One Way Every Day: February 9 - World Change starts with Educated Children.

Economics, cultural bias and gender discrimination often exclude girls from educational opportunities in the developing world. Yet, it is widely acknowledged that educating girls is the most powerful and effective way to address global poverty—and the single best investment one can make. "When you educate a girl, you educate the next generation."

To help address this need, Room to Read has developed a girls' scholarship program. The Room to Grow Scholarship Program has an immediate and direct impact on the lives of thousands of girls in the developing world. An education provides security and support to girls who often grow up in very uncertain environments and empowers them to make informed life decisions. A solid education beginning in the early years is the key ingredient for improved status for women, which provides a ripple of positive effects throughout society:

For every year a girl remains in secondary school, her wages increase 10-20%.
An educated woman has fewer children, so population growth is slowed in source-scarce countries.
Infant mortality decreases by 8% for each year a woman stays in school.
Family health and nutrition rise in the home of an educated woman.
An educated woman is more likely to educate the next generation.

Room to Read makes a long-term commitment to each girl on scholarship: as long as she attends classes and receives passing grades, they 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 through the process. Currently, the majority of the scholarship students range in age from five to ten years.

Depending on the country and specific region the girls are in, the scholarship covers all the needs of a young girl, including: monthly school fees; school uniforms; books; stationary and backpacks; female Room to Read staff member to oversee the program and mentor the girls; additional tutoring as needed; transportation (such as a bicycle or bus fare) for girls living far from school; lunch money if the girls live too far from school to eat at home; medical check-ups and expenses; field trips and workshops.

Room to Read's program officers work closely with the Room to Grow scholarship recipients and give them the support they need to be successful in the face of adversity. The program officers work actively to help remove the roadblocks that the girls may encounter, meeting regularly with the girls, their families, and the school administrators.

Prior to the start of each school year, the local Room to Read team oversees a selection process by which they choose their scholarship students. In conjunction with their partner NGOs (non-governmental organizations), they select regions in which they want to operate, generally areas where they have built schools or established libraries and thus know the local authorities. They enlist these contacts to recommend girls who would be good candidates based on need and the families' commitment to education. Each applicant and her family complete a simple written application. The local staff and volunteers conduct a personal interview with each potential candidate and her family. Then the final selections are made.

During the school year, Room to Read monitors the attendance and performance of the scholarship students, through biannual visits with teachers. In addition, at the end of each school year, they evaluate each student's performance, both through report cards and discussion with her teachers, before renewing their commitment to next year's education. In order to track their progress as well as the overall development of the program, records are kept on all students.

Additionally, the girls themselves contribute to the challenge grant model. Nguyen Huu Vinh Hanh from the Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship Program 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, nutritious meals to eat, enjoyable school days without any concern for tuition fee and an available motorbike to travel to school without any concern for tired legs. Many girls in the scholarship program are living in remote areas without electricity. They have to struggle everyday; 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 so humble in comparison with their effort to overcome the barriers of their schooling."

Through this project, you can fund girls' scholarships in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka or Vietnam. These long-term, holistic scholarships make it possible for a girl, who would otherwise not have access to an education, to attend school through the secondary level. Maybe you can fund a one year girl's scholarship for $250 or a ten year girl's scholarship for $2,500.

Get Involved:

Donate to the Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship Program.

Create your own personal fundraising page.