Room to Read is a high school chapter of an international nonprofit organization focused on girls’ literacy and education. Through events like school book drives with the African Library Project and community screenings of the moving documentary Girl Rising, Room to Read inspires action in the community of Dublin. The purpose of Room to Read is to spread awareness for the cause of girls’ education and to provide opportunities for every child to go to school. Although this includes boys in poverty, girls in developing countries frequently have to sacrifice their education in order to take care of younger children or work for their families. Room to Read empowers those young women and believes that every woman with an education will be able to change the world.

Senior and co-president Sakina Nuruddin passionately declared, “Education is something every human should have the right to have. What is unfortunate is the fact that thousands, millions of girls do not receive the equal right to education like boys do in multiple parts of the world. Beyond fortunate to have an education myself, i believe that it is my duty to be vocal about girls education and their absolute right to obtain one. Every action, big or small, adds to something greater and it is with this that I hope our club, Room to Read, can make a change.”

Room to Read was created  by girls’ education advocate Alicia Tran (Class of 2015) in her junior year after she read Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane in sophomore year. With narrative stories filled with resilience and courage, Mark Mathabane passionately wrote about how he lived through apartheid with his family. Despite facing obstacles every step of the way, Mathabane’s education and high scores eventually led him to go to college in the United States on a tennis scholarship. His circumstances made his stance on education bold and strong. Mathabane wrote in Kaffir Boy, “Education will open doors where none seem to exist.”

Room to Read’s drive for education has led its leadership to strongly advocate through events and other opportunities to show support. From a community wide book drive to a book club reading of an influential book in the education movement, Room to Read wants you to make a change in the world (and get community service hours while you’re at it). Nuruddin shares an enthusiasm for what she has planned this year. She said happily, “I am beyond excited to announce the exciting things we have to come for Room to Read! First of all, we will be holding a book drive that will run in March. The 1,000 to 2,000 books that we will collect will eventually help to build a school for underprivileged children in Sierra Leone. In January, we plan to host a Spoken Word Night! This night will embody the literary heart of our school with acts such as monologues, poetry slams, and singing. In addition to that, instrumental performances, dancing, and so on will be more than welcome! We also plan to have a club book reading of I Am Malala, for Malala Yousafzai is a role figure endless people can learn from.”

She also describes a Room to Read tradition, the movie screening of Girl Rising. “This film captures the struggles and obstacles girls around the world face to obtain an education. Tears to this day trail down my face every time I watch this film, because of the inspiration and empowerment this film creates. We are ecstatic for this upcoming year and hope you all are too!”

Room to Read will be having a fundraiser this year on September 27, 2017 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Dublin Yogurtland. The flyer is attached below.