Room to Read transforms the lives of millions of children through education, creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations, and governments, Room to Read develops literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and supports girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. Their work supports children in communities experiencing deep educational and economic inequities, where investments in education accelerate positive change for children, families, and communities.
There are 850 million illiterate people in the developing world.
RtR builds educational institutions and systems in countries that lack resources
John Wood found his life's passion trekking in Nepal and then returning with more than 3,000 books for a neglected library.
RtR has built more than 1,752 schools, opened 16,060 libraries, and distributed 13.3 million books in 10 countries.
Room to Read transforms the lives of millions of children through education, creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. The organization envisions a world in which all children can pursue a quality education that prepares them to be fulfilled and make positive changes, their families, communities, and the world.
Through its programs and technical assistance projects, Room to Read partners with organizations and governments to implement its model at scale across new geographies. Room to Read aims to not only increase the number of children reached but also drive transformational change by influencing national and subnational education systems.
Founder & Executive, Chairman, Room to Read
In 1998, John Wood was trekking in Nepal on holiday from his life as a senior Microsoft executive. Visiting a school, he was saddened by its library, a crumbling building almost devoid of books. Thinking how his hometown library had affected his life, he returned a short time later on a yak with more than 3,000 books. In early 2000, he founded Room to Read. The library in Nepal — a supposedly one-off project — had become his life’s passion. RtR is builds educational institutions and systems in countries that lack resources, partnering with a community that provides land, materials, labor, and some of the funding to construct a school or to establish a library. RtR offers library training, English and native-language books, monitors performance, and offers scholarships to girls. RtR often acts as a model for the government education systems by testing new programs and methods. In Cambodia, it pioneered computer labs in secondary schools. Noting a lack of children’s books in Nepal, it partnered with NGOs and a publisher to produce books by local authors and illustrators. RtR has an innovative growth and sustainability model, with chapters in 40 cities around the world engaging more than 3,500 volunteers to raise awareness and money, and promoting RtR’s work by hosting events and offering “adopt a” library, school or girl scholarship options. At the time of the Award, Room to Read had constructed 700 schools, established 7,000 libraries, and funded 6,800 scholarships in eight countries.
Founder John Wood is no longer the chair of the board, but is actively focused on advocacy and strategy.
Since their founding in 2000, Room to Read has benefited more than 32 million children and has worked in 21 countries around the world to help young learners unlock their full potential through education. In 2019, our literacy program was recognized by the Center for Global Development and Learning@Scale‚ a research initiative, as one of only eight programs globally that are effective at scale‚ (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). Additionally, Room to Read was one of three recipients awarded the 2020 David M. Rubenstein Special Response Award of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program. This award recognizes Room to Read as a best practice model for our responsiveness and outstanding work addressing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest.
