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Ref:
www.roomtoread.org

Published on Sep 27, 2014

John Wood has been honored in 2014 by the World’s Children’s Prize for his 15-year fight for children’s right to education. John quit his job as a manager at the Microsoft company to fulfil his dream: to fight poverty by giving children all over the world the chance to go to school.
John believes that when children can read and write, they are better equipped to demand their rights and to defend themselves against abuse, trafficking and slavery. John and his organisation, Room to Read, have built almost 1,700 schools and over 15,000 school libraries in some of the world’s poorest countries.
They have published 874 children’s books in local languages and given over ten million books to poor children who have never before had access to books.
John and Room to Read have a special focus on girls’ education and have helped over 20,000 girls to finish their education and have a better life. Room to Read works in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Zambia and Tanzania, and has reached 7.8 million children!

John and Room to Read:
• Work with education departments to develop school books and better teaching methods.
• Build school libraries and fill them with books, jigsaws, games, colourful furniture and cushions that turn the libraries into the children’s favourite place.
• Get local authors and artists to write and illustrate new children’s books in local languages, so that the children can read good books that they can identify with. In many of the languages, they have never had children’s books before.
• Build or renovate so that the children have safe, bright classrooms where it is easy to learn.
• Give scholarships and support to girls who would otherwise have to quit school to work or get married.

What is the World’s Children’s Prize (WCP)?

The WCP runs the world’s largest annual educational program empowering young peope, educating them about the rights of the child, democracy and global friendship.We contribute toward a more humane world in support of the rights of the child.

59,748 Global Friend schools with nearly 29,3 million students in 110 countries have registered as Global Friend schools of the World’s Children’s Prize. So far, 36 million children have participated in the program. It empowers children to demand respect for their rights while inspiring them to have faith in a better future. It also provides children with a platform to voice their concerns.

In the annual Global Vote, participating children select who will receive their prestigious prize, the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, which recognizes exceptional efforts to protect the rights of the child. The annual Global Vote has attracted as many as 7,1 million voting children in a given year. The two candidates that do not receive the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child are awarded the World’s Children’s Honorary Award in recognition of their hard work.

Learn more about John Wood and the World’s Children’s Prize at:
http://worldschildrensprize.org/

Category
Nonprofits & Activism

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