Room to Read

About us

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.

This organisation cooperate with the Maecenata Foundation:
https://www.betterplace.org/c/help/what-is-maecenata/