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Introduction

One third the size of the United States, India is home to over one billion people. The diversity and complexity of this country provide incredible challenges to its leaders:

• Complexity of language - 30% of Indians speak Hindi while 18 other languages have official status, and English is the official government and business language.
• Complexity of religions - the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, at this point approximately 80% of Indians are Hindu, 12% Muslim, and 2% Sikh.
• Complexity of social status - social castes still determine the future of many Indians and amplify the serious gap between the urban wealthy and the three hundred and fifty million poor in the country.

For nearly twenty years, Mahatma Gandhi led a nationalist movement to win India's independence from Great Britain, and eventually succeeded in 1947. Although Indians embrace Gandhi's legacy of spirituality and leadership, many lament the absence of those values in recent governments who have not adequately addressed areas of sanitation, health care, education, and housing for all citizens. India is primarily an agricultural economy, half of the country is under cultivation, with growing economies in textiles, tourism, and high technology. Although urban roads are developed, rural roads are often impassable in heavy rains. The tsunami of 2004 that killed thousands of people and displaced 150,000 more, was only one of numerous natural disasters that plague the country including floods, droughts, and earthquakes. The challenges to developing a sustainable social infrastructure are vast.

Educational Challenges

"Education is the basic tool for the development of consciousness and the reconstitution of society." - Mahatma Gandhi

Of all the world's illiterate people, 35% live in India. (1) Despite recent economic growth, India still faces an incredible lack of basic resources for many of its people. Although schooling is free and compulsory from 6-14 years of age, facilities are inadequate and often totally lacking. Approximately 40% of students, mostly girls, drop out by secondary school. (1) Without a dramatic shift in addressing this situation, it is estimated that by the year 2020 over 50% of the illiterate population will live in India. Although The 93rd Constitutional Amendment establishes free and compulsory elementary education as a fundamental right of all citizens of India, certain endemic problems obstruct this effort, including:

• Low public sector spending on education
• Low enrollments and continued high drop-out rates
• Low levels of educational achievement
• Gender and caste disparities
• Poor quality of education and inappropriate curriculum
• Lack of motivation among teachers and their recruitment
• Poor management of school system (2)

(Human Development Project 2004)

In addition to the great intra-state inequalities in the system, a high rate of dropping out hampers the effective educating of children. The two main reasons for students to drop out are at the direction of their parents for various reasons and by the school system that eliminates certain kinds of students.

In "Tryst with Destiny", India's 1947 independence commitment, the new government determined to eliminate ignorance. Yet in the intervening sixty years, the hurdles to overcoming this effort have stymied progress. In 2005, it is estimated that 35 million primary school aged children were not enrolled. (3) This is where Room to Read comes in.

Room to Read's Role

Room to Read India was established in 2003 as the fourth country of operations. In its first year, Room to Read focused solely on establishing the Reading Room Program because our initial research found this to be the most compelling and differentiating program that we could offer in an already crowded NGO sector. Through our Reading Room Program, we provide a child friendly learning environment that encourages a love of reading where illiteracy rates remain high and few educational resources exist. While most of our libraries are concentrated in government public schools and non-profit run alternative educational centers that serve the most disadvantaged populations, about 15% of our libraries are located in community centers.

Under the leadership of Country Director Sunisha Ahuja, Room to Read India works with both rural and urban slum communities in five key states (New Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh) to improve educational infrastructure. We are also working towards strengthening the government's efforts to meet its goal of universalizing quality elementary education for all children. Room to Read currently directs four programs, including the establishment of libraries and computer labs through our Reading Room and Computer Room Programs, publishing children's books in Hindi and English through our Local Language Publishing Program, and funding girls' educations through our Room to Grow Girls' Scholarship Program. In India, we always create our projects in collaboration with local NGO partners, who facilitate regular monitoring and ensure long-term sustainability.

Programs & Results

How You Can Help

"It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked through understanding."

- Kahlil Gibran

Forever altering the lives of the children of the world by providing them with an education is an essential and attainable goal. Every human being deserves the right to the knowledge and self-determination provided by the ability to read and write. World change starts with educated children. You can make the difference by getting involved in one of the following ways:

	Donate to Room to Read India.
	Help establish one or more libraries, sponsor a local language children's book title, sponsor a computer or language lab, or fund a long-term girls' scholarship in India.
	Learn about volunteer opportunities with Room to Read.
	Sign up for our email newsletter to get regular updates on the organization, our programs, and more.

Room to Read India - In Detail

(1) UNESCO Institute for Statistics

(2) Human Development Report - India (2001)

(3) World Vision India (2006)