An enormous thank you to Section Internationale. We hope these photos help to give you an idea of the huge change to children’s lives brought about by the money raised. It really makes a difference. My husband and I returned from our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia last Monday evening. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to a Room to Read school in Cambodia where the library and local language books had been funded by the donations from schools in the Paris region last year. We were very impressed with the Room to Read program in Cambodia. It was so reassuring seeing how committed and efficient the local Room to Read staff are.

The community, so poor materially, was very kind to us and very, very grateful to the children in Paris for raising funds for their children. Notice there are about 50 children in the class! There is no flooring or furniture in the room, apart from the desks, and no books!

We were also able to witness the effects of Room to Read’s training of teachers and librarians. The young teacher whose lesson we observed was an excellent teacher, she had been trained by Room to Read. She was really enthusiastic and conscientious and very well prepared.The library was well kitted out with a proper flooring, furniture and the local language books.There are 1,460 books in total and we were told that, before the involvement of Room to Read, there had only been a handful of books. Once again, the evidence of Room to Read training was obvious. We listened to the librarian, who had received 2 lots of training, explain how he monitored and recorded the use of books and how he was able to track how many books are being read by each child and at what level. The children are so obviously benefitting from being taught by trained teachers and librarians. We can see the new library funded by the money raised by schools in the Paris region last year. Notice the flooring, furniture, and books, all a result of the fund raising!

The Room to Read Paris Chapter