education changes everything

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Room to Read Girls’ Education Yearbook 2010 Education Changes Everything Aklima, Bangladesh, pg 21 Uch, Cambodia, pg 13 Maheswari, India, pg 9 Nijima, Nepal, pg 19 Kalpani, Sri Lanka, pg 15 Anh Thu, Vietnam, pg 17 Marjory, Zambia, pg 11 MEET SOME OF OUR 2010 SCHOLARS Inkham, Laos, pg 5 Girls enrolled in program in 2010 10,594 Girls who completed the program and graduated 149 D i p l o m a 97% Advancement rate 100% 0% 50% Program retention rate 95%

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Room to Read Girls' Education Yearbook 2010

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Page 1: Education Changes Everything

Room to ReadGirls’ Education Yearbook 2010

Education Changes Everything

Aklima, Bangladesh, pg 21

Uch, Cambodia, pg 13Maheswari, India, pg 9

Nijima, Nepal, pg 19Kalpani, Sri Lanka, pg 15 Anh Thu, Vietnam, pg 17

Marjory, Zambia, pg 11

MEET SOME OF OUR 2010 SCHOLARS

Inkham, Laos, pg 5

Girls enrolled in program in 2010

10,594

Girls who completed the program and graduated

149

Diploma

97%Advancement rate

100%

0%

50%

Program retention rate95%

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Women do 67% of the world’s work.

Women produce 50% of the world’s food.

Women earn 10% of the world’s income.

Women own 1% of the world’s property.

And of the 796 million illiterate people in the world today, over 2/3 of them are women.

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Dear Friends,

An often-quoted African proverb wisely notes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” At Room to Read, we firmly believe in the power of an influen-tial circle of individuals

around each child, providing them the guidance and support they need to become educated and optimistic adults.

Because Room to Read takes a holistic approach to the education and development of each girl in our Girls’ Education program, our “village” covers all aspects of the student’s life—her home, her school and the larger community in which she lives. Every one of these girls comes from extraordinary cir-cumstances, which makes their network even more critical to building a future filled with hope rather than despair. As you look through this yearbook, you’ll be introduced to some of the important peo-ple in the lives of several of our girls. Each person introduced plays a unique and critical role. In the end, they all provide encouragement and guidance to each girl when she faces challenges on her way to completing secondary school.

But there are even more people standing behind that village of support; the groups of individuals whose commitment and dedication allow us to continue to expand our reach to girls seeking to fulfill their dreams of completing their education. They are key members of our Girls’ Education fam-ily, without whom our program would not have achieved the success it has. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to them below.

Our Girls’ Education Program StaffRoom to Read is proud to claim a small but mighty army of professionals passionate about providing educational opportunities to girls. This team works tirelessly and travels constantly to effectively de-sign and implement the many aspects of our pro-gram for eight very different countries. Our entire Girls’ Education staff, from the global level to our country offices, provides a coordinated effort to develop programs that prove effective in each area. Each country presents its own unique challenges, in resources and cultural norms, and our staff is careful to approach program design with cultural sensitivity and respect.

Our PartnersRoom to Read recognizes the power of collaboration, especially in communities where we do not have a local presence. Many of our girls live in remote areas, several hours away from our country staff. By partner-ing with local non-governmental organizations who work directly in these marginalized regions, we are able to provide a critical link and personal connection to the girls and their families, as well as gain accep-tance by the local communities.

Our Social MobilizersGirls surrounded by poverty and illiteracy often do not have the benefit of positive female role models. They may never meet a woman who has been ed-ucated or has professional employment. Room to Read’s Social Mobilizers are women who work di-rectly with the girls, teaching them key life lessons about health, self-confidence, goal setting, employ-ment and more. These women often develop close relationships with the girls and their families, and they make themselves available to assist the girls as much as possible on their path to completing secondary school.

Our SupportersEducating girls is the best investment one can make in the fight to eradicate global poverty. As investors in our work, our supporters are critical members of our village, for without their financial backing, we would not have the resources to con-tinue to change the lives of girls around the world.

Room to Read now supports the formal education of over 10,000 girls in eight countries. While their stories and surroundings may vary greatly, the girls share one basic quality that crosses borders and languages: they desperately want to be educated. For those of us reading this Girls’ Education Year-book, being literate and educated is an assumption. But for millions of girls around the globe, attend-ing school is not even an option. Without education, their lives are quickly patterned to follow the path of generations of women before them—marrying and having children at a young age, living in pov-erty and often ill-health, and never having the op-portunity to ask themselves “What if?”

In the next several years, thousands of girls partici-pating in our Girls’ Education program will excit-edly receive news of their successful completion of secondary school. I hope you will share in the pride we all feel as we stand behind each young woman taking her next step forward, away from a life of poverty and into a world of possibility.

Warm regards,

Erin Ganju Co-Founder and CEO

“Room to Read now supports the formal education of over 10,000 girls in eight countries. While their stories and surroundings may vary

greatly, the girls share one basic quality that crosses borders and languages:

they desperately want to be educated.”

Page 3: Education Changes Everything

Education Changes Everything.It has been widely demonstrated that when girls learn, their families, communities and societies benefit.

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Educated women earn more. Providing girls with one extra year of education beyond the average boosts wages by

10–20%.

Educated women give back to their family. An educated girl will reinvest

90% back in her family because educated women are more likely to educate their own children, creating future generations of educated children.

Educated women are healthier.An extra year of girls’ education can reduce infant mortality by

5–10% and can reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and other preventable disease.

Educated women help their country’s economy.When 10 percent more girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases, on average, by

3%.

aklima, room to read scholar in bangladesh. to read her story, see page 21.

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Along with these successes, there continue to be challenges, primarily centered around drop-out rates that stem from both economic constraints and societal pressures of early marriage. In addition, since parents and grandparents are typically uned-ucated, girls also lack the home support they need to continue with their formal education. These par-ticular vulnerabilities that girls face emerge out of socially constructed gender norms, and histori-cally, gender inequalities in education cannot be changed by working with girls and women alone.

Our Girls’ Education program has therefore evolved to also focus on involving boys and men in many different ways through activities with all students, community members, teachers and local leaders. By doing this, we hope to raise awareness about the value of girls’ education and, by extension, strengthen the support system necessary for each girl to become empowered women.

With a decade’s worth of learning already achieved, Room to Read is incredibly proud of the progress we have made in the arena of girls’ education. When viewed in comparison with the entire scope of the uneducated female population of millions, 10,000 girls may seem to be a drop in the bucket. But that drop will quickly create a ripple that will multiply ex-ponentially across generations and across genders.

Today, despite advances in technology, healthcare and the economy, women and girls are still severely disadvantaged in many parts of the world. And while gender disparity and cultural differences may seem to complicate the search for a solution, there is one approach to improving the state of women that is universal: education.

Our Guiding PrinciplesAt Room to Read, we believe in the power of edu-cation to lead change, and because the majority of uneducated children are female, we place a special emphasis on providing the resources, tools and support that girls and young women in economi-cally challenged areas of the world need in order to realize their potential and no longer fall victim to a cycle of poverty and illiteracy.

Our Girls’ Education program was created in 2000 in an effort to begin bridging the gender gap in ed-ucation. We take a long-term approach with goals that aim to:

• Increase years of schooling for girls • Increase girls’ self-awareness, decision-making and problem-solving skills • Increase girl-friendliness of school environments • Increase family, peer and community awareness and support of girls’ education

• Increase collaboration with government to support policies and programs to promote girls’ education • Foster a girl-friendly environment

By working with local organizations and the sur-rounding community, we aim to address all aspects of a girl’s life, because this increases the likelihood for her continued education and future prospects.

Fostering a Girl-Friendly EnvironmentBy the end of 2010, the lives of over 10,000 girls in eight countries significantly changed because of their participation in the Girls’ Education program. Not only do they now have access to improved edu-cational opportunities and material support in the form of books, uniforms, bicycles and school sup-plies, they have also benefited from Room to Read’s life skills training which helps girls strengthen their ability to negotiate key life decisions through the-matic workshops on self-awareness, communica-tion, decision-making, problem-solving and coping with stress. We also host leadership training and provide academic support, medical check-ups and field trips—all as part of a multi-faceted approach to engage the students and their families, as well as the broader community, in fostering a girl-friendly environment.

By the end of 2010, the lives of over 10,000 girls in eight countries significantly changed because of their participation in the Girls’ Education program.

Increasing Academic Success

Our Girls’ Education program philosophy includes nine essential integrated ingredients that we believe substantially increase a girl’s ability to complete secondary school:

StakeholderEngagement

Local Government and Organizational

Partnerships

Infrastructure and School Improvement

Research, Assessment, Monitoring

and Evaluation

Mentoring

Academic Support

Material SupportLife Skills Education

Gender Responsive Teaching

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When you educate a girl, you educate a family that includes that girl’s future children, her community, her nation and the world.

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10W O R L D C H A N G E S T A R T S W I T H E D U C A T E D C H I L D R E N .

Grade: 5 SCHOLar SI NCe: 2009

InkhamAge: 11Oudomxay, Laos

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTProgram CollaborationOur Girls’ Education and Local Language Publishing program teams in Laos collaborated to distribute a total of 3,360 local

language books to support girl scholars in developing their literacy skills and to encourage them to read independently at home.

“Each morning I wake

up at 5 a.m. to cook rice and help my mother with

the house chores.”

“I feel relieved to know that Inkham

will have a better future and that her fate will not be the

same as her parents.”maita, uncle

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My name is Inkham. I am 11 years old, and I study at the Kornoy Complete Primary School in 5th grade in Oudomxay, Laos. I have two brothers, one older and one younger, and soon our family will have a new member as my mum is expecting her fourth child. I am hoping the baby will be a girl so that I can have some female bonding!

Sadly, both of my parents are mute. Despite this challenge, my family is able to communicate well, because my brothers and I have learned to “read” our parents’ expressions and hand movements. Even though they cannot speak, I know my parents are proud of me when I show them my grades and reading skills. They are also happy to have me read storybooks to them. Often while reading a book to them, I look at their faces and long for a magic wand to grant me a wish that would give my par-ents the ability to speak. Then we could talk about the stories I read to them. However, it doesn’t mat-ter because I still love them and I am proud to have them as my parents.

Each morning, I wake up at 5 a.m. to cook rice and help my mother with house chores. Among all the chores I have to do, going to the nearby river to catch fish and crabs is my all-time favorite task be-cause I love the riverside and deep fried crabs for breakfast. My mother makes sure that breakfast is always ready before I head for school at 7:30 a.m. I walk to school and on some days, if I am lucky, one of my schoolmates gives me a lift on their bicycle.

“Going to the river to catch fish and crabs is my

all-time favorite task because the riverside is one of my

favorite places.”

“Often while reading a book to them,

I look at their faces and long for a magic wand to grant me a wish that

my parents could speak. Then we could talk about the stories

I read to them.”

vietnam

L A O S

Oudomxay

thailand

cambodia

vientiane

Mek

ong R

iv

er

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InkhamLaos

“I love bringing books home from the library.

My favorite books are ‘Why Sister is Not Coming Back,’ ‘Scary Ghost,’

and ‘The Value of Wood.”’

I study hard at school, especially in Lao language class, because that is my favorite subject. I want to be the best in this subject on every test, whether it is at the district, provincial, or country level. I am not surprised about my excelling in Lao language, for I always practice writing essays. I also love read-ing books which helps me improve my knowledge and vocabulary. I visit the school library regularly and check out books to read at home.

I have been in the Room to Read Girls’ Education program since 2009 and although I now enjoy all the opportunities, I must confess that when I first heard about Room to Read coming to my school, I did not pay much attention. The reason for my lack of caring at that time was because I was convinced that I would never qualify and be considered for the program. But, much to my own surprise, I was picked! I remember one of my teachers telling me afterwards that I should always expect good things and to be optimistic all the time. Now my favorite quote is, “Expect the unexpected!”

Soon I would like to be the top student in every sub-ject. I am also dreaming of graduating high school with a Red Certificate, which means I have to score no less than 90 percent for all eight subjects. This will result in getting a scholarship and automatic enrollment in university—either in Luang Prabang or Vientiane—in my preferred choice of study, which is health science.

I would like to thank Room to Read for giving me this opportunity. My life is enriched with the oppor-tunities and skills that I have received thanks to the Girls’ Education program.

LaosReport Card

l a u n c h e d i n 2 0 0 7

0

600

200

400

800

1,000 1,071Girls enrolled

in 2010

200 Girls enrolled

in 2007

100% Advancement rate

1,071Girls enrolledProgram

retention rate

99%

100%

0%

50%

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“When I heard Inkham was selected by

Room to Read, I couldn’t sleep. I felt as if I had won a

kilogram of gold.”veankham, aunt

“I am happy to see Inkham getting good grades.

She is like my sibling, she trusts me completely.”

nipaphone, social mobilizer

“I study hard at school and my favorite subject

is Lao language. I want to be the best in this subject on every test, whether

it’s at the district, provincial or country level.”

Chanepeng and her three brothers live with her mother and stepfather in a small, thatched-roof shack. Her parents lease land to cultivate rice and every season, they have to give back one-third of the produce to the landowner. The family cannot afford to send all of their children to school, so Chanepeng’s two elder brothers help their parents cultivate the crops. With Room to Read’s support, Chanepeng has stayed in school and has received extra tutoring to help improve her grades. After attending life skills workshops, Chanepeng admits she has become more confident and has discovered new career opportunities. “Before attending these camps, most girls from my village only thought about becoming a doctor or a teacher. But I learned about other opportunities and I have decided to become a policewoman! As a policewoman, I can protect people and maintain justice.”Age: 14

Featured in Yearbook: 2007

Making Progress: Chanepeng lOcaTiOn: XayabOuly, laOs

20102007

“My biggest accomplishment is that Inkham

can now complete her schooling and can attend school with a

big smile on her face!”phetpasa, girls’ education

program officer

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MaheswariAge 12Andhra Pradesh, India

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Grade: 6 Scholar Si nce: 2010

My name is Maheswari and I am 12 years old. I study in 6th grade at the Zilla Parisad High School in Chityala, Mahaboobnagar, Andhra Pradesh, in the south of India. My two younger brothers, Ganesh and Swami, and I share a two-room house with my grandmother and aunt. My parents are mi-grant laborers and work as daily wagers in the city on different construction sites. They visit us only during important festivals because they cannot afford to be away from work for long periods.

I help my grandmother with the housework, but this does not keep me from going to school. It is my duty to do all the washing and cleaning, as well as fetching water from the communal drinking tap a few lanes away from our house. I am happy to help my grandmother because she has taken me and my brothers into her home while our parents earn money to provide for us.

Until last year, I was not considered a bright stu-dent and my teachers were disappointed with me. My parents, too, were discouraged with my perfor-mance and I heard them discuss that it might be better if I joined them at their work site at the end of the school year. It saddened me that despite my hard work, the results were not what they should have been and there was no one I could turn to for help. I was so discouraged that I used to sit alone in the back of the classroom because it seemed no one wanted to be my friend. I lost confidence in my-self because I felt that everyone had given up on me.

It was during this time that Room to Read visited our school and selected all 19 girls from my class for the Girls’ Education program. I could not believe my luck! This opportunity turned the tide in my life.

Room to Read and the Rural Development Soci-ety organized remedial education classes which I attended, along with several other girls from my school. My tutor and Room to Read Social Mobilizer paid attention to my progress and more impor-tantly, listened to my problems. Not only did this help me gain confidence, I was encouraged to work

Program HigHligHtEntrepreneurial SkillsWith support from the Goldman Sachs Foundation, our team in India developed an Entrepreneurial Skills Package which is being provided

to girls in 9th through 12th grade. This package will become a standard part of our life skills training, as it focuses on career options, role-modeling, marketplace exposure and basic financial literacy.

skills

“Although my father wants me to become the tax collector

for Chityala, I want to be a teacher and help students like me who need extra attention and encouragement.”

IndiaReport Card

l a u n c h e d i n 2 0 0 4

2,8820

1,740

580

1,160

2,320

2,900 2,882Girls enrolled

in 2010

123 Girls enrolled

in 2004

94%Program

retention rateAdvancement rate Girls enrolled

96%

100%

0%

50%

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harder and to spend more time studying at home. Now, I am convinced that I will soon become one of the top students in my class.

My father is very proud that I am the first girl in our family to be educated. Although he would like me to become the tax collector for Chityala, I want to become a teacher and help students like me who need extra attention and encouragement. Being able to learn has truly changed my life. I have al-ready started teaching my two younger brothers to make their studies easier so they won’t face the same problems that I had. I feel I have made great progress in my studies, and I am very happy and thankful to Room to Read.

W O R L D C H A N G E S T A R T S W I T H E D U C A T E D C H I L D R E N .R

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program is bringing change in our girls’ lives.”

mr. sudhakar reddy, school headmaster

“We addressed Maheshwari’s problems patiently and helped her to perform better,

which in turn helped her gain self confidence.”

ms. jyothi, social mobilizer

Convincing her parents to allow her to continue school was a challenge Anita faced not once, but twice. First was when she was about to enter 9th grade, her parents told her that she had to leave school to prepare for marriage. Luckily, with Room to Read’s educational support, she was able to complete 12th grade. When Anita graduated in 2009, she was keen to continue her studies but her parents again insisted that she focus on marriage. But with financial support from a local NGO, her parents again relented and Anita enrolled in Delhi University, where she is in her second year of her bachelor’s program in education. She supports herself by working in a stock broker’s office, and still has plans to marry and have children—but only after she graduates university. Anita insists that if she has a daughter, she will make sure she has equal educational opportunities.

To read more on Anita, visit www.roomtoread.org/girlgraduates.Age: 20 Featured in Yearbook: 2007

Making Progress: Anita lOcaTiOn: delhi, india

20102007

“I can now dream of my only daughter going for higher studies, getting a job and earning on her own.

She won’t have to live like us.”alivelu, mother

“I find Maheswari more enthusiastic about her studies after attending special tutoring classes.”

minigolla, friend

I N D I A

nepal

china

bangladesh

pakistan

new delhi

Andhra Pradesh

Gan ge s River

Page 12: Education Changes Everything

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTLife Skills TrainingThis year, our Zambia team began designing life skills activities for a Room to Read manual. The manual will be used by social

mobilizers to help create trainings that foster the girls’ development of a core set of competencies, such as self-awareness and empathy, communication and interpersonal skills, and critical thinking.

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MarjoryAge: 14Chongwe, Zambia grade: 8 Scholar Si nce: 2008

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“I want to be a lawyer so that I can help bring law and order

to disorganized communities. It will also be a way to show Room to Read that they did

not waste their resources by providing me with this rare opportunity.”

“I love books. My favorite is ‘Street Child.’

I’ve read it many times and can’t seem to put

it down.”

“We are grateful to Room to Read for

putting a smile on our child’s face. Before they came, she was

always whining and grumpy because of not going

to school.”carolyn, aunt

& guardian

ZambiaReport Card

l a u n c h e d i n 2 0 0 8

Program retention rate

80% 89%Advancement rate

100%

0%

50%

1910

114

38

76

152

190 191Girls enrolled

in 2010

Girls enrolled

200 Girls enrolled

in 2008

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I’m the first of three children. My dad left Mum for another woman when I was quite little, but I was old enough to know and feel the unpleasantness of the situation. It hurt to see Mum worry and cry most of the time, and also to see her struggle with the pres-sure of taking care of my little brothers and me.

It also affected me academically. Since Mum could not afford my school fees, I would stay out of school for long periods of time. I began to feel bitterness toward my dad because each time I went to ask him for things for school, he would not give them to me. All I got from Dad were empty promises.

When I’d see girls in my neighborhood hurrying off to school I would think, ‘Those girls will have a bet-ter life than mine after they get educated. They will live in big cities where there is civilization, while I will remain a miserable illiterate villager.’

What encouraged me, however, was that Mum went back to school! She was one of the beneficia-ries of the Go-Back-to-School re-entry policy put in place by the Zambian Ministry of Education. The government wanted girls that got pregnant while in school to be able to continue with their educa-tion, and my mum had dropped out of school when she got pregnant with me, shortly after passing her 9th grade exams and marrying my father.

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In 2003, Mum went back to school. She was in 10th grade while I was just starting 1st grade at the same school! People used to laugh and make fun of her, but she ignored them and remained focused. I remember her telling me that she did not care what other people said because she knew that if she got educated, she would then liberate us from our dire situation. It was not easy for Mum but she completed 12th grade with very good results. And, she ended up getting offered a job after compet-ing against four male applicants for the position. She is now working in Lusaka and training to be a teacher—which is why my brothers and I live with our auntie.

Mum’s fighting spirit encouraged me, but the greatest encouragement in my education has been Room to Read. When representatives from Room to Read came to our 6th grade class one day in 2008 to tell us about the Girls’ Education program, I thought they were joking. However, I started believing them when they told me I was one of the 93 girls cho-sen to be on the program. And I believed them even more when they gave me a uniform and took me and the rest of the girls to David Kaunda School for one week during the December school holiday for life skills training. There, we learned a lot about as-sertiveness, goal-setting, decision-making and HIV/AIDS prevention, among other things.

One big challenge has been the early sexual re-lationships going on at my school. Many girls are pregnant and have dropped out of school. I try to advise my friends to see the importance of educa-tion but sometimes they don’t listen. As for me, I have learned to be assertive and that has been very helpful for this kind of challenge. I have told several boys in our school who have made advances that I’m in school to learn, and that I want to complete school and not be disturbed by any boy!

I want to be a lawyer so that I can help to bring law and order to disorganized communities. It will also be a way to show Room to Read that they did not waste their resources on me, and that I appreciate this rare opportunity that they have provided me.

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“I’m convinced that Marjory will finish school.

Marjory is focused and serious with her studies.’’

joseph, friend

“Marjory is always reading or studying;

even at home she studies and reads all the time!’’

mojana, friend

Emotions were mixed when Trezar and her mother learned that she had passed her exams and was heading into 10th grade. Since her father passed away seven years ago, Trezar rarely sees her mother because she works in the city, four hours away from her boarding house. “I’m crying because I’m happy I made it and that if Dad had been alive today, he would have rejoiced with me,’’ she said between sobs. “I’m also crying because I would have been out of school by now if it hadn’t been for Room to Read. I would probably be married and nursing babies since my mother could not afford to send me to school.” Although Trezar used to live with her grandmother and migrate with the harvest, Room to Read helped Trezar move into a boarding house in 2009 so she could focus more on her 9th grade studies. “I have always wanted to be a nurse, and I will work very hard so that I can assist those in need just like Room to Read has assisted me.”

Age: 17 Featured in Yearbook: 2008

Making Progress: Trezar lOcaTiOn: chOngwe, Zambia

20102008

“Marjory impresses me very much;

she concentrates on school, she participates in every activity

and is even in the library during her free time.’’

ms. nyirongo, mentor

zimbabwe

tanzania

angola

democraticrepublic ofthe congo

Chongwe

z a m b i a

Zambez i R iver

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UchAge: 18Siem Reap, Cambodia

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Grade: 11 Scholar Si nce: 2006

As farmers with six children, my parents have a very large family to support with little money. You can’t imagine how much we rely on the tiny plot of land we own and plow. Because the small farm provides far too little to make a living, I often set nets in the river or pond so I can catch fish to sell at the village market. Sometimes, I also work in nearby fields. Any extra money helps support my family and my studies.

My father is blind due to measles, and my mother is illiterate. Perhaps, because of their lack of edu-cation, my parents push me to study even though they realize that it is expensive to keep me in school.

I was born into an environment in which educa-tion is not valued due to people’s poverty and ig-norance. Very few girls of my age in my village have the chance to attend high school. This might be the reason why most of my neighbors discourage me

from going to school. They often say that no matter how much effort I make with school, I will always be a farmer—that my family is poor and I was sim-ply born to be a farmer. My heart burns with anger when I hear this absurd idea, and I am determined to prove them wrong.

Although, to tell the truth, I almost proved them right. Because my neighbors were waiting for me to fail and leave school, I used to proudly declare to them that I would remain in school through high school. However, the higher the grade I entered, the less my parents and I were able to support my studies. I lacked everything, including financial re-sources, uniforms and study materials. It seemed I would have to give up school after I finished prima-ry school and face the same fate as my sister, being a worker at the Thai border. I would have to give up my dream of finishing high school, or even lower secondary school, due to my family’s poverty.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTSummer CampsThe Girls’ Education program in Cambodia coordinates a two-day residential summer camp, and in 2010, the highlight of camp was the

establishment of a peer support group for the girls. Girls in 8th grade facilitated trainings with girls in 6th grade using skills they had gained during life skills trainings.

“Now I am no longer worried about any

hardship because the boarding house provides both material

and emotional support. All I have to do is to

study hard.”

“Uch is courageous, open-minded, curious and smart.

When we don’t understand something we discuss it and explain it to each other.

We have a real sense of sisterhood.”

sophea, friend

Her parents named her Samoth, which means “the sea,” because they wanted her opportunities in life to be as big as the sea. Unfortunately, when Samoth was only 14 years old, her mother suddenly passed away. Samoth’s future darkened when her father told her she had to leave school to help support the family by working the fields and fixing bicycles. Room to Read came to Samoth’s community at just the right time, and thanks to the efforts of a supportive teacher, Samoth became a participant in the Girls’ Education program. Samoth is now in her final year of secondary school and is confidently preparing for her final examination. “I want to continue to university and become a mathematics teacher in my school,” she explains. “I can then be a role model for my village and for other girls.”

Age: 18 Featured in Yearbook: 2008

Making Progress: Samoth Location: siem reap, cambodia

2008 2010

Page 15: Education Changes Everything

14

Luckily, I got a scholarship from Room to Read. I can not describe how excited I was to learn about the opportunity from my teacher, and news that I was selected quickly spread across the village. My parents were also filled with joy to hear the good news. Since the school is very far from my home, I moved to a boarding home in Puok, Siem Reap that is nearby the school to continue my education. My mother misses me and I miss her too, but we know there is no other option.

When I first arrived at the boarding house, I felt very homesick and it took me a while to adapt to living with a group of girls. But these girls are now my family, and the boarding house is my home away from home. Every night we get together to discuss school issues or just talk and laugh about beauty, romance and future goals. I know I will miss my scholarship sisters when I finish my studies.

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Now I am no longer worried about any hardship because the boarding house provides both mate-rial and emotional support. All I have to do is to study hard. The national high school examination is coming next year which will allow me to gradu-ate. Right now, I am only 70 percent sure of my suc-cess, but I will try to prepare myself until I am 100 percent confident. I bet I can do that!

Every time I come home from the boarding house to visit, I can see that there is a gradual change in the mindset of my village. Although they have not completely dismissed their negative thinking about my studies, I can see that they are starting to change their mind. Instead of discouraging me, they now ask me how my studies are going and even hint at their regret for undervaluing their own children’s education.

“Hearing her story and witnessing her family condition,

I didn’t hesitate to help her achieve her dream.”

ms. luom, social mobilizer

“I am illiterate. I don’t want her to have the same

fate. I don’t have any inheritance for her. I know only that knowledge will be a

priceless and lifelong gift for her.”en, mother

98% Advancement rate

1,625 Girls enrolled

0

978

326

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1,304

1,630 1,625Girls enrolled

in 2010

98Girls enrolled

in 2003

100%

0%

50%

CambodiaReport Card

Launched in 2003

vietnam

laosthailand

phnom penh

Siem Reap

c a m b o d i a

Tonle Sap

Mekong River

91% Programretention rate

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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTCreative ExpressionOur Sri Lanka team formed theatre groups as teaching tools for engaging the girls and their parents in conversa-tions about gender inequities. By

offering participants an opportunity to share their experiences through plays and musical performances, children and parents actively engage in addressing gender issues that exist within their communities.

KalpaniAge: 14Matale, Sri Lanka GRADE: 7 SCHOLAR SI NCE: 2009

In my dream, I call in my next patient. ‘What seems to be the problem?’ I ask as the elderly woman enters my office. Suddenly I recognize her! She is Ratnaseeli Aunty, who was my neighbor from my home village of Sonuththa. This is my dream—to become a doctor! My goal is set and I am stepping towards it.

One thing I realized as early as I can remember is that education will help to overcome suffering. I often think about my two elder sisters, neither of whom had the opportunity to get enough educa-tion to obtain a good job. Anusha, the eldest, is living abroad as a domestic helper, and Manjula, 18, is working in a garment factory. My mother is

a domestic helper living abroad and she has been away from the family for several years now. My fa-ther is a farmer but he does not own his own land. I love my father very much; he has had to be both a mother and father to me and he does the best he can to make my life better. I believe everyone in my family could have been better off if they had been educated a little more.

When I lived with my family, I had great difficulty in focusing on my studies. My sister didn’t want me around when she had friends over so I often had to go elsewhere for quiet time. My family could do very little to help me with my studies, and overall,

the school in my village did not offer the quality of education I was capable of achieving; however, going to a better school would require financial support.

But then Ms. Rasika, a Room to Read Social Mo-bilizer, visited my house and my school, and soon I learned I was selected for Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program. I was speechless! I celebrat-ed alone, both crying and laughing, because this meant I would have to leave my home and live in a boarding house. But this news also meant I could attend a better school, so I immediately started packing and planning for the future.

“It’s fun to maintain our home

library. We have a lending system and everyone in

our neighborhood loves it.”

Sri LankaReport Card

l a u n c h e d i n 2 0 0 6

1,5980

960

320

640

1,280

1,600 1,598Girls enrolled

in 2010

50Girls enrolled

in 2006

99%Program

retention rate Advancement rate Girls enrolled

96%

100%

0%

50%

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Luckily, my boarding house family—Aunty Ranjani, Uncle Lionel, my new little brother, Keshaka, and my sister and best friend, Ishani—has warmly wel-comed me into their own home. To me, this is not a boarding house, it is my home.

I’m in a better environment now since Room to Read looks after me with care. Besides my great new home, my new school provides me with chal-lenging and positive competition. My class includes the best performers in the whole school, and I’m happy that, so far, I am in the top five of the class on all tests. Because I want to become a doctor, I especially like mathematics and science.

I maintain a library at home with Ishani. We have almost 300 books and we add to it whenever we get books as gifts. It’s a real pleasure to have the library and be able to lend books to the children in our neighborhood. The storybooks are the most popular, and we have nine children who visit our library almost every day.

I wish that Room to Read will provide this opportu-nity to many other girls in my country! And then, like me, they can take steps to fulfill their dreams.

“She is the subject leader of her class for

life skills and civic education. She has built her own network of people.”

ms. rasika, social mobilizer

“Even my daughter Ishani is motivated towards

education because of Kalpani. She is like a daughter of my own.”

ranjani, boarding house mother

“I knew she was different since she was

three years old. She was special. She is my ultimate

hope.”t.g. wijebanda, father

Before Room to Read, Subavani struggled alone in her silent world where no one could reach her. Because of her hearing disability, she found school difficult and soon fell behind in her studies. In 2009, Room to Read provided Subavani with a hearing aid and extra tutoring, and soon she learned to speak and found her voice. Now, Subavani is a bold and gregarious teenager, and according to her mother, “She even takes pride in answering questions in class.” In the last year, Subavani experienced the loss of her father but thankfully, it was not before he was at least able to hear his daughter speak for the first time. Subavani used to find refuge from her silent solitude in painting and needlework. She is now an accomplished artist and hopes to combine her talents to become a professional sewing teacher. Age: 16

Featured in Yearbook: 2009

Making Progress: Subavani lOcaTiOn: haTTOn, sri lanka

2009 2010

“Kalpani deserves this scholarship. My advice for children

is ‘be exemplary,’ and she was exemplary.”

mr. rupasinghe, former school principal

“I love riding the bicycle I got from Room to Read. I used

to have to depend on the bus – we spent a lot of time walking to

the bus and waiting.”

Matale

colombo

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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTParent EngagementOur Vietnam team has successfully mobilized parents to become involved in the Girls’ Education program by hosting a ceremony

to welcome the girls to the program. During the ceremony, girls publically receive school materials and parents are invited to sign an agreement in support of their child’s education.

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Anh ThuAge: 12Tra Vinh, Vietnam

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GRADE: 7 SCHOLAR SI NCE: 2009

There are a lot of pagodas in my hometown and a very big one is near my house. Every holiday, I go to that pagoda with my grandma to bring rice to the monks as an offering to the Buddha. At the pa-goda, I pray for good health for my grandma and the other people in my family.

Three years ago, I moved in with my grandparents because my parents separated. My mother had to move to Ho Chi Minh City to take a job at my aunt’s pho (soup) shop, so now I can only see her every two or three months. I wish it were more often, but I know she has to work to help the family, and there are no jobs available in our home town. My father is a brick-layer in Ben Tre, another province in the Me-kong Delta. He used to visit me, but I haven’t seen him in some time.

“I always think of the day I will graduate and enter

university. I want to have a job so that I can earn a good life for me and

the people I love.”

“Thu is considered the peacemaker in the group because

she always makes other people happy, and lives in harmony with them.”

hien, friend

Attending a famous university in Ho Chi Minh City is a dream come true for Dang. The eldest child of a farming family of five, Dang worked in a sewing factory every summer to earn money for the family, but during the school year, Dang was able to continue her schooling with Room to Read’s support. After seven years on the Girls’ Education program, Dang developed into a self-assured young woman who is now one of the leaders of the Girls’ Education alumnae group. After graduating from high school, Dang obtained a college scholarship and is now in her first year of studying sociology at Ho Chi Minh University, while tutoring others in her spare time to earn extra income. Although she once told us she wanted to be a math teacher, Dang has now changed her mind. “I now want to do social work,” she says, “so I can help other people.”

To read more on Dang, visit www.roomtoread.org/girlgraduates.Age: 18 Featured in Yearbook: 2007

Making Progress: Dang LOCATION: HO CHI MINH CITy, VIeTNAM

20102007

“Thu is like my teacher – if I

don’t understand the lesson, she will explain it to me. I

really like her beautiful handwriting.”

huyen, friend

Page 19: Education Changes Everything

96% Program retention rate

18

Now my family includes my grandparents and my aunts and uncles, and that makes me happy. Before Room to Read started its Girls’ Education program in my school, one of my aunts was paying for my school fees. But now, Room to Read pays the fees—and they even gave me a new bicycle! My old bi-cycle was broken, and I longed for a new one, but because my family couldn’t afford it, I didn’t share this secret wish with them.

It makes me happy to help my grandparents when-ever I can because they have given me so much love and taken good care of me. I go shopping for my grandma when she needs something, and I turn on the television for my grandparents every night. Neither of them can read and their eyesight is poor, but they love to know the daily news. It can be diffi-cult to find a newspaper in our village, but I borrow one as often as I can and read it to them.

I really enjoy going to school, attending life skills trainings and my friend-to-friend club called Tuoi Hoa. I am the secretary of the club and have been named “the conciliator” when friends in my group

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disagree with each other. Though we come from dif-ferent age groups, we often help one another and share with each other. Although sometimes we quarrel, we usually resolve our arguments quickly.

The life skills trainings have helped me to commu-nicate better and integrate more with my friends. In fact, now I’ve made friends with most of the people in my school! I’m also much more organized and now able to learn lessons and do my homework quicker. This gives me more time to help my grandparents or read the newspaper. My studies improve every day. In the first semester, I got a grade of 8.7 (equivalent to an A+), which is very high for my school when most students usually don’t get over 7.0.

I always think of the day I will graduate and enter university. I want to have a job suited to my ability so that I can earn a good life for me and give back to my community. This motivation encourages me to study hard every single day.

“I cook for her so she can save time

to concentrate on her study. I don’t want her to get married soon.

I want her to study to get a good job first.”

luy, grandmother

“I’m old now and can’t help much, but

whenever Thu’s bike is broken, I take it to get repaired. I’m glad she gets good marks

in school.”can, grandfather

“I’m happy because Thu is a good student. The road

here is rather deserted, so when Thu has to come home late from school, her

grandmother and I will go out to wait for her.”

hoa, aunt

“I love my dog Xu because she waves her tail to welcome me home

from school.”

Tra Vinh Province

95% Advancement rate

1,323 Girls enrolled

0

780

260

520

1,040

1,300 1,323Girls enrolled

in 2010

47Girls enrolled

in 2002

100%

0%

50%

VietnamReport Card

LAuNCHed IN 2002

china

south china sea

cambodia

Red River Delta

ho chi minh city

v i e t n a m

Tra Vinh

Page 20: Education Changes Everything

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTCommunity EngagementBuilding on trainings they received about child protection issues, our Nepal team held an educational session with community leaders

of the Bardiya region on the topic of child marriage and its impact on children’s social and emotional well-being.

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NijimaAge: 18Bagmati, Nepal

“My sister is very courageous, hard working and talented.

I look up to her and I try to score as high as she does, but somehow she always scores

higher in every exam. She’s a great inspiration for me.”

ritem, brother

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“I can lose myself in books for hours.

My favorites are the ‘Goosebumps’ books by R.L. Stine. The one I’m reading right

now literally gave me goosebumps!”

Grade: 11 SCHOLar SI NCe: 2002

NepalReport Card

launched in 2000

97% Program retention rate

96% Advancement rate

1,670 Girls enrolled

0

960

320

640

1,280

1,600 1,670Girls enrolled

in 2010

10Girls enrolled

in 2000

100%

0%

50%

mt everest

Bagmati

Great Himalayan Range

N E P A L

china

india

Page 21: Education Changes Everything

If I were to choose a word that describes me the best it would be “independent.” I have always been independent and headstrong. I am extremely pas-sionate about learning, and I think school is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I live with my grandparents and my aunt in a rented house is Dallu, Kathmandu. I came to live with them after my parents passed away when I was very small. My grandparents and my aunt have been extremely instrumental in my upbring-ing and have raised me to be as strong-willed as they are. They’ve taught me to be passionate about education and to give my best in everything I do. I have seen these qualities reflected in their every-day lives. My grandmother and my aunt work as tailors. Their work is sporadic, and most of the earn-ings are channeled toward daily expenses and rent. They faced huge odds to send me and my brother to school, but they did it with smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts. This motivates me to excel further in my life and in my studies.

In 3rd grade I was selected to be a participant of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program. I don’t think there has been a more momentous time in my life, although clearing my School Leaving

20

Certificate exams (that students have to pass in 10th grade) comes in close second. I remember run-ning back to our home to break the news to my family. Oh, how proud they were! My grandmother hugged me tightly and said, “My father thought it was useless to send girls to school. If he could see you, he would realize how wrong he was!”

My journey from 3rd to 11th grade has been nothing short of an adventure. My family’s conviction and belief in me have helped me to overcome many ob-stacles along the way. I hadn’t realized how impor-tant my family was, nor all the skills I learned, until one day when a contest helped me to see things in a completely new way.

The Oratory Contest is one of the school functions that the Girls’ Education program team regularly organizes, and I had agreed to participate along with several other girl scholars from Kathmandu. The competition was tough, and I had practiced my part over and over again. But just before the pro-gram began, my teacher asked me to come back-stage. “You have to be the emcee as well,” he said,

“The other emcee might not make it.” He handed me the microphone and pushed me onstage.

In the spotlight, I felt paralyzed. No words were coming out of my mouth. In desperation, I scanned the arena. Thousands of faces were staring at me and I froze on the spot. Just when I was thinking about giving up, I noticed my grandmother and my aunt standing in one corner with huge smiles on their faces. “Don’t worry,” they seemed to say.

“You’ll do just fine.”

Under their warm gaze, my hesitation disappeared. I felt calm, confident. Later my friends and my teachers exclaimed that I was emceeing like I was meant to do it. “You were so natural,” they said.

That experience changed me forever. I was happy to bid farewell to the ‘wobbly legs’ feeling I used to get just before addressing a crowd. In fact, I have actually started to enjoy speaking in front of a crowd. I don’t think this would have ever happened if I didn’t have the chance to go to school.

And now, as I near 12th grade, I am confident that I will keep the momentum going. I want to study and achieve more in my life, and I want my family to be proud of me and my achievement. I am thank-ful to Room to Read for this wonderful opportunity.

“I’m very glad that she has achieved so much in her

studies. I feel extremely happy and proud when she talks in English

with others.”mallika, aunt

“I’m proud of Nijima. In our times,

people used to say that educating girls was worthless, but whenever I see her,

I see how wrong they were.”laxmi, grandmother

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In 2001, Aradhana’s parents were facing a very difficult decision. Because of his illness, Aradhana’s father was unable to work, which left the burden of supporting the family on her mother. That meant, either both of their daughters could be placed in a substandard school or they could put one daughter in a better school and make the other drop out to work. Fortunately, they didn’t have to decide because Aradhana was accepted as one of the first participants in Nepal’s Girls’ Education program. After she graduated, Aradhana’s high marks earned her a college scholarship. She credits her good grades to knowing what she wanted for her future. “I knew I wanted to be a banker after my first economics class,” she says. She is currently pursuing a B.A. in business studies with a focus on economics and management. “This is only the beginning. I won’t cease to give my all until I have realized my dream.”

To read more on Aradhana, visit www.roomtoread.org/girlgraduates.Age: 20 Featured in Yearbook: 2004

Making Progress: Aradhana lOcaTiOn: Sanepa, nepal

20102004

Page 22: Education Changes Everything

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AklimaAge: 11Sirajganj, Bangladesh

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Grade: 6 Scholar Si nce: 2009

program highlightInnovative TransportationBecause of flooding during the rainy season, girls from remote river island communities known as the “char” are often unable to travel to

school. Our Bangladesh team created Boat to Read – the first-ever boat service to ensure the girls have transportation to and from school.

“Room to Read staff advised me to study for two hours every day but I do more—

I study for four hours.”

“Aklima is doing well in class and she helps me a lot

with my studies. I hope I too get lucky like Aklima and get an opportunity

to be a Girls’ Education program scholar.”

selina, friend

“Aklima is very serious about her education

and is definitely one of the achievers in my group.”

ms. lovely, sharp, ngo partner

BangladeshReport Card

99% Program retention rate

99% Advancementrate

0

138

46

92

184

230 234Girls enrolled

in 2010

234Girls enrolled

in 2009

100%

0%

50%

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Sirajganj

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launched in 2009

234 Girls enrolled

Page 23: Education Changes Everything

I am Aklima and I live in Sholoshoto Janggalia Char, a sandbar island in the Sirajganj district in Bangla-desh. My father works as a weaver. My mother is a homemaker but she sometimes helps my father with his weaving.

I think 2009 was the worst year of my life. I was certain my schooling was over because I had failed my mathematics examination and did not qualify to go on to the next grade. I was always afraid of math, and since our class is large, the teachers were unable to give us individual attention. I had no one at home who could help me with my stud-ies because my mother is illiterate and my father could not afford to study beyond 8th grade.

In the fall of 2009, Room to Read started their Girls’ Education program in our school and included most of the girls from the 5th and 6th grade class-es. I was one of those students and to help all of us, Room to Read conducted an eight-day learning

22

camp with special emphasis on math and English just before our final examinations. But, I still could not catch up on everything and I again failed my mathematics examination that year.

Luckily, Room to Read didn’t give up on me! Room to Read’s staff visited our home and convinced my father to allow me to repeat 5th grade. I was now determined to pass and committed to study-ing ever harder. In 2010, some of us requested that the learning camps that were then being held only during school holidays be started as weekly camps so that we could ask questions as they arose. Since then, the tutor comes each week to help us with our mathematics and English lessons. This has been very helpful and I am now able to follow the lesson in the class without much difficulty. I like that the tutor’s teaching techniques are easy to fol-low and remember because they have helped erase my fear about the subject.

Finally, at the end of last year when I repeated the exam—and to everyone’s surprise—I was among the top five students! I got 81 percent for mathe-matics (the previous year I got just 29 percent) and my total score was 78 percent as opposed to the 43 percent I got in 2009!

I am now in 6th grade, and my parents are proud of me. My father now dreams that all three of his children will be educated. My mother wants me to focus on my studies and rarely asks me to help with the household chores. She also allows me to play with friends.

Room to Read staff advised me to study for two hours every day but I do more—I study for four hours. All this was possible because Room to Read encouraged me and never gave up hope — and they even provided us with a boat to go to school during monsoon season. Thank you Room to Read!

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“I will see you all studying in universities!” The words of Dhaka University’s Vice Chancellor were met with loud applause from the girls, parents and teachers attending a 2010 ceremony in the Sirajganj district. Fuara is among the 234 girls supported by Room to Read Bangladesh, all of whom gathered to symbolically assert their dreams of obtaining a higher education. One of seven children, Fuara started participating in the Girls’ Education program in 2009. A year later, her family lost their home after river flooding, forcing them to move and Fuara to change schools during 8th grade. Determined, Fuara continued to study hard and received the highest grades among the girls in her neighborhood. She plans to become a doctor and is determined to make her application to university more than just a dream.

Age: 12 Featured in Yearbook: 2009

“There is a radical change with Aklima. She is one of my most

attentive students and ranked 5th— a great achievement.”

mr. munnaf, teacher

“Aklima is doing much better now in her studies. I am sure that my daughters can do as well as my son.

I ensure she attends school regularly and does her study even though I can’t help

as I am illiterate. ”jharna, mother

“Without Room to Read’s support, it would not have been possible for me to allow my daughter to continue

her education. I pray that my children won’t have to drop out from

school like I did.”kader, father

Making Progress: Fuara lOcaTiOn: sirajganj, Bangladesh

Page 24: Education Changes Everything

Thank you!Though they have not met you personally, each of the girls featured in this publication, as well as over 10,000 others who are also proud participants in our Girls’ Education program, send you heart-felt thanks for your support of Room to Read. And while your name may not be known to these girls, they know—and we know—that you have played a critical role in the positive changes that are taking place for each of them.

We appreciate your generosity and your confidence to share in our vision of a world where all girls, no matter where they were born, have a chance to ask, “What if?” With your continued support, that bold question will no longer go unanswered, but will re-sult in generations of young women forging ahead with determination and confidence.

Learn more about how our Girls’ Education pro-gram is helping to change the roadmap for girls in the developing world by visiting our website at

www.roomtoread.org.

“Kop Jai.” inkham, laos

“Zikomo.”marjory, zambia

“Or Kun.” uch, cambodia

“Dhanyavad.” maheswari,

india

“Dhonnobad.” aklima,

bangladesh

“Sthuthiy.”kaplani,

sri lanka

“Dhanyabaad.” nijima, nepal

Design: Melanie Doherty Design

Photo credits: pg. 2: Saikat Mojumder, Drik; pg. 5–8: Monty Sly; pg. 9–10: Mr. K. V. Shivanag; pg. 11–12: Ian Murphy; pg. 13: clockwise from upper left: Liz Hale on behalf of Photo Philanthropy for Room to Read, next three: Nancy Farese on behalf of Photo Philanthropy for Room to Read; pg. 14: top photo: Nancy Farese, next: Liz Hale, bottom three: Nancy Farese; pg. 15–16: H. P. Danil Prasantha; pg. 17–18: Le Kim An Nhien; pg. 19–20: Rishi Amatya; pg. 21: Saikat Mojumder, Drik; pg. 22: top: Saikat Mojumder, Drik, bottom: Sanna Nissinen.

Girls whose guardian(s) participated in activities

86%Girls who participated in

life skills workshops

83%

World Change Starts with Educated Children®

Room to Read Global Office: 111 Sutter Street, Floor 16, San Francisco, CA 94104 USA

New York | London | Tokyo | Hong Kong | Sydney

www.roomtoread.org

T

91%Girls who received academic support

“Xin cam o’n.”anh thu, vietnam

91%