Room to Read

I just began reading John Wood's novel Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.  I'll get into how that came about, but first I'd like to reflect on my own love of reading.

In his second chapter, Wood reminisces of his childhood love for reading.

His reflection brought memories of my own childhood rushing back: the Sunday mornings I spent reading the comics, while my parents read the news of the world; the nights I hid a flashlight or a reading light beside my bed and stayed up reading storybooks, then Nancy Drew novels, National Geographic magazines and a variety of other novels, way past my bedtime.

It's when I think back to those times, which were critical to my development, that it breaks my heart to learn that over 700 million people worldwide are illiterate, and especially that over two-thirds of these are women.

I only learned those astonishing facts of illiteracy yesterday, because the head of Room to Read's Toronto chapter came to my work to talk about this charitable organization dedicated to educating the world's children.  

As our presenter mentioned, and as John Wood remarks in his book, women are typically the caregivers, the teachers - "if the mother is educated, it is much more likely that education will be passed on to the next generation."

John Wood is the man behind Room to Read.  His vision began after visiting a school in Nepal and learning their library consisted only of a locked cabinet. The cabinet held books backpackers had left behind, but these books were completely inappropriate for children, like old Danielle Steele romance novels and backpackers' guides to Mongolia.

The presentation yesterday and already the first two chapters of Wood's book have struck a chord within me.  My friends and family know I've been talking for some time now about how I'd like to make a difference in someone's life, or in the world, and do something that satisfies my soul.  It may take days, months or even years to do it, but  I'm going to start by educating myself, so I can educate others.  Hopefully, I'll start by helping out with Room to Read in some capacity, and by passing on some of my life experience to help others.

I will write more about Wood's book, maybe as I read or maybe once I've finished.  I'll also keep you posted on any events Room to Read holds to raise money for building schools, 'reading rooms' (their term for libraries), sponsoring young girls' educations, and publishing local/dual language books for children in developing countries.

John Wood expressed my feeling perfectly when he wrote, "...I simply could not imagine a childhood without books."  So, why then, should so many children live without this necessity?

If you want to learn more: http://www.roomtoread.org.