Interview with Representatives from Room to Read

Room to Read (RTR) is an NGO that provides educational support to children in 21 countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Grenada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Vietnam and Zambia.
As part of its social contribution activities, ABeam Consulting supports the activities of RTR Japan, the Japanese office of RTR.
We interviewed Mr. John Wood, the Founder of RTR, to ask them about RTR’s activities and achievements to date as well as their vision for the future.

After earning MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, he worked in banking for several years before joining Microsoft in 1991.

By his early thirties, he held a key role in Microsoft’s international division, rising to the rank of executive. However, a spontaneous visit to a school he stopped by during a vacation in Nepal inspired him to decide to make his life’s work to break the cycle of poverty by bringing the gift of education to children in developing countries.

At the end of 1999, he founded Room to Read.
He has worked to improve literacy in countries such as Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, South Africa, and Zambia, and has received numerous awards as a social entrepreneur, including being named "Asia's Best Hero 2004" by TIME magazine.