This year, we celebrate 25 years of transforming lives through education. Together with our global community of supporters and like-minded changemakers, who have played a pivotal role in the growth and success of our organization — one book has become more than 44.5 million, one country has become 29, one child benefited is now 52 million children globally. READ THE FULL 2024 ANNUAL REPORT 25 years of Room to Read
In this report, we not only celebrate our partners in progress, we also share the new strategic vision for our future. We have ambitious plans to dramatically scale our proven, effective, data-supported programming to communities where the need is most urgent. We will expand our partnerships with local governments, public school systems and other NGOs to reform education systems at the national level, integrating our proven interventions to deliver outcomes at scale. We will work alongside other formal and non-formal learning partners, as well as multimedia partners, to accelerate learning outcomes for all children. Room to Read will reach children where they are — in classrooms, in refugee camps, or at home — to ensure that education endures, no matter the circumstances.
We will not stop until every child has access to a quality education.
Annual Report 2024
Our 2024 Impact
47MM children benefited cumulatively, including 13.5MM in 2024
Students read up to 2.5X faster and answer 2.6X more comprehension questions than peers in comparison schools
Trained 27,278 educators, 3,765 government officials and 255 authors and illustrators in 2024
Distributed 44.5MM books and published 5,058 original and adapted children’s literature titles cumulatively
153.4MM books checked out from Room to Read libraries cumulatively, including 10.8MM in 2024
4.1MM adolescents benefited cumulatively, including 625,942 in 2024
91% of adolescents advanced to the next grade in 2024
28,351 adolescents have graduated secondary school cumulatively, including 4,996 in 2024
Trained 688 educators and 306 government officials in 2024
Our catalysts for change
Our biggest drivers of change are a growing ecosystem of strategic partnerships, innovative digital tools, and a structured approach to learning and innovation. Our talented staff around the world collaborate with a broad network of volunteers, board members, ambassadors and partner staff, to multiply the workforce actively improving foundational learning for children. These strengths make us a valuable partner of choice for organizations and governments seeking meaningful educational impact.Examples of our theory of change in action:
Drawing from years of proven success in gender equality programming in Vietnam, we created a collection of colorful, animated life skills videos designed to captivate and inspire adolescents. Each video focuses on a key theme, like self-awareness, emotional regulation, communication with parents, goal setting and critical thinking, and is paired with interactive games for reflection and practice. After delivering this content to more than 86,000 adolescents, we are now scaling its use across Vietnam, preparing to partner with local TV and other media channels to expand access to life skills education.
In 2024, Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport officially endorsed Room to Read’s university-level course “Developing Lifelong Readers: The Power of School Libraries and Classroom Reading Corners” for nationwide implementation. This pioneering approach to educator training and coaching equips the next generation of teachers to create vibrant reading spaces that ignite students’ passion for reading. Already available in eight public teacher education colleges, the course is poised to be implemented in every teacher college nationwide.
We started our library project in Lebanon with two objectives: to establish child-friendly corner libraries in 15 non-formal education centers and to distribute 100 children’s books to each. When the first libraries were operational, we heard from additional centers. They, too, wanted corner libraries, inspiring us to adapt our approach. We developed a step-by-step guide on building corner libraries, offering ideas on how to create warm and welcoming spaces with minimal resources. Roughly 125 centers have since opened their own libraries, benefiting more than 69,000 children in Lebanon and sparking a nationwide love for reading.
Research has shown that shifting boys’ perceptions of gender is essential to promoting gender equality. That’s why we initiated our Life Skills for Equality Project pilot in Cambodia. Over the last two years, we have transformed the perspectives of more than 1,000 boys in grades 7 and 8 through our curriculum. After completing the pilot in 2024, we saw significant changes in adolescents’ aspirations as both boys and girls reported an interest in delaying marriage and prioritizing education — with boys aspiring to higher education increasing from 54 to 61 percent. Boys also noted greater understanding of gender norms, gender-based violence, masculinity and health, underscoring the importance of engaging boys in gender equality programming.
This year, we celebrate 25 years of transforming lives through education, thanks to the generosity, compassion and optimism of supporters like you, who share our belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®. Our story would not be the same without your chapter. Explore our 25 Chapters for 25 Years Global Recognition List 
Celebrating our global community
