan tea is world renowned, and most of the locals in Prashanthi’s village work on the plantations. Though work is abundant, the families are poor, and the ill effects of poverty are evident as underweight children join their parents in the fields rather than continue their education. Prashanthi and her best friend Mogandashi dropped out of school at age fourteen to help support their families.

Ranjani, a social mobilizer from Room to Read, began visiting Prashanthi several times per week. Social mobilizers are local people who understand the challenges that youth face. Room to Read believes that local teams who feel a personal commitment to their nation’s younger generation can best motivate them to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the program. Ranjani would “just talk” with Prashanthi and encourage her “in the most sisterly way” to finish her secondary school education. Eventually, Prashanthi and her friend Mogandashi did just that.

Both girls now have the goal of attending university next year. To prepare, Prashanthi is taking English and computer classes. She and Mogandashi have become agents of social change in their community. They tutor local children in math and reading in Prashanthi’s bedroom, sometimes squeezing twenty children into the tiny space. Prashanthi’s statement sums up the motive of the program: “I understand how they feel, and so my hope is that even while I am away at university they will remain inspired and find the courage to carry on—to continue, graduate and work hard towards a better future.”

Do you love books? When you love something, you usually like to recommend it to others. Would you like to show millions of impoverished children how literacy can improve their lives? Why not visit Room to Read online to see how you can participate?

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