In a classroom near Bhopal in the center of India, I found myself sitting with 17 grade one students, eyes closed, listening intently as their teacher read aloud in Hindi. I was visiting to observe the impact of IMC’s partnership with Room to Read firsthand, and with my eyes tightly shut I was intent on the task we’d been assigned: to raise a hand when a particular sound was heard.
I remained motionless, straining to catch it—only to open my eyes and see 17 hands confidently in the air. Smiling from her place in front of a chalkboard covered with Hindi letters, the teacher had three words for me: “You were incorrect.” The children around me were smiling too, seemingly proud of the way they had demonstrated their knowledge.

The activity was designed to help students recognize specific sounds in spoken language, and my lackluster performance gave me a small glimpse into the challenges children face as they train their brains to connect sounds with letters, letters with words, and words with meaning. It was a humbling way to begin our visit and an ideal moment to appreciate the reality of Room to Read’s mission.

Room to Read’s strategy in India

I had visited schools benefiting from Room to Read’s literacy program in Tanzania in 2018, and one of the biggest differences was the scale of programming in India. Here, over 500 full-time Room to Read employees manage literacy and girls’ education programs serving over 18 million children. Room to Read has tailored its approach in central India, implementing its literacy program across entire districts of 2,000 schools to achieve strong student learning outcomes and demonstrate the power of high-quality teaching methods and materials.

And it’s not just the students who are learning. Teachers, mentors, and district officials keep track of what works as they put the literacy program into practice and share these lessons with each other to strengthen government-led initiatives across the entire region.

Sharing a love of reading
A big focus of Room to Read’s program is to cultivate not just proficiency but a love of reading. We saw that later that same day, when each child was invited to choose a book and read it to themselves or with a friend. One enthusiastic boy in a red striped shirt approached our group with an oversized Room to Read-published storybook and began narrating a story about a black cat spilling a jar of milk.

After he had finished and returned to the shelves for another book, a Room to Read staff member next to us explained that he had not actually been reading each word, but he had learned the story by heart and was inspired to return to it again and again. That joy in storytelling would motivate him to keep mastering the literacy skills that would enable him to read independently.

As a lifelong lover of books, I could recognize the eagerness to devour an interesting story and the desire to share it with others. Thanks to Room to Read’s approach, this boy and his classmates benefit from committed and well-trained teachers, a wide selection of culturally relevant books, and a large-scale collaborative effort across the country to help more children learn what reading makes possible.

Find out more about Trading for Charity and Room to Read here