Report World Change Starts with Educated Children.

Transcription

1 India Annual Report World Change Starts with Educated Children.

2 Dear friends, We at Room to Read, India had an amazing year of impact and recognitions. We established 380 new libraries and reached children in the country through our Literacy Program. We also enrolled 1087 girls in our Girls Education Program during the year. Twelve new book titles and eight decodable books were published during the year. Concrete steps were taken during the year to improve the quality of our programs. Program audit of the Girls Education Program was undertaken during the year to identify gaps in program quality. Consolidation of local NGO partners has also been initiated to bring about operational efficiencies. The midline and end line evaluation results of the Instruction component of the Literacy Program showed a significant improvement in children s reading levels in the intervention schools, as compared to the control schools. This is strong evidence in support of the Room to Read instruction approach. Process improvements were also introduced in the library component. We are continuously amazed at what we have built in only 12 years in India. Impacting the lives of 3 million children is no small feat. All this wouldn t have been possible without your support. We want to thank you for being a part of our vision. We look forward to your support in the years to come. Country Team, Room to Read, India 2 India Annual Report India Annual Report

3 Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in India and other developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete 12th grade with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. We continuously measure the impact of our interventions and collect data and information to ensure our programs are run with quality and are cost effective. Contents Our Impact 6 Literacy Program 8 Girls Education Program 10 Recognitions 12 Financials 14 List of Indian Donors 15 India Annual Report

4 Our Impact We ve accomplished so much in 12 years. Providing 6998 girls with education and life skills Establishing 6801 libraries Publishing 160 books in local languages Supporting reading & writing instruction in 550 schools Impacting the lives of 3 million children Nearly 3 million children have been impacted through our Literacy and Girls Education Programs in 12 years. During this time Room to Read scaled its program operations to nine states of India and developed partnerships with governments and local NGOs. Quality of life, health and economic opportunity all depend on education, and right now an education crisis remains in many states of India. Literacy is the foundation of all future learning, yet nearly 37 percent of the total illiterate people in the world live in India. 68 percent of these adult illiterates are women. According to the All Global Monitoring Report by UNESCO ( ), India is one of the 21 countries facing an extensive learning crisis. Even with increased access to school, millions of children aren t learning the basics while in primary school due to various challenges. The situation gets worse for girls in secondary school when female student enrollment sharply drops due to societal and economic challenges. We recognize that reaching more children who need our services will require a collaborative effort among many organizations and governments. But Room to Read has more children to reach. 6 India Annual Report India Annual Report

5 Literacy Program Achievements As reading is the foundation of all future learning, our literacy program enables primary school children to become independent readers. Room to Read focuses its efforts on developing reading skills and the habit of reading among primary school-aged children in government schools. We do this by establishing school libraries that has books in the children s local language and training teachers and educators in the best practices of reading and writing instruction. We also work closely with parents, communities and governments to ensure an enabling reading environment to the child, both in school and at home. Additionally, Room to Read publishes developmentally appropriate children s literature in local languages to fill in identified gap areas. These books are provided to Room to Read supported libraries. We established 380 libraries reaching additional children Conducted 93 training programs for government schools teachers in reading activities and library management We publish a diverse range of story books in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Telugu that can be enjoyed by readers at various levels and capture students imaginations. Total check-in and check-out of books during the year was Number of books delivered during the year was Our early grade instruction program reaches 550 schools benefiting children We conducted 16 training programs in early grade instruction for the government school teachers during the year 8 India Annual Report India Annual Report

6 Girls Education Program Achievements The Girls Education Program promotes gender equality in education and support girls to complete secondary school with the necessary skills to negotiate key life decisions. The program is designed for school-going, adolescent girls from economically disadvantaged areas. It is a comprehensive intervention that provides participants with life skills education, mentorship, material and academic support from grades six through 12 to ensure that girls complete their secondary education. Key to the success of the program are the Social Mobilizers, local women who work with the girls and their families to ensure that girls stay in school, participate in activities, and navigate the challenges of adolescence with the ability to make their own life choices, both personally and professionally new students were enrolled in our Girls Education Program in students in our Girls Education Program attended life skill sessions during the year 4406 students received academic support 4727 parents attended meetings organized by our GEP 10 India Annual Report India Annual Report

7 Recognitions Library of Congress Award In 2014, Room to Read won the Library of Congress Literacy Award. The Library of Congress, United States of America selected Room to Read to be the recipient of the Rubenstein Prize, one of the three categories of the 2014 Library of Congress Literacy Awards. The Rubenstein Prize is awarded to an organization that meets the highest standards of excellence in its operations and systems, has made outstanding and measurable contributions in increasing literacy levels, and has demonstrated exceptional and sustained depth and breadth in its commitment to the advancement of literacy. Bravest Girl in the World Title for a student enrolled with GEP. In its annual Women of the year issue, Glamor magazine in the U.S. named one of our students, Meera, age 16 of the Bravest Girls in the World for her determination to get an education. In a personal letter congratulating Glamour s schoolgirl Women of the Year honorees, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama said, Your commitment to education is an inspiration to me and to people all around the world when girls thrive, nations thrive. My mother is illiterate but she didn t want my hand to be held by someone to take a thumbprint. meera John Wood named as 2014 World s Children s Prize Honorary Award Laureate Room to Read Founder John Wood was named one of the three World s Children s Prize Laureates in This prize, often called the Children s Nobel Prize, was presented to John by H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden, along with the other winners, Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan and Indira Ranamagar from Nepal. Room to Read received US$ 25,000 in prize money from the World s Children s Prize Foundation as part of this prestigious recognition. I m both honoured and humbled to be accepting this award on behalf of the Room to Read team, John stated. This award gives all Room to Read employees and volunteers additional motivation. Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we roll up our sleeves and get back to work as there are millions more children who need us to continue to think big about our ability to change the future through the lifelong gift of education. Do Not Read This video highlighted by YouTube in 12 Powerful PSA list and awarded In2 SABRE Best PSA. Launched on International Literacy Day 2014 (September 8) the video was recognized by the In2 SABRE awards for digital content as Best Public Service Announcement and was featured on YouTube s Spotlight channel as one of 12 Powerful PSAs. DO NOT READ THIS, produced in-house by Room to Read for less than US $200, challenges audiences to consider how it is virtually impossible not to read and underscores the crucial role literacy plays in our everyday lives. Since launch, the DO NOT READ THIS video has garnered nearly 500,000 views. 12 India Annual Report India Annual Report

8 FINANCIAL STATEMENT List of key donors For the year ended April 2014 to March 2015 SUPPORT AND REVENUE In% In% Grant Received from Room to Read,US ,31,74,735 26,95,83,154 Contribution for Reading Room Programs ,92,78,559 2,87,41,052 Contribution for Girls Education Program ,82,147 29,34,700 Contribution for RTR General Activities (unrestricted receipts) ,21,900 24,84,905 Donation - in kind Bank Interest Receipts ,72,482 3,44,659 Contribution for Room to Read Publications ,437 13,582 Total ,38,34,260 30,41,02,052 PROGRAM SERVICES In% In% Reading Room (Library) Program Expenses ,75,03,851 13,89,64,153 Girls Education Program Expenses ,77,49,629 5,77,83,457 Local Language Publishing Program Expenses ,32,746 47,69,885 Reading Writing Instruction Program ,77,04,359 4,17,68,714 Indirect Program Expenses ,83,88,958 6,41,54,937 Fund Raising Expenses ,20,683 50,55,558 Total ,28,00,226 31,24,96,704 Support and Revenue In% In% Room To Read US ,31,74,735 26,95,83,154 UN Agencies ,70,612 47,57,919 Corporations ,64,60,111 1,19,53,295 Foundations ,31,29,507 1,00,74,163 Schools ,15,393 1,17,715 Individuals (Public Donations) ,06,983 29,00,968 Donation - in kind Investment Income ,72,482 47,01,256 Other receipts ,437 13,582 Total ,38,34,260 30,41,02,052 Note : Financials are abstracted from the Audited Reports and its annexures for the year and India Annual Report India Annual Report

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