Donation #3 - Education

Recently I've had a dilemma of trying to keep up with this while on vacation. It's been difficult to be able to scrounge some time between the hours of traveling, and exploring various places. But while on vacation, I finally figured something that struck a chord with me.

Education.

I feel the more educated we become in all areas the more enriching life becomes, and the more we can make logical decisions. That steps in knowledge benefits ourselves and humanity as a whole. That the more we know, the more the world will benefit.

Education is a major life lesson here in the U.S. When I was a child I remember everyday groaning about how I never wanted to go to school. How I hated it, how I hated learning, and grades and teachers and lunches. How I hated everything about it. As an adult I regret never taking my education seriously, even when I was in college. Then it occurred to me.

There are children around the world who don't have the free education that we have. Who don't have the privilege of a free public education. Children who love to learn, who want to learn, who want more from life. But can't attend because of circumstance, and because of this children aren't given the education that they sorely need.

So in this, children are the future of our world, our economy, and our relations to the rest of the world. With education we can open many doors, and that are otherwise shut. With it we fulfill life, and ourselves.

After much debate I finally came down to a group that I feel is making strides in education to impoverished areas of the world.

Room to Read:

They are a diverse team of people working in several countries to ensure that education is had by all. They are a completely transparent group, with links to their Financials and winners for the Charity Navigator's 4 star rating for 7 years in a row.

Room to Read started back in 1998 when a Microsoft Exec named John Wood came across the harsh reality faced by many children around the world. After experiencing this and seeing the lack of books available John and friends started collecting children's books. Within two months they collected over 3,000 books. The following year John and his father returned to the village that he visited with eight book bearing donkeys. In 1999 he quit his job with Microsoft and started Room to Read.

Their mission is simple:

To work with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the life skills they'll need to succeed in school and beyond.

They're main focuses are on literacy and gender equality. Why you may ask gender equality? Well the program explains it as such.

Of all the 793 million people across the globe that lack the ability to read and write two-thirds of them are female, and over 90% live in developing countries. Educating girls and women is widely acknowledged as an effective way to address global poverty. If a woman finishes secondary school she will earn more money, have smaller, healthier families and more likely to educate their own children. Thus breaking the cycle of illiteracy in one generation.

Also females are less likely to attend school vs their male counterparts in developing countries. Hence, gender equality.

But Room to Read doesn't just boast about literacy for females. They boast on providing child-friendly books published by local authors, or books written in local language. Helping to unite communities together in the construction of schools and libraries.

So far Room to Read has established:

15,320 - Libraries
1,681 - Schools
13,387,051 - Books
887 - Published Books
22,408 - Girls' Education Participants
7.8 Million children benefitted

They continue to strive with Monitoring and Evaluation, Working with Partners, and Looking Ahead to try to help end world poverty with education.

They are working in many places including:

Bangladesh
Cambodia
India
Laos
Nepal
Sri Lanka
South Africa
Tanzania
Vietnam
Zambia


There are many ways you Can Help.

You can Start a Campaign.
Join your Local Chapter (Seattleites go Here.)
You can Sponsor a Project
Support Students Helping Students
Attend Events
Or even Donate ( Any amount will do)

For this group I donated 50$ in hopes that someday people will see how important education is to the future of our world.

You can match my donation here or donate any amount you see fit.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Room to Read and hope they continue on with their wonderful work.

If you wish to learn more about them Here's their website.

To the rest of the world, let's give these kids a head start.

<3 - Amanda