I fell in love with this charity the moment I first read about it.  Having free access (via the public library system in the United States) to thousands upon thousands of printed books, not to mention easy access to digital books, one can forget how inaccessible the simple pleasure and empowering knowledge of reading books can be to those in impoverished areas of the world.  Room to Read is the brainchild of a former Microsoft executive, John Wood, who quit his lucrative job in order to spend his energies and talents in a quest to make books and literacy available to the far corners of the earth.  Room to Read was founded in 1999 after John Woods was inspired to help literacy conditions after a trek to Nepal.

Nicholas Kristoff, a writer for the NY Times, spent some time visiting John Wood and one of his Room to Read project areas in Vietnam (see: His Libraries, 12,000 So Far, Change Lives).  During Kirstoff’s visit, Wood was in the process of handing out his 10 millionth book to a library established by Room to Read in a village in the Mekong Delta.  From Room to Read’s blog:

At a ceremony held at Ngu Hiep 2 Primary School, founder John Wood and the Room to Read Vietnam team delivered a brand new box of books to the school’s library, symbolizing the 10 millionth book donated to our network of over 12,000 libraries in nine developing countries.

Room to Read works to develop literacy skills and access to reading materials for primary school children, and supports girls to complete their education and provide access to options beyond secondary school.

So what is the impact on the lives of children around the world by this non-profit?  The statistics speak for themselves:

Visit: Room to Read