On Wednesday John Wood was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show. Woods is the founder of a remarkable organization, Room to Read, which strives to provide children access to education. In 1998, John was an 'overworked Microsoft executive looking for the quiet solitude of a trekking vacation." While backpacking in Himalayas, John was invited to visit a school in a neighboring village, Nepal; little did he know that this short detour would change his life forever.
At the school, John came face to face with the harsh reality confronting millions of Nepalese children - very little resources; no opportunities to learn and most importantly, no books to read. As John left the village that day, the school headmaster made a simple request: "perhaps, sir, you will some day come back with books." His request inspired John to return home and begin an email campaign to friends and family asking for help in collecting books. Within 2 month, 3,000 books arrived. John returned to Nepal to deliver the books and made the decision to leave his executive position at Microsoft in order to devote himself to starting a new non-profit with a belief that "World Change Starts Educated Children." Room to Read has been a winner of Fast Company's Social Capitalists Award every year since The magazine and The Monitor Group began the Awards in 2004. I invite each of you to scan the Room to Read web site to get a glimpse of how one's person living his purpose, can change the world. Happy weekend.
At the school, John came face to face with the harsh reality confronting millions of Nepalese children - very little resources; no opportunities to learn and most importantly, no books to read. As John left the village that day, the school headmaster made a simple request: "perhaps, sir, you will some day come back with books." His request inspired John to return home and begin an email campaign to friends and family asking for help in collecting books. Within 2 month, 3,000 books arrived. John returned to Nepal to deliver the books and made the decision to leave his executive position at Microsoft in order to devote himself to starting a new non-profit with a belief that "World Change Starts Educated Children." Room to Read has been a winner of Fast Company's Social Capitalists Award every year since The magazine and The Monitor Group began the Awards in 2004. I invite each of you to scan the Room to Read web site to get a glimpse of how one's person living his purpose, can change the world. Happy weekend.
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