Room to Read has reached significant milestones in both its Literacy Program and its Girls’ Education Program, which are being celebrated this week during a visit of board members and investors to the organization’s work in Uttarakhand, India. To date, across Asia and Africa, Room to Read has impacted 20,000 communities through its Literacy Program and supported 50,000 girls through its Girls’ Education Program. These two milestones are being highlighted at symbolic ceremonies led by Erin Ganju, CEO and Co-founder; John Wood, Founder; Dinesh Shrestha, Co-founder and Director of Field Operations; Dr. Geetha Murali, Chief Development & Communications Officer; as well as additional representatives of the organization’s global and local leadership, board members, Uttarakhand state government officials, and Room to Read investors. As part of the celebrations, the group will visit Room to Read’s child-friendly libraries and learning environments; meet trained teachers, librarians and mentors; participate in life skills sessions; and visit a gender resource center, a dedicated space for girls to study and interact with one another.

To symbolically mark the impact of Room to Read’s Literacy Program in 20,000 communities, donors and community members attending the ceremony will each place a single book on an empty shelf within a Room to Read library. The following day, Captain Alok Shekhar Tiwari, Director General of School Education in Uttarkhand, will kick off a celebration of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program in honor of supporting 50,000 girls to complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. Alumnae and staff will each speak briefly about the important outcomes of each component of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program—material support, life skills, mentoring, and family and community engagement—which together, address girls lack of resources, voice and agency, positive role models, and support for education.

"As Room to Read continues to grow our effective programs in literacy and girls’ education, we are proud to bring a community of our supporters from around the world to India, where we can celebrate our collective achievements in tackling illiteracy and gender inequality in education,” said Dr. Geetha Murali, Room to Read’s Chief Development & Communications Officer. “We know there are millions more children who need our high-quality interventions, and we are working alongside governments and ministries of education to ensure that we can meet the need for scalable programs, while delivering sustainable outcomes in education.”

Watch Room to Read's live broadcast of the 50,000 girls celebration at 8:15 AM GMT on November 2 by visiting the Room to Read Facebook page.