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Overview of READ Global

Contents

In-Depth look at

READ India

Overview of READ Global

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READ’s Vision and Mission

Vision: READ believes empowering rural communities is critical to alleviating global poverty. Mission:Combining education, enterprise and community development, READ collaborates with rural communities to build these Centers and seed for-profit sustaining enterprises to ensure their long-term maintenance and success.

Our proven and replicable model focuses on Community Library and Resource Centers (READ Centers) as a vehicle for social and economic transformation.

Our Multi-pronged Approach

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1. EDUCATION - We partner with rural villages to build Community Library and Resource Centers (READ Centers) that provide access to much needed education through: • Access to resources that are not commonly available in

rural and impoverished areas (such as books, periodicals, reference materials, computers, and multi-media tools).

• Relevant content through workshops and trainings (such as literacy, legal/human rights, health, livelihoods, etc.).

2. ENTERPRISE – We work with each community to seed a for-profit enterprise that will generate income to sustain the READ Center over the long run as well as provide local employment (examples include: distance-learning, sewing and weaving centers, Advance computer courses etc.).

3. COMMUNITY – We treat the communities as partners and promote community development through our model.• Communities are engaged from day one through a

cooperative needs assessment and collaborative dialogue. • Communities contribute a minimum of 10-15% (and as

much as 60%) of the total cost of building a READ Center.• Center Management Committees are formed and trained

to operate and sustain the Center and its related activities. • Trainings are provided to the community to build capacity

and promote community development, heightening long-term sustainability.

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• Launched in 1991in Nepal by Dr. Antonia ‘Toni’ Neubauer• Known as READ Nepal from

1991-2007• Spent our first 16 years as a

smaller NGO tied to Toni’s travel company, Myths and Mountains• We operated on a small

budget of under $300k per year – mostly funded by clients of Myths and Mountains

• We operated under the simple concept of partnering with communities in Nepal to set up community-owned libraries in rural villages and seed a sustaining enterprise to fund the expenses of running the library

• Won the Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award in 2006

• With a replication grant from Gates, we began expanding to India and Bhutan in 2008.

• Today, READ sits at an inflection point where we have the unique opportunity to expand the depth and breadth of our work

History of READ

1991

2014

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• 68 READ Centers will be open globally by the end of 2012:• 53 in Nepal • 10 in India• 5 in Bhutan

• 100 for-profit enterprises have been set up to sustain READ Centers

• 29 READ Centers have participated in our Women’s Empowerment program since 2010:• 1,910 women have received literacy

training• 1,677 have received health services or

training• 1,780 have joined READ self-help groups• 878 have acquired livelihood skills

• 1.9 million rural villagers have access to READ Centers across South Asia

READ Global’s Results to Date

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Key Partners

READ is building a global network of institutional partners to support our ability to scale and deepen our impact.

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Scaling Our WorkREAD continues to scale the number of Centers we establish, while also focusing on deepening our programmatic impact, so we can reach millions of villagers throughout the developing world.

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• READ conducts a variety of program and performance measures to monitor and assess progress towards our objectives. 

• Today, the READ model allows ongoing opportunities for monitoring during the 5 years of program support READ provides. During this time, READ staff are providing capacity building and training for READ Center Management Committees.

• To build on this initial assessment, in 2011 the Gates Foundation agreed to fund the creation of a more formal and ongoing monitoring and evaluation plan for the organization.

• In early 2012, we began work with LFA Group, a US-based consulting group specializing in research, strategy and evaluation to create a formal M&E plan. The LFA team indicated they had rarely seen a model that created change so quickly in a community.

• LFA is working with each country to create a formal evaluation plan to measure a variety of intermediate and short-term outcomes and is training READ staff on data collection techniques under the new evaluation plan.

• READ collected the sample data from its Centers and the findings are available for sharing with our partners and donors.

Monitoring & Evaluation

In-Depth look at

READ India

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READ’s Presence in India

READ expanded to India in 2008 .

To date we have established 14 READ Centers and 17

sustaining enterprises, reaching more than 100,000 people to date.

READ India has led a number of key program innovations for READ, from piloting distance learning and online literacy classes to launching very successful partnership with multi-national corporations

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Our ModelREAD Centers are designed to serve whole communities. Resources are available for all – adults, children, students, teachers, women and even those who are illiterate. Each Center provides the following valuable educational resources:

Resource DescriptionLibrary 3,000 books, magazines and newspapers in English and the

local language.Information Technology Section

Computers, Internet access (where available) and computer skills training.

Women’s Empowerment Section

Providing a safe space for women and girls to attend classes, participate in trainings and receive medical exams.

Early Childhood Development Section

Providing child-friendly furniture, games, and reading materials.

Multimedia and Communications Section

TV, video, DVD player, telephone, fax and copying services.

Training Meeting Hall Space for staff and partners to conduct programs on literacy, health, livelihood skills and more.

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Our Model• Once a Center is set up, we work with the communities, local NGOs, government

organizations, and community-based organizations to provide trainings and services.

• READ Centers seek out relevant expertise to host trainings based on the needs of each community, as determined by a baseline survey and continual dialogue with the Center Management Committees.

• Other services are also made available at READ Centers, including health counseling.

Literacy classes for women in Geejgarh, Rajasthan.

Women participating in a Health Camp in Geejgarh, Rajasthan.

Program Topics for Trainings & Workshops• Literacy • Health• Livelihood skills • Agriculture• Information communications

technology• Legal issues / human rights

• Women’s empowerment • Communication

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Our Model

Phase 3 Training – Key implementation areas Women's Empowerment•Sexual Reproductive Health•Self confidence, Leaderships•Gender Sensitization

Economic Empowerment•Livelihoods skills•Small Business Skills for Individuals (financial literacy, accessing markets, marketing)•Self Help Groups

Literacy•Habit of Reading and Writing•Literacy Programme

ICT•Basic•Advanced

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Our Model

Health Awareness

Youth •Life skills•Vocational Training•Education

Sustainability•LMC Capacity - Sustainability (strategic planning, social mobilization / fundraising, marketing)•Sustaining Enterprise Capacity•Librarian training•ICT Admin Training

Programs: Literacy• Classes on literacy skills and retention are offered at READ Centers – for both children

and adults, new readers and those who want to improve their comprehension.

• READ Nepal has developed its own set of literacy education materials, and often provides trainings in partnership with the Government and local NGOs.

A child reading at READ Oceanic Center in West Bengal.

Some boys checking out books at the Tazei READ Center in Manipur, West Bengal.

Literacy ProgramsWomen’s reading groups Women and girls teach each other to read Introductory literacy courses

For new readers

Literacy retention For the newly literate, there are a variety of opportunities to practice – cooperatives, micro enterprises, the library itself.

Writing workshops To promote stronger writing skillsInternet-based courses To enhance literacy for learners to continue to improve

on their own

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Programs: Literacy (continued)

Case Study: Tara Akshar PilotREAD partnered with Development Alternatives (DA), a leading nonprofit in India, to pilot DA’s program TARA Akshar+, a unique and highly successful computer-based teaching methodology designed to achieve adult literacy (reading, writing, and basic numeracy) in just 45 days. We ran the pilot at the READ Center in Geejgarh, Rajasthan.

Using advanced teaching techniques, this program enables a learner to master the art of reading and writing Hindi and doing basic mathematical calculations quickly. Some of the immediate benefits that accrue to the women who are made functionally literate through this program are:• Development of the rest of the family - Literate women play a vital role in the

overall development of the entire family. Being literate helps them understand the importance of education for their family, especially girls, along with health, hygiene and good sanitation practices.

• Foundation for other skills acquisition - With foundational literacy, women can then look for opportunities to acquire other skills and contribute to income generation activities to support their families.

• Sense of empowerment - With the ability to read newspapers and magazines and do basic calculations, these women are able to learn about various activities around the country and seek to contribute positively toward their own growth and that of their community.

Programs: Livelihood skills READ Centers offer training courses on various vocational skills that are relevant to the local economy and can help villagers earn an income.

The sustaining enterprise at the Jan Jagriti Gyan Kendra READ Center is a gooseberry- processing facility

producing iron-rich foods and juices.

Women at the Tubileima Center in Manipur, West Bengal are learning to use handlooms to make

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Examples of Livelihood Skills Trainings• Accounting and finance • Gooseberry processing• Stitching and sewing • Animal husbandry• Agriculture • Handicrafts

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Programs: Livelihood skills (continued)

Distance Learning

READ has affiliated with Mahatma Gandhi University to pilot distance learning RIRK Community library and Resource Center, at Kakrola Billage, New Delhi, India.

READ has also affiliated with State Karnataka University for various Distance Education Programmes.

Students taking an exam at READ Center in Kakrola Village.

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Programs: Information Communications Technology (ICT)READ Centers provide trainings using ICT for development needs, including:

• Computer and Internet skills:- To provide basic skills such as how to use a computer and the Internet - To build capacity in advanced programs (MSFT Office software, setting up local

Internet networks, etc.)• Use of ICT tools for effective Communications like digital stories, mobile, radio and internet.

The TARA Akshar literacy program - based on the use of information communication technologies (ICT) - is being carried out through the Geejgarh READ Center in partnership with the local NGO Development Alternatives.

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Programs: Women’s Empowerment

• Today we know that investing in women increases family income, leads to better child and maternal health, and increases girls’ access to education. Throughout much of the developing world, women lack safe space to congregate, educate, and advocate.

• READ Centers provide women with this safe space and help develop a community to build the capacity and foster empowerment amongst women through interaction and formal training.

• The establishment and operation of each READ Center is the first step in promoting women’s empowerment. It is a prerequisite that at least 33% of the Center Management Committee is comprised of women, and often many more are actively involved in managing the centers.

• Women also help to run the for-profit enterprises that help to sustain the operations of the centers. This participation gives women in these communities a significant increase in power and voice.

More than 80 women at the Dwarka and Geejgarh READ Centers are participating in four training sessions focused on women being empowered to fulfill their potential. Themes included: confidence building, conflict resolution and self-awareness, to problem solving, self expression and motivation.

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Programs: Women’s Empowerment (continued)

Women’s empowerment training at the READ Center in Dwarka, Delhi.

Programs and Services Offered for Women and GirlsWomen’s self-help groups / savings cooperatives

Help women understand the value of saving money and how to increase financial assets, including access to microloans

Literacy courses Reading groups for women/girlsHealth education Educational materials and seminars/workshops on

topics such as maternal health, menstrual health, and family planning

Health examinations Offered by visiting doctors, nurses, and midwives.Child care support Early Childhood Development sections including day-

care programs so women can attend trainings.

• As part of our Clinton Global Initiative partnership, READ has committed to empowering 16,000 women and girls by 2014 by creating 20 Women's Empowerment Sections in new and existing READ Centers. These rooms provide a safe space for women and girls to gather to support each other, to take advantage of informal education opportunities, and to create their own economic security.

Our Model, Part 2 – Sustaining Enterprise• Each READ Center is paired with a for-profit sustaining enterprise that generates

income to sustain the Center over the long run. To establish the most successful enterprises, READ business development managers collaborate with Center Management Committees to explore market opportunities in each community.

• Enterprise projects are created to utilize the skills of the men and women of the local community so that their efforts will generate personal income as well as provide sustaining revenue for the Center, allowing the Centers to fund ongoing operations as well as necessary repairs and renovations. READ provides seed funding to launch the enterprise, and the community manages the enterprise with some assistance from READ. 

Van service in Tubeliema, Manipur Sewing center at the READ Center in Tubileima, Manipur, West Bengal

Dairy Cooperative in Chhaensa, Haryana

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Examples of Sustaining EnterprisesSewing and apparel • Dairy cooperatives Looms for weaving cloth • Distance learning servicesGooseberry production • School van service

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Key Institutional Partner in India:

Walmart India

• One of our most successful sustaining enterprises is a Sewing and Apparel Center that has been set up through our partnership with Bharti Walmart.

• The Sewing and Apparel Center for the READ Center in Geejgarh (its sustaining enterprise) has trained several dozen women in the community how to sew and has contracted with Bharti Walmart to provide bags for the company’s stores in Rajasthan and Haryana (where plastic bags have been outlawed).

• This arrangement has resulted in a further project whereby Bharti Walmart has provided $150,000 of its CSR funds to help expand the sewing and other livelihoods creation plans in Geejgarh, thus creating greater longer term, impact in the community (and providing the READ Center with additional sustaining revenues). Over 2500 women will be taught livelihood skills as a direct result.

• Larger scale partnerships with for-profit companies like Bharti Walmart increase READ’s impact as well as our potential for creating long-term change in our partner communities.

Stitching and Sewing training at Geejgarh, Rajasthan

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Key Institutional Partners:

• In 2011, we launched a partnership with Caterpillar to expand our work into Southern India.

• As part of this partnership over 3 years, READ India will set up 3 READ Centers around Bangalore, reaching an estimated 25,000 people through our new Centers.

• These new Centers will offer the same suite of services that all READ Centers do, with a particular focus on providing the following:• Early childhood education

opportunities to over 250 children ages 2-6 ;

• Basic computer literacy skill to at least 500 beneficiaries.

• Women’s empowerment training to over 1,000 women, with a focus on decision-making within the family; legal rights; health education, and the importance of education

• Livelihoods training for some 300 people.

• Construction on the first Center in Karnataka will be finished in the coming months..

Center under construction in Madikheri, Coorg, Karnataka and a mockup of what it will look like.

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2014 – 15 Priorities for READ IndiaPriority Theme DescriptionExpansion • Setting up 5 new Centers, including expansion into

Haryana and potentially Aurangabad.• Setting up a satellite center near Geejgarh to reach more

remote populations.• Setting up one Center in one of the villages in Gurgaon.

ICT • Expansion of ICT programming, including growing our Distance Learning Pilot and online literacy training.

Women’s Empowerment

• Expansion of women’s empowerment by creating more self-help groups, livelihood opportunities, and trainings.

Sustainable Enterprise • Design new high-income sustaining enterprises.

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READ Centers

Geejgarh Gyan Kendra, Dausa, Rajasthan Jan Jagriti Gyan Kendra, Bhawargarh, Rajasthan

Jan Seva Gyan Kendra Trust, Palwal, Haryana

READ India Model Center, Dwarka, New Delhi

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READ Centers

Tubileima Rural Public Library and Resource Center , Imphal, Manipur

Tazei Community Library and Resource Center, Imphal, Manipur

The Oceanic Library, 24 S. P., West Bengal Moragodu Mahiti Kendra, Coorg, Karnataka

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READ Centers

Swa Jan Jagruti Kendra, Raigad, Maharashtra

Dada Roop Chand READ India Gyan Kendra, Jhajjar, Haryana

Yuwa Shakti Gyan kendra, Baran, Rajasthan

Mohini READ India Center, Bharatpur, Rajasthan

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Thank you