Promoting Literacy in Asia

The Man Teaching the World’s Kids to Read

Akram Mohammed | October 26, 2015

Source: http://www.roomtoread.org/AboutUs

John Wood was employed with Microsoft and was enjoying a trek in the Himalayas in 1998, when he observed the lack of books in schools in and around Nepal. A year later, he returned to a school in Annapurna Circuit, Nepal with close to 3,000 books. Shortly after it, Wood decided to quit a prestigious position in Microsoft and decided to dedicate his time and energy towards improving the standards of education in impoverished and backward regions South East Asia and found the Room To Read (RTR) NGO. He discussed future plans of the NGO and how it is working to improve the quality of education, especially among children. Wood is the winner of 2014 World’s Children’s Honorary Award Laureate through the World’s Children’s Prize, the annual educational program for the rights of the child and democracy—often called the Children’s Nobel Prize, apart from several other awards.

Too many kids are being told that they are born at the wrong place at the wrong time. They won’t be educated, and one more generation will have to suffer poverty. Therefore, we involve children from poor backgrounds to augment the education in local government schools.

Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/The-Man-Teaching-the-World%E2%80%99s-Kids-to-Read/2015/10/26/article3093831.ece 

John Wood and students in the Room To Read program.Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/The-Man-Teaching-the-World%E2%80%99s-Kids-to-Read/2015/10/26/article3093831.ece

<more at http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/The-Man-Teaching-the-World%E2%80%99s-Kids-to-Read/2015/10/26/article3093831.ece; related links: http://www.roomtoread.org/ (Room To Read. World Change Starts with Educated Children. [About: We envision a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world. 
To achieve this goal, we focus on two areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact: literacy and gender equality in education.  We work in collaboration with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills 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.]) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_to_Read (Room To Read)>