In Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn explore the oppression facing women and girls around the globe. Though these challenges are vast, the good news is that there is one solution that has the power to eradicate them all: education.
Room to Read is committed to supporting thousands of girls across Asia and Africa in gaining the knowledge and skills they need to rewrite their own futures and succeed in school and beyond.
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Honor the incredible women who have made a difference in your life by supporting more students like Duyen, Nhi and Phung.
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Meet the girls
Phung, Nhi and Duyen are three of the more than 17,000 girls across Asia and Africa who are bravely claiming their right to an education with help from Room to Read.
Duyen
Duyen is human potential personified. In the film, our team explains how, after joining the Girls’ Education program, she went from a “low performer” in school being one of the top 10 students in her class.
These days, Duyen continues to thrive. A lively 11th grader, she excels in school and has made her parents—who once dreamed of having a son instead of a daughter—extremely proud.
Phung
When we meet Phung, she is effectively a single parent—filling in for her father as head of household and caregiver for her two younger siblings. Despite the demands of his job (hours away in Ho Chi Minh City) Phung’s father expresses unequivocal support for his daughter’s education.
Today, Phung is still in school. Her father was able to get a loan to start a small business from home, allowing him to spend more time with his children and allowing Phung more time to focus on her studies.
Read Phung's story in The New York Times »
Nhi
In the documentary, we learn that Nhi is the primary earner for her family, which includes her younger brother and abusive father. Seven days per week, Nhi sells lottery tickets to earn an income, and spends the small profits she makes on tutoring sessions to supplement her education.
Today, a year since filming, Nhi has moved to a boarding house in Ho Chi Minh City, away from her father. She continues to study hard and attend tutoring sessions, in hopes of creating a better life for herself and her younger brother.
Meet Ms. Bich
“It has been my dream my whole life to work in girls’ education,” says Bich Vu, Girls' Education Program Officer for Vietnam.
With 13 brothers and sisters, Ms. Bich is one of the few in her family to complete formal education. “My father thought girls are nothing,” she says. “One boy is one child but ten girls are not even equivalent to one child [in his eyes].” Women like Ms. Bich are at the heart of Room to Read’s work, and provide hands-on support to the thousands of girls we support.
Learn more
Room to Read envisions a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.
Explore our programs »
Girls' Education Yearbook
Meet eight girls from around the globe who are leading the way in their communities, and the mentors who helped empower them.
Download the 2011 yearbook »
Make a difference.
Honor the incredible women who have made a difference in your life by supporting more students like Duyen, Nhi and Phung.
Invest in education »
- Libraries Established
- 15,119
- Books Distributed
- 13,387,051
- Girls' Education Participants
- 21,582
- Children Benefitted
- 7.8million
Less than 2% of nonprofits have received seven consecutive Charity Navigator four star ratings. Our transparency and accountability place us among the best charities. See for yourself.
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See our work
Documentary filmmakers James Connolly and Rachelle Escaravage travelled to Room to Read projects across Asia to tell the stories of children who are benefitting from our programs.
Browse films »
See our work in person »
You can change the world
Send a girl to school, start a library, or build new classrooms. We can help you run your own fundraising campaign with your friends and family, complete with your own microsite to collect gifts and track your progress.
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