"World Change Starts with Educated Children"

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to attend a 30/30 lunch event put on by Tracey McVicar to support Room to Read at the Earls in Yaletown. What’s a 30/30 event? 30 people in attendance below the age of 30, 30 above. A great format (and location) for this lunch if I do say so myself.

I brought along my friend and colleague Liz King to join in on the free food and talk by John Wood. Who can say no to free food and a talk by the guy who quit Microsoft to “change the world?” He told us about the time he spent in Nepal and how we could help increase global education:

———–
“At the school John came face to face with the harsh reality confronting millions of Nepalese children – there were almost no books. John was stunned to discover that the few books they had – a Danielle Steele romance, the Lonely Planet Guide to Mongolia, and a few other backpacker castoffs – were so precious that they were kept under lock and key… to protect them from the children!

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 would not go unheard. After returning from his trek, John emailed friends to ask for their help in collecting children’s books, and was overwhelmed with the response – over 3,000 books arrived within the next two months. The following year, John returned to Nepal, rented a yak, and returned to the village to deliver the books.

On that trip, John made a decision. He would leave the corporate world in order to devote himself to starting a new non-profit. In his memoir, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John explains, “Did it really matter how many copies of Windows we sold in Taiwan this month when there were millions of children without access to books?” In late 1999, John quit his executive position with Microsoft and started Room to Read.”

———–

I found out that Room to Read works with local partners (good!) to create opportunities for children to become more educated (great!). Whether that is in delivering books, building a library, or rebuilding a school, they live their philosophy: education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Knowing that many of us hold proof of higher education, or are taking our first (or second) stab at it, it is important to think about where we would be if we didn’t have those educational experiences. No book reports to improve our spelling, no exams to test our stress level, and no community of learners to push us to think differently. So the real question is: what are you doing to help the next generation, both here and abroad, in their educational pursuits?

Think about it.
You can change the world by helping develop a mind.

Pick of the post: Mat Kearney – Closer To Love

Related posts:

1. Educating Girls Can Change the World
2. Tribes that change the world
3. World Peace Through Personal Peace