Last night at The Biz Tech Day cocktail party, I ran into a friend, Tim Ferriss, who was telling me about why he supports RoomToRead. Knowing about the organization, but not really investigating and researching how it works, the history of the organization or learning about the inspiration behind why CEO, John Wood launched the organization – I was floored. The impact that this organization has made around literacy of school children since 2000 is unbelievable – The sad truth is that there are 76 million primary school children that are not enrolled in school, 80% of these children live in rural areas of developing countries, there are 774 million adults around the world who cannot read or write, 64% of these people are women – this is why I am committed to helping RoomToRead, through Girls in Tech, SmittenWithMittens and my personal
capital and voice.
Since their inception in 2000, Room to Read has impacted the lives of over 3.1 million children in the developing world by:
- Constructing 765 schools
- Establishing over 7,160 libraries
- Publishing 333 new local language children’s titles representing over 2.8 million books
- Donating over 2.8 million English language children’s books
- Funding 7,132 long-term girls’ scholarships
- Establishing 179 computer and language labs
Here is a little more information surrounding the organization. You should help Room to Read too!
They partner with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children’s literature, constructing schools, and providing education to girls. They seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, they strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.
June 16th, 2010 at 5:28 am
I’d like to let you know about a national organization serving WOMEN’s literacy needs & awareness: WE LEARN, Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource Network. WE LEARN is a community promoting women’s literacy as a tool that fosters empowerment and equity for women.
WE LEARN seeks to build a just society and healthy communities. Therefore, we focus on education, specifically the basic literacies women need to gain access to systems of power and to achieve personal and community empowerment. Women’s pursuit of multiple literacies gives visibility to our experiences as women, sustains our on-going desire to learn, encourages critical thinking, and provides the support and information necessary for reflection, understanding, and action to change our current situations.
WE LEARN engages a diverse membership community of adult basic education and literacy learners and alumni, educators, researchers and professional women, community activists and anyone dedicated to moving our mission forward.
WE LEARN (incorporated as a 501(c)3 educational non-profit with an operating budget of $70,000 a year) is in the process of outlining and developing a Connect-(Net)Working to address Women, Literacy, and Community through Interactive Technologies. This plan will address the ways in which WE LEARN can most effectively use the creative and interactive benefits of web-based and communications technologies to support and advance WE LEARN’s mission.
We’re in need of technical expertise/consultation, volunteers to develop and implement the plan, and funding. Please contact me if you have something to offer our work: welearn@litwomen.org