Allow us to take you back to an early chapter of Room to Read’s story —
In 2006, a 10-year-old girl named Chandani lived in a one-room home where hunger was a familiar guest and violence a constant shadow. Her father’s seasonal work barely kept food on the table, and when school fees became impossible to pay, Chandani and her sister dropped out. Candani was then in Grade 4.
In Chandani’s words, "I dreamed of finishing school and building a stable future — something beyond manual labor. But when I left school, education felt like a luxury I could never afford."
But dreams, like weeds in the cracks of a sidewalk, find a way to grow. Chandani began selling handmade goods to help her family, and when a mentor introduced her to Room to Read's Girls' Education Program, everything changed. 
Chandani, top left, with school friends in Room to Read's Girls' Education Program.
With educational support and life skills training, she not only returned to school but became the first in her family to graduate. She later earned a master’s degree from Tribhuwan University in public administration.
Today, at age 28, Chandani’s office isn’t a cramped, dimly lit room but a government office in Nepal’s Koshi province, where she leads initiatives to lift rural communities out of poverty.
Reflecting on her journey, she says, "I still use the life skills I learned from Room to Read."
Chandani’s story is not an exception; it is the embodiment of a promise — the promise Room to Read has made to every one of the more than 50 million children we’ve served: your story matters, and we are here to help you write it.
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