Room to Read Annual Report 2011

The Next Chapter in : Reaching a New Generation of Readers iii • annual report 2011

A Letter from the Board Chairs

every day thanks to our material and life-skills support; by end of year this group will have grown to more than 17,000. Although we are proud of our accomplishments to date, we Dear Friends, illustrators. The children’s joy need to do more. We want to changes everything. was palpable as they exuberantly create enduring, systemic global It is the great equalizer that allows participated in the games and change and have only scratched people to dream of a better future devoured the new Vietnamese- the surface in terms of the impact and escape the cycle of poverty, language books that our team had we hope to achieve. Twelve years changing lives for generations to brought. We could not imagine ago our mission was sparked by a come. We strongly believe that a better way to celebrate this simple but profound observation every child, no matter where they accomplishment, and are already that a Nepalese headmaster made were born or what circumstances looking forward to the day we to John: “In , we are too poor they were born into, deserves to re- deliver our 100 millionth book! to afford an education. But until ceive an education and reach their It is moments like these that fuel we have an education, we will full potential. Sadly, every day up- our commitment to promoting always be poor.” wards of 139 million children are literacy and gender equality in As co-chairs of Room to Read’s denied the right to go to primary education around the world. The Board of Directors, we want to school, a figure that increases world’s children need our help, and thank you for helping us solve significantly during adolescence. we are working diligently to reach this paradox. Your generosity has Our goal is to change this real- them. With each library, book and provided millions of children across ity and ensure that every child classroom that we create and each Asia and Africa with the tools they worldwide has the opportunity girl whom we support to complete need to succeed in life. The incred- to pursue a quality education and secondary school, we get one step ible scale that we have reached transform their fate. closer to realizing our vision of a would not be possible without you. Last fall, we reached a milestone more just and equal world. Know- On behalf of the entire Room to we never imagined would be ing that each one of these efforts Read community, thank you for all possible when we delivered our is impacting the life of another de- that you do! We look forward to first yak-load of books to Nepal. serving, underserved child makes accomplishing even more together In October 2011, we distributed all of our hard work worth it. during the coming years of this our 10 millionth book to a Room to In addition to our 10 millionth book global movement. Read library. John had the pleasure milestone, we are also thrilled to of joining our team as share that we are now opening an they delivered the symbolic book average of six new libraries a day. to a group of eager children in That equals one new library every the Mekong Delta (you can read four hours! In total, we have estab- Founder and Board Co-Chair more about this special book, lished more than 13,000 libraries in Floating Market, on page 4). After nine countries, which is more than 1 a commemorative ceremony, John five times the number opened by joined hundreds of enthusiastic Andrew Carnegie, the famous U.S. Tim Koogle young readers in literacy games, philanthropist and library advo- Board Co-Chair story time and a workshop led cate. More than 13,000 adolescent by one of our talented local girls also attend secondary school A Letter from the CEO

growing from US$21.5 million to While these numbers and US$48.3 million over the course of accolades are exciting, one of the five short years. This increased in- most meaningful indicators of our vestment has allowed us to expand success is reflected in the stories the reach, depth and scope of our of children whose lives have been programs at an astronomical rate. changed by gaining access to a Dear Friends, During this time period we added quality education. It brings me Room to Read is an organization three countries of operation to our great joy to hear about children that is deeply committed to network, developed our Reading like 8-year-old Narin from rural transforming lives through the & Writing Instruction efforts from who now dreams of power of literacy and gender a pilot to a full-fledged global becoming a doctor, or 12-year-old equality in education. With 793 program and more than doubled Aphiwe from who million illiterate people in the the number of children benefited found the strength to cope with world—two thirds of whom are by our Literacy and Girls’ Educa- the loss of her mother to AIDS female—there is much work for us tion programs. This trajectory of through a book published by Room to do and no time to waste. Since growth has been truly remarkable to Read. These children are living day one we have focused on scaling and with continued support we will proof of the impact our work is our operations to ensure the sustain this growth for many years having on lives around the globe, greatest possible impact while also to come. and it is their stories that continu- maintaining the highest quality As our programs continue to scale ally inspire me. of educational programming for globally, so does the recognition I encourage you to read more our students. This past year was for our work. Last September, we about the transformative impact no exception as we successfully were honored to be named as one you have helped make possible in completed the world-wide of two recipients for The United the following pages of our 2011 rollout of our Reading & Writing Nations Educational, Scientific and annual report. Your dedicated sup- Instruction program, expanded Cultural Organization (UNESCO) port is invaluable to our work and our operations into and 2011 Confucius Prize for Literacy, I genuinely hope you share in our focused on further deepening our which recognized the efforts of sense of pride for all that we have existing literacy and girls’ education our Book Publishing program. been able to accomplish to date. efforts. I am proud to say that to Each year, UNESCO recognizes a We cannot thank you enough date more than 6.7 million children select group of organizations for for choosing to partner with us across Asia and Africa have been excellence in the field of literacy to make a difference in the lives impacted by our programs and we throughout the world. The theme of so many deserving children. are moving full speed ahead as we of last year’s prize was literacy and Together, we have the power endeavor to reach another three peace, with a special emphasis on to profoundly champion global million children by 2015. gender equality. We were doubly literacy in our lifetime. Although rapid growth and excited to receive the prize, as it excellence in service have always represents an incredible acknowl- Warm Regards, been part of Room to Read’s story, edgment of the dual emphasis I am humbled by the rate at which of our work. In addition to this 2 the enthusiastic support of our prestigious recognition, we were friends and investors has allowed also thrilled to receive our sixth Erin Ganju us to scale our operations. Since consecutive 4-star rating from CEO and Co-Founder 2007, contributed support for our Charity Navigator—a distinction work has more than doubled, that only three percent of their rated charities can claim. room to read • annual report 2011

The Next Chapter in Literacy: Reaching a New Generation of Readers 2011 Year in Review

At Room to Read, we live and breathe literacy and equal access to education. We believe literacy skills are the foundation for all future learning, and educating girls is the most powerful and effective way to transform communities and end the cycle of illiteracy in just one generation. In Africa and Asia, where many children come from oral storytelling traditions, the written word can be difficult to learn. Picture books and early-reader texts help bridge this gap, allowing chil- dren to learn through imagination while building fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. With this in mind, Room to Read creates original children’s books and literacy instruction materials to help kids develop a love for reading and increase proficiency in reading and writing. And, we’ve been recognized for our efforts—UNESCO awarded us their prestigious 2011 Confucius Prize for Literacy for contributing excellence to the field of global literacy. This year’s annual report celebrates the talents of local authors and illustrators in the ten countries where we work. Together, we are creating rich and inspiring books that make learning fun for millions of boys and girls on their paths to becoming independent readers.

Our Impact CUMULATIVE TOTAL 2011 (2000-2011)

Libraries Established 1,907 13,152

Schools Constructed 114 1,556

Book Titles Published 154 707

Books Distributed 2,103,300 11,541,981

Girls’ Education Program Participants 13,727 15,388

Classrooms Participating 3 in Reading & Writing 936 -- Instruction Program

Children Benefited 1,054,150 6,655,480 E T N A V I M Written by: Hài Kim

Illustrated by: Ngoc Bich Nguyen Thi

Thom can hardly wait for the sun to come up. She jumps

out of bed at dawn. Her mother has promised to let her

4

ride along on today’s trip to the floating market, where she

Floating Market knows she will meet more people than she has ever seen at

~ one time in her village in the Mekong Delta.

room to read • annual report 2011

Country Highlights

Bangladesh confidence and public-speaking nizations hope to continue this skills they acquired through life partnership in the coming years. Influencing Government Policy skills workshops offered as part After participating with the gov- of the program. The performance, Cambodia ernment of to review held in Dhaka, celebrated the International Recognition for Books its primary education curriculum, launch of the 10 Bangla-language textbook and teachers’ guide, titles and was attended by one Two books published by Room to Room to Read took the next step of Bangladesh’s leading writers, Read Cambodia won awards in and shared its experience and who praised the event as one of 2011 from the International Board mobilized experts on the issue. the most exciting ways to launch on Books for Young People (IBBY) In 2011, we led a focus group with books—something not done since and will be featured in a global prominent educators, administra- the country’s independence in 1971. traveling exhibition. The selected tors and other officials to discuss titles, Help Me Find the Sun and A Vision for Healthy Girls and analyze how best to teach lit- The Snake Who Wants to Buy a eracy skills. Our recommendations Preventable and curable health Shoe, were chosen for their creative were submitted to the Bangladesh diseases are common ailments illustrations, content and cultural National Curriculum and Textbook that keep many girls out of appropriateness. Board and the findings published school. Of major concern to the Thought Leadership for Libraries in newspaper articles, blogs and Girls’ Education program team official reports. was a decrease in school atten- Working in collaboration with two dance due to eye-related issues, local organizations, Room to Read From the Page to the Stage and the fact that none of the girls lobbied the Ministry of Educa- Ten of the 2011 early-reader books in the program had ever had an tion, Youth and Sports to adopt in Bangladesh came to life with eye exam. Through a strategic a uniform set of standards for a little help from 28 girls in our partnership with ORBIS Interna- all libraries constructed in both Girls’ Education program. The girls, tional, Room to Read and the local public and primary schools across who live without electricity or Mymensingh Eye Hospital offered Cambodia. The standards focused basic services on the river islands free vision screenings, medicine on the human resources needed of Bangladesh, performed stories and treatments to any past or to operate a library, the materials from the books for an influential present participant in our Girls’ required within a library and best audience, demonstrating the Education program. The orga- practices for monitoring the library.

Float Away on Ten Million Stories. Room to Read celebrated yet another programmatic milestone in 2011 with the distribution of our 10 millionth book to our network of more than 13,000 libraries. The emblematic book, Floating Market, is a “big book” published by Room to Read Vietnam and just right for group story time in the classroom or library. As part of the dis- 5 tribution ceremony at a local primary school in Vietnam, John Wood was joined by The New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof and American actress Gabrielle Union, who were on-hand to learn more about our work for an upcoming documentary called “Half the Sky,” scheduled to air in the U.S. in October 2012. See this book come to life at www.roomtoread.org/AnnualReport2011 room to read • annual report 2011 Country Highlights

Our successful advocacy led to the Within these libraries, more than in yourselves today?” Ambassador creation of a reference manual en- 80,000 books in multiple languag- Verveer asked. “Room to Read has dorsed by the government for the es, including Hindi, Urdu, Marathi helped us to dream big, and we are country’s primary school libraries. and English, were distributed with more confident now,” said Bharati, the goal of reaching more than a student recently accepted into an Scholars in Science 25,000 children. engineering program in Delhi. Room to Read Cambodia received copyright approval Girls Get a Sporting Chance from Scholastic Inc., a leading Through a global partnership global printing house, to translate between Room to Read and the Singled Out for Excellence and locally publish 70 science International Cricket Council (ICC), For the third year in a row, Room to books for primary school children. Room to Read was able to Read received the Excellent Chil- As part of this co-venture, Room benefit from many ICC Cricket dren’s Book Award from the Laos to Read worked with Cambodia’s World Cup activities. Highlights Ministry of Information, Culture, Department of Primary Education included some of our Girls’ Educa- and Tourism. Two titles, The Bee as well as the Curriculum tion program participants meeting and The Fly and Keo Learns to Read, Development Department to and interviewing the nation’s were chosen for this prestigious ensure that the books were popular cricket star Virat Kohli, and award from among 150 books grade- and age-appropriate and being interviewed themselves on for kids. A special ceremony was relevant for Cambodia’s public the BIG FM radio channel. held to mark the accomplishment school libraries. As a result of this with government officials and Welcoming Diplomats collaboration, 40 social studies members of the media. The Bee and applied science titles were Room to Read India was honored and The Fly, sourced through one approved and translated into to welcome Melanne Verveer, U.S. of Room to Read’s Book Publishing Khmer. In 2013, 560,000 copies Ambassador-at-Large for Global workshops, is the second children’s of the books will be printed and Women’s Issues. Her visit to a book produced by the author and distributed to school libraries. school in Delhi was a result of the the first for the illustrator. growing partnership between India Room to Read and the U.S. Elephant Express Department of State. While visit- Room to Read Laos found a very Continuing Expansion ing the school, the Ambassador creative way to deliver books In 2011, Room to Read India participated in a book reading to the children in the northern expanded into its ninth state, and discussion with a number of province of Xayabouly: elephants! Maharashtra, where it established children, including girls from our In a three-way partnership with 75 new libraries in government-run Girls’ Education program. “What is ElefantAsia, Action with Lao schools across the city of Mumbai. the biggest change that you notice Children and the Laotian govern-

Picture This. If a picture is worth a thousand words, Lali’s Got a Seed rivals the dictionary. Published by Room to Read India, this wordless book for the earliest of readers relies only on imagery to tell its story. Lali’s Got a Seed was created in collaboration with our Book Publishing and Reading & Writing Instruction teams. Picture books nurture the development of oral 6 language skills and vocabulary, both of which are essential to developing early literacy skills. Wordless story books also familiarize children with the way books work and contribute to building a habit of reading. I N D I A Written by: Sushma Sarpal

Illustrated by: Harshvardhan Kadam

Lali makes a seed-sized hole in the soil. She tucks her seed

inside, covers it carefully and waits for it to grow. As Lali 7

gets taller, so does the shoot budding out from her seed.

Lali’s Got a Seed

What will it become? A spectacular tree, providing fruit for

~ the neighborhood, a place to play and a quiet spot to read.

n e p a l Rewrite by: Room to Read Literacy Program

Illustrated by: Promina Shrestha

As king of the jungle, the lion boasts he can make an easy

8 meal of the animals who share his neighborhood. But a

clever rabbit has an idea that might save the day if he can

The Lion and the Rabbit convince his friends to work together. What if they used the

~ lion’s own fear—of himself—to tame his appetite? room to read • annual report 2011 Country Highlights

ment, children in Xayabouly, stood out among 100 student South Africa participated in a book festival that entries from 58 schools across the used elephants as a mobile library Valley. Nepal’s Book A Gathering of Experts to deliver more than 600 Lao- Publishing team felt the story In collaboration with the govern- language books to four primary needed to be told, since it tackles ment of South Africa, literacy schools, helping to raise awareness an important environmental issue experts including representatives about the endangered species. that impacts most Nepali citizens: from provincial educational depart- During the festival, more than garbage and recycling. ments, universities, literacy teachers 1,000 excited children joined their and teacher unions gathered to Working with Government parents in a reading competition help design the Reading & Writ- that included storytelling, games, Room to Read Nepal organized ing Instruction program, which songs and quizzes. important site visits for govern- launched in 2011 in Limpopo and ment officials on both a country Mpumalanga Provinces. This advi- Nepal and district level. To demonstrate sory group will continue to steer the the success of our programs, reac- implementation of the program, Strategic Book Development quaint government officials with which aims to impact at least 4,500 In 2011, Room to Read Nepal our field work, and foster future children and 80 teachers. formed a children’s book devel- collaboration, the Nepal team opment advisory committee, a hosted a successful monitoring Recognition for a Model Library panel of curriculum and pedagogy visit with 10 senior government For the second year in a row, one of experts who use their knowledge officials. The visit covered eight Room to Read’s libraries in South of developing children’s story schools and showcased our Librar- Africa was named School Library books and textbooks to improve ies, Schools and Reading & Writing of the Year. This year’s winner, the the quality of the titles we publish. Instruction programs. Malwana Primary in Bushbuck- The committee will review all At the district level, Room to Read ridge in Mpumalanga province, draft manuscripts for quality and Nepal held additional visits for was recognized for its book check- content, and provide editorial guid- government stakeholders to advo- in rates (the number of books read ance to the authors and illustrators. cate for separate reading periods while in the library) as well as the and activities and request support utilization of library resources by Not to Be Thrown Away for Room to Read libraries within teachers. This library was chosen A Story of Garbage, a book published school improvement plans. Both out of 120 primary school libraries in 2011 by Room to Read Nepal, was of these visits will help the team in the province and was honored sourced through a student com- re-engage and better collaborate during a special award ceremony petition organized by the School with the Nepali government in the given by the provincial Depart- Libraries program. This story by years to come. ment of Education. The library now a young author and illustrator serves as a model for primary

Passing Down Tradition. Publishing books by local authors and illustrators is one way Room to Read keeps content culturally relevant for young readers. Locally-based books are a great way to pass along folklore and traditions from one generation to the next while teaching kids to love reading. The Lion and the Rabbit is based on a classic fable known throughout South 9 Asia. Our Book Publishing and Reading & Writing Instruction teams in Nepal reinterpreted the tale in a two-color storybook for a new cohort of early readers. schools throughout the province. where he sharpened his skills and It has been visited by educators gained techniques that help him and organizations interested in Sporting Ambassadors design illustrations appropriate for learning how the library is moti- In partnership with the Interna- children’s books. vating children and teachers, and tional Cricket Council, Room to Elite Partnership maximizing resources to improve Read Sri Lanka held a series of literacy across South Africa. events to promote literacy and ac- Room to Read became the first cess to books. Sri Lankan cricket star and only non-government Influencing Community Angelo Mathews and Australian organization invited to serve on Involvement player Shane Watson became Room a prestigious committee respon- In an effort to better integrate our to Read Ambassadors, hosting book sible for shaping literacy across Sri programs and increase participa- readings and other literacy activi- Lanka. The Ministry of Education tion in local communities, Room to ties with children from Room to is charged with the success of the Read South Africa developed and Read programs in the Central and country’s entire school system. implemented standardized com- North Central Provinces. Room to Read was recruited to help munity engagement guidelines. develop children’s literature and Meetings were held with village Shining a Light guidelines for authors, illustrators, chiefs and community leaders Eliya (Light), published by Room to publishers and educators. Once to request they use their role as Read Sri Lanka, won Best Children’s completed, these national guide- influencers to encourage commu- Book Cover Design as part of the lines will standardize best practices nity members to fully utilize the National Literacy Awards of Sri for maintaining gender balance, resources provided by the school Lanka. This award, granted by the language, illustrations and cultur- libraries. Following the meet- most respected and recognized ally-relevant themes for children’s ings, community participation national association for writers books produced in Sri Lanka. increased in four of the provinces and illustrators, spotlights the 10 where Room to Read has a pres- progress we have made in nurtur- Tanzania ence. Parental involvement has ing and developing book artists also improved. In three provinces through writer and illustrator Establishing a Presence alone, more than 50 schools now workshops. The book’s illustrator, With legal registration status have parent volunteers who man- Aruna Keerthi, participated in our granted by the government of age local libraries. 2010 Book Publishing workshop, Tanzania, Room to Read hired a room to read • annual report 2011 Country Highlights

country director to lead our opera- During these visits, Room to Read and art workshops with a Room to tional launch. A main office was staff met with parents, school Read book illustrator. established in Dar es Salaam and committees, school boards, heads a field office set up in Morogoro of schools, teachers and students to Spreading Literacy North Town. We signed an agreement introduce Room to Read to target Room to Read Vietnam expanded with the local government in communities. We then developed its operations to the northern Mvomero to begin program an implementation calendar and provinces of Tuyen Quang and Thai implementation in 2012. This is operational plans for our School Nguyen, where student enroll- the district where we will launch Construction, School Libraries and ment and literacy rates remain our Literacy and Girls’ Education Girls’ Education programs in 2012. extremely low. Program implemen- programming. We also spent time Our country director also visited tation began with Room to Read’s in 2011 introducing Room to Read local printing and publishing com- flagship School Libraries program, in the region and establishing panies to prepare for the launch of which will provide four years of collaborative relationships with our Book Publishing efforts. ongoing support to ensure the other local stakeholders, including success of participating schools. the U.S. Agency for International Vietnam To generate community interest Development, Children’s Books and excitement in the north, the Project, Canadian International Celebrating a Global Milestone School Libraries team organized an Development Agency and Forum Room to Read Vietnam helped the event called “Family Reading Days.” for African Women Educationalists. global organization celebrate the Parents and grandparents joined distribution of its 10 millionth young readers from 20 primary Laying the Foundation book by hosting an event at the schools for a festival of fun. We began planning for the launch Ngu Hiep 2 Primary School in Parents Invest in Daughters of our programs in the district of Tien Giang Province. Joining in Mvomero in partnership with the the festivities was John Wood, Room to Read Vietnam focused this AWALI group and Aga Khan Uni- who presented the school’s 500 year on encouraging more parents 11 versity’s Institute for Educational students in 1st through 5th grade to join activities sponsored through Development (AKU-IED). Global with a box of new books for their the Girls’ Education program. In- and local staff visited potential library. The celebratory day contin- volving parents and their children in project sites and conducted initial ued with literacy games, story time joint activities encourages mutual assessments of school conditions. understanding and lets parents room to read • annual report 2011 Country Highlights

get to know and trust Room to tion team focused on finding ers, curriculum specialists, authors, Read’s approach, including our creative ways to improve school illustrators and literacy experts emphasis on the importance of life performance among girls enrolled to provide additional advice and skills training. In 2011, ten events in the program. In addition to support to the Reading & Writing in three provinces drew over 1,200 providing life skills training, aca- Instruction program. The focus was interested parents. The sessions demic support and basic material on developing a training compo- underscored the importance of assistance to girls, we increased nent to help teachers teach reading, education for daughters, focusing our efforts around back-to-school writing, speaking and listening on long-term benefits as well as home visits, which clearly motivate skills. First grade teachers worked how to balance household duties and encourage girls to return to closely with our Reading & Writing with school work. school after each holiday recess. Instruction staff to implement the By the end of the school year, we program in 30 pilot schools. By achieved an 88 percent decrease in the end of the third school term, the dropout rate. children were able to associate Keeping Girls in School sounds with the shapes of vowels Discovering Words Working in close collaboration with and consonants, identify letters and school administrators and district Room to Read Zambia tapped a read and write simple words using education officials, the Girls’ Educa- core group of professional teach- the consonant-vowel combinations taught in the classroom.

Read the Writing on the Walls. Room to Read publishes more than just books. In Cambodia, to help children extend the habit of reading beyond the classroom, our Book Publishing and School Libraries teams collaborated to develop and publish two posters that

12 teach important lessons like how to locate books in the library and why reading is fun. Thousands of these posters decorate the walls of Room to Read school libraries across Cambodia and enliven the print-rich environment. m b o d c a i a Illustrated by: Reaksmei Am

One of the best things about checking out books from the

library is that you can read them anywhere you want,

13

everywhere you go! They are not just for the library, but to

use in our classrooms, homes and beyond.

We Can Read Books

Everywhere

~ h a f u t r i Written by: Hilary Atkinson o c a s Illustrated by: Various Artists

Do you feel excited or shy? Sometimes it is not easy to

describe how you feel. Looking at the expressions of the

14

children pictured in this book helps young readers to under-

How Are You?

stand their feelings. Not only does Unjani teach them new

~ vocabulary, it prompts them to put emotions into words. Unjani? room to read • annual report 2011

Program Highlights

School Libraries contexts. These guidelines shaped Researching School Infrastructure the cataloguing and placement In order to better focus our infra- Professional Development of books in all 2011 Room to Read structure investments and promote Strategy for Educators libraries, and we are now revis- evidence-based decision making, Our School Libraries program made ing teacher and librarian training we conducted a review of current substantial progress in 2011 toward manuals to include a focus on book and past research on the effects of completing and distributing leveling. In 2012, we will work to school infrastructure on student global guidelines on professional build the capacity of educators to learning. The resulting report, development for educators. These better identify students’ reading “The Relationship Between School guidelines equip Room to Read levels and match students with Infrastructure and Educational Out- with a global strategy for creating appropriate books. comes,” was published in 2011 and a three-year professional develop- will be used to prioritize the types ment plan to support teachers, School Construction of school construction activities we librarians and principals involved in will invest in moving forward. This Piloting Repair and Renovation our School Libraries program. They report is available on the Room to are now being used to implement In 2010, we began exploring the Read website. training workshops for school staff possible benefits of adding repair across all countries of operation. and renovation projects to our Book Publishing School Construction program. In Book Leveling in Context 2011, we created project selection Forum on Early Grade Readers In 2010, our School Libraries team and budget guidelines for use on Our Book Publishing team spent created global guidelines on book a small number of pilot construc- the first part of 2011 in an ambi- leveling, a classification system tion sites across three countries tious data collection exercise to allowing students, educators slated to launch in 2012. If these determine individual country and families to identify reading pilots prove successful, we will needs for reading content for chil- materials at the appropriate level scale up and expand our deploy- dren who are just starting to read. of difficulty for the reader. In 2011, ment of repair and renovation This research provided the back- the teams took this work a step projects once the teams have ground for a forum on the topic, further by creating country-specific gained sufficient experience. which brought together Room to book leveling guidelines to serve Read Advisory Board members, in unique cultural and linguistic authors, publishers, practitioners

Smile if You Can Read This. South Africa’s rich linguistic diversity makes it more difficult to find age-appropriate, culturally-relevant children’s books than in many other countries. Since launch- ing operations six years ago, Room to Read South Africa has sought to fill this void, publishing 239,600 books in 11 local languages. One of those, Unjani was recognized by the United Nations 15 Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as the Best Early Childhood Development Publication of 2011. Designed for very early readers, Unjani uses mixed-media in a combination of colorful illustrations and photographs to show the diversity of South Africa’s children and teach them about expressing emotion. All the illustra- tions for the book came out of a Room to Read illustrator workshop. r i l a n k Written by: Sajeewa Meepage s a

Illustrated by: Thanuja Sandamali

What is a girl’s best friend? The school library of course!

The library helps her study and tells her the best stories.

16

In return, she gives the library gifts, like keeping it clean

My New Friend

and tidy. This loyal friend is always there for her. This

~

friend is for keeps! room to read • annual report 2011 Program Highlights

and education officials from vari- Reading & Writing Girls’ Education ous government ministries. The Instruction discussion confirmed the need Teaching Life Skills to create guidelines for our early Program Expansion in All of our Girls’ Education program grade reader books and we are Four Countries country teams continued to now in the process of finalizing We began the rollout of our Reading develop context-specific life skills global guidelines on this topic. & Writing Instruction program as curricula in alignment with the 30 global life skills competencies Leading by Example a pilot in select countries in 2008. This past year, we continued to that we identified in 2010. All seven In collaboration with the Girls’ make significant progress with country teams in Asia have com- Education program, Cambodia’s the launch of new initiatives in pleted development of life skills Book Publishing team piloted a Bangladesh, South Africa, Vietnam manuals and the associated cur- workshop for writers and illustra- and Zambia. We also completed ini- ricula. The manuals were shared tors, which introduced positive tial program planning in Tanzania. across all countries to promote portrayals of gender roles across program improvements and the all Room to Read-published Reading Successfully by Grade Two efficient use of global resources. books. Inspired by our work, the As part of our effort to create Cambodian Ministry of Educa- Tracking Our Graduates global guidelines for our Reading tion collaborated with the Khmer & Writing Instruction program, We completed a post-secondary Writer’s Association and facilitated we are developing a new draft of study of 81 program graduates a three-day workshop for local “Principles for Reading & Writing across Cambodia, India, Nepal and writers and illustrators about Instruction Programs: Grades Vietnam that documented their ac- the importance of promoting One and Two,” a document that complishments and the challenges gender equality in literature and clarifies the rationale, expected they have encountered while other reading materials, including outcomes and core assumptions navigating their post-secondary avoiding language and character of our work in literacy instruc- transition. We are excited to report depiction that perpetuate negative tion. It also includes a common that two-thirds of the graduates stereotypes. Across our countries set of design principles that who were interviewed are enrolled of operation, teams are also being members of our global, regional in post-secondary education. encouraged to include sessions and country teams can use to on this topic in their writers and Fostering Communities of Practice develop country-specific Reading illustrators workshops. Similar & Writing Instruction activities. Leaders from each of our country workshops have already been con- The revised principles will guide teams came together in sub- ducted in Zambia and Laos. program improvement to ensure regional workshops in India and that children in our classrooms are Cambodia to expand program reading by the end of 2nd grade. content on mentoring, gender-

Books are a Girl’s Best Friend. Reading is one habit we never want to break. Although Room to Read has established more than 13,000 school libraries to date, we need to make sure they are used effectively to help kids develop the habit of life-long literacy. One way we do this is through the books we support, like My New Friend. Published by Room to Read Sri Lanka, this non-fiction title for 17 primary readers explains how a school library functions and teaches children to use it themselves. To further encourage library use, our Sri Lankan team created the “wall library” contest in partner- ship with The Island, the country’s national daily newspaper. Each week, 15 winning art and writing submissions from Room to Read libraries across Sri Lanka are printed in the paper. room to read • annual report 2011 Program Highlights

responsive teaching, parental and Planning for the Future of activities. This enhancement includes additional components school engagement and life skills All countries implementing the such as formal mentoring and competency assessment tools. Girls’ Education program drafted gender-responsive teaching. These The workshops were used as an operational plans that set the long- plans are a critical step in develop- opportunity to share promising term vision, timelines and targets ing country-specific strategies and practices and lessons learned of each country program, as well as will be used as a road map for pro- across all areas of our Girls’ Educa- strategies for increasing the impact tion program work. gram work over the next four years.

Research, Monitoring & Evaluation In 2011, our Research, Monitoring & Evaluation Results from 2011 showed that student reading team documented more than 17,000 unique 2010 behaviors positively relate to the presence of a projects. Through these efforts, we found that: full-time librarian, library support, parental sup- · 96 percent of our 2010 libraries had book port for reading and an emphasis on reading in check-out and classification systems teacher instruction—four key components of our School Libraries program. · 98 percent of librarians in our programs had received library management trainings With support from The MasterCard Foundation, and in collaboration with FHI 360 and Amenons ·  100 percent of 2010 completed construction Nos Filles á l’Ecole, our team produced “Through projects had community co-investment Their Eyes, In Their Voices,” a report which in- · 133,000 new books were added into our library vestigated the life and educational factors that network help young women from economically disad- We also continued a three-year evaluation of our vantaged backgrounds succeed in post-second- School Libraries program with data collection in ary education. This partnership came about as Zambia, Nepal and Laos. This study, which began a direct result of the Clinton Global Initiative’s in 2009, will help us understand how our School (CGI) programming focused on female empow- Libraries program creates literate environments erment; the report was featured at CGI’s 2011 for students and what impact our libraries have Annual Meeting in New York City. on students’ habits and attitudes toward reading.

G is for Gender Equality. Our Girls’ Education program takes great care to teach girls the importance of their education along with skills like finding time for homework, coping with exam stress and planning for the future. Teaching gender equality early on in the books we publish is one way we support this mission. In Laos, the story book Thipthida conveys the 18 importance of school without rehashing gender stereotypes, educating both girls and their parents in the process. a o l s Written by: Viengsavanh Oudomthip

Illustrated by: Nivong Sengsakoun

Thipthida is excited. She wakes up extra early in the morning

to get ready for school because she never wants to miss a

19

day. When she has a question, she bravely raises her hand to

Thipthida ask the teacher. She studies and works hard knowing how

~ much there is to learn. g l a d e Written by: Tariq Manzoor a n s h b Illustrated by: Sabyasachi Mistry

A cow says “hamba” (moo) in Bangla. But “moo” is not

20 the only thing a cow knows how to do! This rhyming

tale introduces children to the numbers 1 through 10 by

1, 2, 3... Hamba counting various parts of a cow’s body and explaining the

~ important contribution cows make to Bangladeshi life. room to read • annual report 2011

Global Recognition

In 2011, Room to Read gained global media attention, National Press, International Accolades won awards and secured major partnerships that Our team garnered major media helped the organization continue to strengthen its coverage for the organization brand and leadership position in the fields of literacy and high-profile speaking en- gagements for senior leadership, and gender equality in education. including two back-to-back articles in The New York Times by columnist Nicholas Kristof; opinion editorials on Forbes.com, The Huffington Post and CNBC. com; and a follow-up story on Room to Read for the “Lifeclass” show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network. In addition, John Wood was featured on the first-ever Forbes “Impact 30” list of top social entrepreneurs, and Erin Ganju was a speaker at TEDxBerkeley and Chicago Ideas Week. Room to Read has more than 570,000 followers on Twitter, making us one of the top non- profit organizations on the social network. Our 2011 tweets were recognized globally from both a content and engagement perspective, and we were cited as one of DevEx’s “Top 10 Global Development Organizations on Social Media.”

Some Tweet, Others Moo. September 8 isn’t just another number on the calendar. It’s International Literacy Day—a date to celebrate our accomplishments and inspire our supporters to action. In 2011, Room to Read created the Tweet for Literacy campaign to spread awareness of the importance of literacy via Twitter. For each tweet of our special message, Random House do- 21 nated US$1 to support our work. The nearly 20,000 resulting tweets were seen by close to 50 mil- lion people worldwide and raised enough funds to publish 1, 2, 3, Hamba, a Bangla-language book. room to read • annual report 2011 Global Recognition

for every “six” scored, benefitting Room to Read Wins UNESCO Literacy Prize more than 20,000 children. Room to Read was one of six winners of the United Nations Creating Student Ambassadors Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Room to Read re-launched the International Literacy Prizes for 2011, winning the prestigious youth action program Students Confucius Prize for Literacy. Each year, UNESCO awards four prizes Helping Students (SHS) in 2011. in recognition of excellence and inspiring experiences in the field This global youth movement works of literacy throughout the world. The theme of this year’s prize to raise funds and awareness for was literacy and peace, with a special emphasis on gender equality. Room to Read through programs Room to Read was singled out for our efforts to improve literacy specifically designed for primary, by tapping the talents of local writers and illustrators to create secondary and university student culturally-relevant reading materials in local languages through our audiences. At the elementary level, Book Publishing program. students are focused on building global awareness by supporting our programs. Secondary school Forging Media and Corporate based on a book by Pulitzer-Prize students are encouraged to take Partnerships winners Nicholas Kristof and the lead in championing Room Room to Read pursued new Sheryl WuDunn, will feature a to Read in their communities by opportunities in film by partnering segment about our Girls’ Educa- participating in local service op- with two documentary produc- tion program in Vietnam. portunities and fundraisers. This tions: “10x10,” a feature film and We improved global awareness of year also marked the launch of the social action campaign dedicated Room to Read by partnering with SHS Campus Chapter network, to galvanizing support for girls’ the International Cricket Council for which empowers university stu- education (to premiere in 2013); the 2011 Cricket World Cup in India, dents to develop leadership and and the television documentary Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This professional skills while organiz- 22 mini-series “Half the Sky,” about partnership provided opportunities ing outreach on behalf of Room empowering women around the for our students to interact with to Read. To date, over 675 schools world (airing in the U.S. in fall world-famous athletes and also from early grades to graduate level 2012). “10x10” will profile a par- led to the “Boundaries for Books” have participated in the program ticipant from our Girls’ Education campaign through which Reliance and we have representation across program in Nepal. “Half the Sky,” Life Insurance contributed US$550 30 different countries. room to read • annual report 2011

Chapter Network

Our worldwide chapter network continued to grow in 2011, providing critical support and sustainability to the organization. Chapter member efforts alone raised US$12,200,000 for Room to Read—almost 30 percent of our annual fundraising efforts in 2011. Our chapter presence now includes more than 50 chapters across 16 countries.

Victoria Vancouver Edmonton Calgary Montreal Toronto

Minneapolis/St. Paul Seattle NORTH Boston AMERICA Central Connecticut Portland Chicago Greenwich (CT) Denver/Boulder St. Louis San Francisco Nashville Westchester (NY) Atlanta New York City Aspen Valley Dallas Central New Jersey Los Angeles Austin Houston Orange County Washington DC Fort Lauderdale San Diego Charlotte

Amsterdam Hamburg Edinburgh Frankfurt/Rhein Main London UK & EUROPE Brussels Paris Seoul Zurich ASIA Tokyo Munich Dubai Hong Kong Mumbai

Singapore

23

AUSTRALIA Brisbane Perth Adelaide Sydney Auckland Canberra Melbourne

Listing current as of 6/30/12 a m b i a z Written by: Various Authors

Illustrated by: Kelvin Makungu

What is a hard and soft sound and how do they sound

together? This second workbook in a series teaches conso-

24

nant and vowel combinations in the Cinyanja-language.

Workbook Two Reading comprehension and writing activities are based

~ on how frequently the words occur in normal speech. Buku la Nchito Laciwiri room to read • annual report 2011

Institutional Funders Room to Read relies on its institutional partners to help us further scale and support our mission. In 2011, we worked with corporate, foundation and government partners in both philanthropic and in-kind giving as well as employee and consumer engagement. Through strong collaboration with each funder, we create customized partnerships that help us bring literacy and gender equality in education to millions of children in Asia and Africa.

Atlassian involved with Room to Read, sustain their libraries once Room to donates participating in fundraising events Read’s support has ended. all proceeds from the sales of and raising awareness of the work Bloomberg has US$10 Starter Licenses that provide of the organization. Barclays has supported Room startups and small teams with supported Room to Read’s com- to Read since 2008. In 2011, their sup- fully-supported software and helps mitment to the Clinton Global port included funding the production Atlassian generate new business. Initiative to enhance education for of half a million children’s books and Through this initiative, Atlassian nearly one million girls. story cards in Asia through our Book has raised almost US$2,000,000 Publishing program. for Room to Read. Credit Barclays has Over a six year grant period, the Suisse partnered with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of Room to Read’s largest Room to Read since 2008, funding is supporting Room to Read’s corporate funders and currently the development of libraries, local strategic planning efforts as well supports Room to Read’s Reading & language book publications and as cross-national evaluations Writing Instruction program and the girls’ education. The programs of our library and book publish- Girls’ Education program through have benefited over 89,000 chil- ing programs. In addition, the its Global Education Initiative. Credit dren in Cambodia, India, Nepal, Sri foundation is supporting a library Suisse also donates office space for Lanka, Vietnam and South Africa. post-completion study to identify Room to Read staff in Hong Kong, Barclays colleagues globally are the success factors that have London, Tokyo and Sydney. contributed to schools’ ability to

Practice Your Penmanship. We encourage writing on the pages in some of our books. In support of Zambia’s national literacy program, Room to Read is committed to giving teachers and schools the resources they need to make readers of all school children. Our Reading & Writing Instruction team collaborated with the Zambian Ministry of Education’s Department of Curriculum 25 Development and a core team of education experts on a literacy workbook in the local language of Cinyanja. Developed for the 1st grade classroom, teachers in 30 pilot schools are now using the workbook to teach reading, writing and active listening. Support from Jones Day has around human resources, the ELMA helped Room programmatic design and Foundation to Read reach development, monitoring and has enabled approximately 8,000 children in evaluation and fundraising. Room to Read to conduct research South Asia through the establish- Room to Read part- and development activities associ- ment of libraries, support for girls’ ners with the South ated with its Reading & Writing education, and the publication of and Central Asia Instruction program in Africa and local language children’s books. Bureau, U.S. Depart- to strengthen its operations in Jones Day has also provided pro ment of State, to support teacher South Africa and Zambia. bono legal services for many and librarian trainings and capac- Room to Read offices. Through Goldman ity building initiatives for local and Goldman Sachs Reliance Life authors and illustrators in South Sachs Gives, the firm Insurance Asia. The Department of State and its senior executives have launched the is also supporting the establish- contributed millions of dollars to “Boundaries for Books” campaign ment of libraries, creation of local support Room to Read programs through which the company con- language book publications and worldwide. Through Goldman tributed US$550 to Room to Read the Girls’ Education program across Sachs 10,000 Women, the company for every “six” scored in the 2011 South Asia. also supports the development of ICC Cricket World Cup benefit- an Entrepreneurial Skills Package ting over 20,000 children. The Symantec for the Girls’ Education program company also generously shares Corporation in India while enabling the office space with Room to Read has supported hundreds of girls holistic education of 400 high staff in Mumbai. through our Girls’ Education school girls. program. Symantec also helped Skoll Foundation to launch our programs in Maha- Caterpillar supports Room rashtra, India by providing core Foundation to Read’s efforts operating and programmatic sup- 26 is providing three years of holistic to build the capacity of its port and is helping to expand our education to 1,200 girls and organization to scale across literacy programs throughout India. establishing 48 libraries to bring multiple countries in Asia and educational opportunities to Africa. Through their award that more than 16,000 children in recognizes leadership in social India and Vietnam. entrepreneurship, Skoll supports Room to Read’s key initiatives room to read • annual report 2011 Institutional Funders

Top Institutional Funders Top In-Kind Donors (1/1/2011-12/31/2011)

$500,000 and over Oprah’s Angel Network The Asia Foundation Artha Capital Priory Group Berry Bros. & Rudd Atlassian Foundation The MasterCard Foundation Brother’s Brother Foundation Barclays Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Cisco Systems, Inc. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Insurance Co., Ltd. Credit Suisse Goldman Sachs Disney Publishing Worldwide Financial Times (Pearson) The ELMA Foundation $50,000-99,999 Lafarge CLSA Chairman’s Trust Reliance Capital $250,000-$499,999 Better World Books Sabre Foundation Caterpillar Foundation Cairn Energy India Pty. Ltd. Scholastic Inc. Jones Day Foundation Dodge & Cox Small Luxury Hotels of the WorldTM Reliance Life Insurance Dubai Cares Skoll Foundation Fondation de l’Orangerie South and Central Asia Bureau, and its donors U.S. Department of State Fossil, Inc. Symantec Corporation Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation Marine Money International Nokia Corporation $100,000-$249,999 Schools for the World (Positive Adolf H. Lundin Charitable Real Estate) Foundation Sketchtravel Bol.com T&J Meyer Family Foundation Corel Corporation The Charitable Foundation Nirav Modi Foundation The Horace W. Goldsmith 27 Hilton Worldwide Foundation ICICI Foundation United Way Worldwide on behalf of Target Corporation 2011 Donations Financials by Type of Donor

Individual 66% Room to Read places great emphasis on Corporation 22% Foundation 9% ensuring we are fiscally responsible and School and Other 2% we have consistently been recognized for this effort. For the sixth consecutive year, Charity Navigator awarded Room to Read its highest 4-star rating for sound fiscal management—a 2011 Sources of recognition that only 3 percent of rated Revenue by Region

charities can claim. Americas 49% Asia/Pacific 33% Europe 17% Highlighting Our Financial Health Middle East/Africa 1%

Room to Read saw robust revenue growth in 2011 while continuing to maintain a careful balance between program objectives and operating efficiency. 2011 Program Highlights from our 2011 financials include: Functional Expense US$41.6 million in donations—a 25 percent increase Breakdown over the prior year’s total of US$33.8 million; and US$6.4 million in donations in-kind, primarily children’s School Libraries 49% books donated by publishers, a 25 percent increase over School Construction 21% last year’s total of US$5.1 million. Girls’ Education 15% Reading and Writing US$22.3 million raised outside the US through foreign Instruction 11% fundraising sources—a 27 percent increase over the Book Publications 4% prior year’s total of US$17.6 million.

US$37.6 million invested toward our programs— a 18 percent increase over the prior year’s total of US$31.8 million. 2011 Total 84 percent of our total expenses was spent on program services, meaning that only 16 cents out of every dollar Expenses spent went toward overhead. Program Services 84% Fundraising, Management 28 and General 16% room to read • annual report 2011

Statement of Activities For the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 (USD)

SUPPORT AND REVENUE 2011 2010

Corporation $9,238,776 $7,220,068

Foundation $3,704,282 $3,732,244

Individual $27,647,244 $21,580,502

School and Other $988,193 $519,871

Total Donations $41,578,495 $33,052,685

Donations in Kind $6,387,965 $5,123,969

Investment Income $339,994 $589,031

Other Income $(16,817) $(115,669)

Total Support and Revenue $48,289,637 $38,650,016

OPERN ATI G EXPENSES 2011 2010

Program Services

Library Establishment $8,506,055 $8,076,865

Donated Books and Supplies $2,631,625 $4,736,251

School Construction $5,111,854 $3,812,170

Girls’ Education $2,544,196 $1,830,725

Book Publishing (Local Language Publishing) $691,103 $1,115,184

Reading & Writing Instruction (Literacy Pilots) $1,305,372 $858,456

Conference, Travel and Meeting Costs $2,322,244 $1,590,428

Information Technology $901,840 $812,099

Monitoring and Evaluation $745,096 $451,607

Professional Fees $864,313 $665,779

Program Operating Expenses $2,060,738 $1,241,148

Program Personnel Expenses $9,895,582 $6,610,663

Total Program Services $37,580,018 $31,801,375

Management and General $2,646,068 $2,243,153

Fundraising $4,425,170 $3,683,107

Total Operating Expenses $44,651,256 $37,727,635

Translation Adjustments $(298,868) $326,437

Change in Unrestricted Net Assets $(2,016,298) $(2,980,776)

Change in Temporarily Restricted Net Assets $5,355,811 $4,229,594 29

Unrestricted Net Assets at Beginning of the Year $5,319,988 $8,300,764

Temporarily Restricted Net Assets at Beginning of the Year $15,702,403 $11,472,809

Net Assets at End of the Year $24,361,904 $21,022,391 n z a n i t a a Written by: Richard Mabala

Illustrated by: Shabani Hamidu

Is this chicken a ventriloquist and able to change its voice

to roar like a lion…or is it just confused? This developing

30

storyline will teach young readers to associate animals with

Mysterious Chicken

the sounds they make. Check back once Kuku Wa Ajabu has

~ been published to find out! Kuku Wa Ajabu room to read • annual report 2011

Board of Directors, Advisors and Staff

Board of Directors A Special Thank You John Wood (Board Co-Chair), A long-time volunteer, investor and former chair of the Room Founder, Room to Read to Read Board of Directors, Hilary Valentine has played a critical Tim Koogle (Board Co-Chair), role in Room to Read’s growth since first meeting John Wood Former CEO, Yahoo! in August 2000. Her involvement began with a pledge to build Yusuf Alizera, CEO, Noble Group a school in Nepal in honor of her parents, Donald and Rachel Valentine. In the fall of 2001, her family foundation sponsored Christopher S. Beer, Founding Member, Ironmark Law Group a multi-year grant that served as seed funding for what is now the Girls’ Education program. This support allowed Room to Read Craig Bruya, Former CFO, Microsoft to significantly expand its reach and impact while also launch- Business Solutions ing the second pillar of our work on girls’ education. Peter T. Grauer, Chairman, Bloomberg Inc. A board member of the Donald and Rachel Valentine Foundation Jerry del Missier, Co-Chief Executive and Emeritus Board of Breast Cancer Connections, Hilary’s pri- of Corporate & Investment Banking, mary focus has been to increase awareness and funding support Barclays Capital for Room to Read’s mission—first as an individual advocate and then as an advisory board member before being elected to the Scott Kapnick, Managing Partner, Highbridge Capital Management Room to Read Board of Directors in May 2003. That same month she co-hosted the first-ever Room to Read fundraising event, Kim Anstatt Morton, Advisory garnering more than US$100,000 in donations. After serving Board member for 10 x 10 and San Francisco’s Edgewood Arts three terms over nine years, she fulfilled her board commit - ment and stepped down. Hilary has been a major catalyst for Dr. Fernando Reimers, Director of deepening the quality of our work and a strong supporter Global Education and International of Room to Read’s global staff and volunteer network from the Education, Harvard University beginning. Her contributions are immeasurable. We honor the John Ridding, CEO, Financial Times value, passion and dedication that Hilary has brought to her role as a board member, and she remains an integral member of the Room to Read family.

Starting from Chicken Scratch. Publishing children’s books isn’t easy, especially nowadays. Room to Read will launch its Book Publishing program in Tanzania in 2012 with the printing of five titles in Kiswahili, the local language. To get the program up and running, we first meet with print- ers and publishers to understand the marketplace and determine the best way to source our book 31 content. Our hunt for the right children’s story then begins with a writers and illustrators work- shop. At Tanzania’s first workshop, an early favorite emerged: Kuku Wa Ajabu or Mysterious Chicken. This story is one of several we will field-test with children as well as with a book committee made up of professional authors, illustrators and teachers. room to read • annual report 2011 Board of Directors, Advisors and Staff

U.S. Advisory Board Asia Pacific Marisa Drew, Managing Director, Investment Banking Division, John Bothamley, Founder & Development Board Credit Suisse Trustee, Four Acre Trust Lara Abbasi, Former Founder of Martyn Gowar, Partner, McDermott Ernest Chow, Partner & Founder, Interior Design Company Will & Emery UK LLP Sensato Capital Management Osama S. Abbasi, CEO, Credit Sindhu Horder, Founder, DeviDoll Dr. Luis Crouch, Team Coordinator Suisse Asia Pacific Region for Global Good Practices, Dina Khreino-Alireza, Founder and Scott Mead, Founding Partner, Education for All – Fast Track CEO, INVU Media Richmond Park Partners Initiative Secretariat Yusuf Alireza, CEO, Noble Group John Ridding, CEO, Financial Times Rob Flaherty, Senior Partner, L. Brooks Entwistle, Chairman Amanda Ross, Joint Managing President & Chief Executive Officer, of South East Asia and Head of Director, Cactus TV Ketchum, Inc. Investment Banking for South East Randy Work, Managing Director, Dhir Jhingran, Principal Secretary Asia, Goldman Sachs Kitano Capital LLC in the government of Assam, India Laura Marks Entwistle, Launching Addy Loudiadis, Partner, initiative working with Indian Management Team Goldman Sachs government, civil society and Erin Ganju, Co-Founder & CEO Melissa J. Ma, Co-Founder the private sector to combat sex Joanne Chou, Chief Financial Officer & Managing Partner, Asia trafficking Dr. Cory Heyman, Chief Program Alternatives Management LLC Carl Huttenlocher, Managing Officer Partner and CIO, Myriad Asset Patte McDowell, Founder & Board Heidi Peterson, Chief Development Management Chair, Cloud 9 Foundation Officer Wendy Leung, Supports several Arul Menezes, Principal Software Pierre Towns, Chief Talent Officer Architect, Microsoft Research non-profits, former Management Consultant and Financial/Market- Dr. Shirley Miske, President & Regional Directors ing Analyst Senior Consultant, Miske Witt & Jon Beaulieu, Asia Associates Inc. Tamiko M. Lippit, Formerly practiced law at Hughes Hubbard Wiseman Ngwata, Africa Dr. Karen Mundy, Associate & Reed LLP Professor & Canada Research Chair, Country Directors University of Toronto Graham Porter, Chairman, Tiger Group Investments Sunisha Ahuja, India Stasia Obremskey, Interim CFO for Samantha Chuula, Zambia several clients Tamara Varga Zaki Hasan, Bangladesh Kavita N. Ramdas, Executive Zoltan Varga, Executive Managing Director, Ripples to Waves, Freeman Director and Head of Asian Investing, Kall Kann, Cambodia Spogli Institute for International Och-Ziff Capital Management Group Tien Phong Le, Vietnam Studies, Stanford University Kaori Zage Christopher Mothupi, South Africa M.R. Rangaswami, Co-Founder, Ray Zage, Managing Director, CEO Theodory Mwalongo, Tanzania Sand Hill Group LLC and Portfolio Manager, Noonday Somphet Phongphachanh, Laos Dr. Carol Knuth Sakoian, Vice Asset Management Asia Pte. Ltd. Ramesh Puri, Nepal President, International Business Development, Scholastic U.K. Advisory Board Chandra Ranawickrama, Sri Lanka International Bella Berns, Philanthropy Advisor, Director, Mobile Health Institute for Philanthropy 32 Tim Wood, Innovation, Grameen Foundation Kevin Burke, Managing Director, Design: Melanie Doherty Design Head of Investor Solutions, and Photo and Illustration Credits: cover: Anne Holmes. Inside front Melody Zavala, Director, Books for cover: Nivong Sengsakon from Riding, published by Room to Read Asia, The Asia Foundation Funds and Advisory Distribution, Laos, 2011. Pg 1 left: Peter Stuckings. Pg 10 left: Ian Murphy. Pg 10 Barclays right: Liz Hale on behalf of PhotoPhilanthropy. Pg 11: 10x10act.org Steve W. Zimmerman, CFO, Educate Girls, Change the World. Pg 12 right: Anne Holmes. Pg 22 left: Anne Holmes. Pg 22 right: Varun Chaudhury. Pg 26: Anne Mercy Corps Holmes. Pg 27 left: Ian Murphy. Inside back cover: left top: Peter Stuckings; right top: Liz Hale on behalf of PhotoPhilanthropy; Listing current as of 6/30/12 middle right: Akiko Fukuchi, 25ans.

World Change Starts with Educated Children.®

www.roomtoread.org

Global Office Europe Room to Read Room to Read Room to Read 99/F International Commerce 111 Sutter Street, 16th Floor One Cabot Square Centre San Francisco, CA 94104 London One Austin Road West United States E14 4QJ Kowloon +1 415 839 4400 United Kingdom Hong Kong

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We would like to thank the following companies for sharing their office space with Room to Read: Credit Suisse (London, Hong Kong, Sydney and Tokyo), the Financial Times (New York), Reliance Capital (India).