the csu fashion show is friday finally! i feel like we've been planning on going forever. i heard back from alex and they don't have anywhere for us to put up our rockin' new poster or any sort of table but she said they could put brochures on their ticket table so that's something.
susie and i are going to head up their right after work. estefania was going to come with us but she has a meeting at 4:30 in the DTC so she won't be able to ride up with us.

pictures to come!

Girl Scholars Become Authors in Nepal

The first Room to Grow scholars began attending school in Nepal in the year 2000 and Room to Read now supports the education of over 750 girls in the country. Through this unique program, girls have the opportunity to learn not only the basics, such as reading and language, but valuable lessons in confidence and creativity. Last October marked the first time a group of Room to Grow girls collectively published their work in a Local Language Publishing book.
The work, titled "Hamro Prakriti" or "Nature: As Our Children See it" is a collection of twelve poems written by girls in the Room to Grow Program from various regions in Nepal. The girls, who attend primary to upper secondary school, were asked to write about the beauty of their surroundings. They created poems in Nepali on a wide variety of subjects including parrots, mountains, trees, rivers and the spring season. Our young newly published authors are: Geeta Chepang, Karishma Rajbamshi, Nisha Lama, Deepa Chepang, Puja Kunwart, Bishnu Khadka, Roja Karki, Rajeshwori Bohaju, Sabina Magar, Binita Karki, Merina Sainju, Laxmi Parajuli and Rubina Gurung. The book was funded by a donation from the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.
The goal of the Room to Grow program is to motivate, educate, and empower girls. The program acts as a strong incentive for girls to stay in school and achieve. It also provides consistent and long term support to girls who often grow up in unstable environments. Their education allows them to take control of their future. This newly published book serves as a powerful example for other young scholars to reach for their dreams.
"Nature" by Binita Karki
Written in Nepali and translated to English
Oh! Green tree
Gives oxygen for free.

Oh! Clear river
Flows forever.

Oh! Sailing clouds
Thundering so loud.

Oh! Blooming flowers
I can walk among them for hours.

Oh! Lovely snow
Makes the winter glow.

happy hour update!!

our volunteer happy hour was a lot of fun last night. we didn't end up getting a whole lot of people (maybe 8 or so non members were there) but chris, estefania and susie all gave very inspiring speeches and it seems as though they hooked everyone! i've got 3 people specifically very interested in helping with Literacy by Designers so i'm going to be sure to get them to our next meeting!
these crappy phone photos are chris giving her talk...and her most captive audience!

our happy hour at forest room 5 is tonight and i think it's going to be a bust! not very many people replied to the evite and i'm not sure how effective myspace and craigslist are.
at least we are trying!!

Room to Read Happy Hour!

Location: Forest Room 5 2532 15th Street, Denver, CO 80211
When: Thursday, April 24, 6:00PM

World change starts with educated children. With that in mind, please join us for a happy hour to find out about the many ways you could get involved to make change happen. Room to Read is an organization that has already impacted the lives of 1.7 million children all over the world by:

- Constructing 442 schools

- Establishing over 5,160 libraries

- Publishing 226 new local language children's titles
representing over 2 million books

- Donating over 2.2 million English language children's books

- Funding 4,036 long-term girls' scholarships

- Establishing 155 computer and language labs

All you have to do is donate a couple of hours a month to help us organize various fund raising events throughout the year. These events have a wide range, so you can get creative with your ideas. All of the money we raise has a pre-determined home, so no money goes unaccounted for.

You know you've been looking for an opportunity to help others, but just haven't found a cause that really speaks to you. That was me before I learned about Room to Read. Plus, what could be more fun than helping change the world while having a few drinks?

I hope to see you all there and please please pass this along to all of your friends!

Room to Read Celebrates the Completion of its 5000th Library

Room to Read celebrated the opening of its 5000th library, established late last year, on March 2, 2008. This event marked a significant milestone in Room to Read's eight year history by illustrating its rapid expansion into developing countries as it moves toward its goal of reaching 5 million children by the year 2010.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by over one-hundred people including John Wood; Mr. Pradeep Nepal, the Education and Sports Minister for Nepal; Mr. Dinesh Prasad Shrestha, Country Director for Room to Read, and a group of Room to Read donors. The library at the Shree Gauri Shankar Higher Secondary School is located near Pokhara in the Kaski District, about 120 miles from Kathmandu.
John Wood and accompanying supporters were given a hero's welcome when they arrived at the 5000th library. They had the opportunity to see the library's 4,000 books, interact with eager young readers and speak with the librarian about the popularity of Room to Read's award winning Local Language Publishing Program.

In his keynote address, Wood lauded the Nepal team for their excellent performance over the years. He strongly emphasized Room to Read's mission to impact millions of uneducated children throughout the world. "Room to Read will not rest until we reach out to all those children that haven't had the opportunity to go to school," he said, repeating Room to Read's commitment to more than double the number of libraries established from 5,000 to 13,000 by the year 2010.

meeting recap

last night at the meeting we had polly, chris, susie and estefania (and me of course!). estefania was running a little behind due to a beauty process so the 4 of us discussed some other things like john's speech at CU on may 8th and what type of event to have after. it looks like we're going to try to do something at a private residence in more of a volunteer reception than a fund-raiser, which will be nice. i won't make it to see his speech because it's at 4:30 but i'm hoping to be able to make it to the reception.
we also discussed the CSU recycled fashion show event a little. they secured a pretty cool raffle. one of their members goes through people's closets and works with them with what they have in there and also what to look for when shopping. i'd like to win that prize!
also had some good ideas for the fashion show, like to work with buffalo exchange or babareeba maybe. other than that the meeting was honestly a little discouraging to me because it seems like we can't wrap our heads around how to make 20k with the plan we have.
after the meeting susie, estefania and i went to sushi hai. so yummy!