• Overview

• Libraries
• Local Language Publishing
• Schools
• Girls' Education
• Computer Labs

• Monitoring & Evaluation
• Stories from the Field

The Challenge

In countries throughout the developing world, education is not free. Families are often charged monthly or annual school fees by the local government to pay for the operation and maintenance of schools. Many families cannot afford the relatively high cost of school fees or are unable to forego the income of a working child. Currently, there are an estimated 76.8 million primary aged children (ages 6 to 11) who are out of school. Of these, 43.8 million are girls, and many more not in secondary school. (1)

Because of economics and cultural bias, families often forego the education of young girls. In Cambodia, for example, girls' enrollment in school drops precipitously as they get older. At the primary level, 91 percent of girls are enrolled in school. At the secondary level, only 19 percent are enrolled. The number drops to 7 percent at the upper secondary level (grades 9-10). (2) In Nepal, only 35 percent of women are literate. (3) In India, female literacy rates stand at 52 percent, and it is estimated that 35 million children are not attending school, of which the majority are girls. (4) (5) If a family is able to send only one child to school, which is often the case, it is generally the oldest boy. In rural areas, girls are kept behind to work in the fields or in the home. Commonly, they marry and begin having their own children by adolescence, thus continuing the cycle of poverty. In urban settings some girls leave school to sell trinkets or work in factories.

The Room to Read Girls' Education Approach

Our Girls' Education program has an immediate and direct influence on the lives of thousands of girls in the developing world. An education provides security and support to girls and enables them to make informed life decisions. In addition, education is critical to improving the status of women, which provides a ripple of positive effects throughout society.

• Providing girls one extra year of education beyond the average boosts eventual wages by 10-20 percent.
• Infant mortality decreases by 8 percent for each year a woman stays in school.
• In Africa, children of mothers who receive five years of primary education are 40 percent more likely to live beyond age five.
• Family health and nutrition rise in the home of an educated woman.
• Multi-country data show educated mothers are about 50 percent more likely to immunize their children than are uneducated mothers.
• An educated woman has fewer children, so population growth is slowed in resource scarce countries.
• A 65-country analysis finds that doubling the proportion of women with a secondary education would reduce average fertility rates from 5.3 to 3.9 children per woman.

Room to Read makes a long term commitment to each girl in the program: as long as she attends classes and participates in program activities, we will continue to fund her education through the completion of secondary school. This promise provides an incentive for her to do well in school and for the family to support her in her academic endeavors. Currently, the majority of our participants range in age from 7 to 12.

To meet some of our inspiring girls, please download our most recent Girls' Education Yearbook (Adobe PDF, 1.8MB).

Girls' Education program components vary depending on the country as well as the girls's community, age, and need. The basic package includes:

• School fees, uniforms, books, and school supplies
• Academic tutoring as needed
• Developmental support through life skills trainings and field trips
• Parent meetings and workshops
• Transportation (such as a bicycle or bus fare) as needed
• Medical coverage
• Mentorship by women staff members of Room to Read

Our local program officers and partners work closely with the Girls' Education program participants and give them the support they need to be successful. Our teams work tirelessly to identify and help remove the roadblocks that the girls encounter, meeting regularly with girls, their families, school administrators and teachers.

Our Challenge Grant Model

Prior to the start of each school year, the local Room to Read team oversees a selection process by which we choose schools and students to participate in the program. In conjunction with local school officials and our partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we select regions in which to operate. Generally, these are areas where we have built schools or established libraries and thus know the local communities. We enlist these contacts to recommend schools and girls who would be good candidates for the program based on the community's need and the family's commitment to education. Each girl and her family complete a simple written application. Our program officers and local partners then conduct personal interviews with each potential candidate and her family before making the final selections.

During the school year, we monitor the attendance and performance of our Girls' Education program participants through visits with teachers, administrators and families. In addition, at the end of every school year, we evaluate each student's performance both through report cards and discussion with her teachers. This allows us to track each girl's progress, better meet her needs and improve the program.

The girls themselves also contribute to the challenge grant by attending school and studying hard. Nguyen Huu Vinh Hanh, Program Officer in Vietnam, sums it up best: "When visiting these girls' homes, I feel that I am very lucky. I have a decent house to live in, nutritious meals to eat and an available motorbike to travel to work and the schools without any concern for tired legs. Many girls in the program are living in remote areas without electricity. They have to struggle every day, passing the river, mud and paddy fields to get to school. At night they have to study in the dark. However, it seems nothing can stand in their way in pursuit of education. They are so BRAVE. My effort to improve this program is humble in comparison with their effort to overcome barriers and gain an education."

Girls' Education Results

In 2008, over 6,800 girls from underprivileged families in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia attend school as part of our Girls' Education scholars. We continue to add new participants to the program each year so that even more girls have the opportunity to receive an education and improve their lives.

"When you educate a girl, you educate the next generation."

Country		Total Thru 2008	2009 (Projected)
Bangladesh		-	200
Cambodia		1525	300
India		1753	930
Laos		525	300
Nepal		1250	350
South Africa		-	-
Sri Lanka		750	450
Vietnam		814	260
Zambia		200	-

How You Can Help

"Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development.... Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential."

- Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General

The voices of these girls speak to us so many miles away. Today, they are collectively and individually changing the world. You can participate in this change by bringing education and hope to a young girl's life.

	Donate to the Girls' Education Program - Make a donation in a particular country, to the program in general, or leave it up to Room to Read to best allocate your contribution.
	Sponsor a girl's education (6).
	Learn about volunteer opportunities with Room to Read.
	Sign up for our quarterly electronic newsletter to get updates on the organization, our programs, and more.

(1) UNESCO Institute for Statistics

(2) Human Development Report Statistics - Cambodia

(3) Human Development Report Statistics - Nepal

(4) Human Development Report Statistics - India

(5) World Vision Country Profile 2006

(6) Please note: It is Room to Read's philosophy not to establish a direct one to one relationship between our donors and individual students. We feel that forcing our students to maintain a relationship with a person they have never met is unfair, particularly since our students are young and not yet literate in English. Of equal importance is that our goal is to support our partner countries in addressing their own challenges. Requiring children to communicate with donors overseas may have the effect of their concluding that solutions lie beyond their own community. To provide information on our Girls' Education Program, we publish an annual Girls' Education Yearbook that details the components of the program and highlights some of our key partnerships as well as some of the participating girls.