Dubai: John Wood was a 'typical corporate guy' who worked as a marketing executive at Microsoft until he decided to make a career move that has impacted the lives up to 1.9 million children.
The charity organisation that Wood heads now, Room to Read, has partnered with Dubai Cares to accept funds for one million books to be given to children in underprivileged countries.
As part of Dubai Cares' second phase, the Million Book Challenge is encouraging school children in Dubai to read a million books collectively in two weeks. Dubai Cares will donate a book or its value to Room to Read for every book read by a Dubai pupil.
Wood started helping by donating small amounts to buy books for the needy and later started cashing stock options at Microsoft to help build schools. "I realised that a small amount of money could make a lot of difference," he said.
An eight-year old Vietnamese child who Wood helped years ago is now married with two kids after earning a master's degree. But that is just one example from the thousands of children that have completed their education due to Wood's work.
Wood says there is no other non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has managed to build 442 schools in the time that Room to Read has. The secret to that, despite starting as a small one-man organisation, is that Room to Read now works with local communities that provide labour. "We think big and execute flawlessly, sort of like Dubai Cares," he said.
Eye on each other
Asked how the partnership with Dubai Cares came about, Wood said both parties had an eye on each other. "I heard about Dubai Cares and the money it had raised and it's my job to notice that, so I contacted them and they were familiar with Room to Read and showed interest too," he said.
The partnership between Dubai Cares and Room to Read is such that Dubai Cares hands over the funds to Wood's charity to buy titles for Room to Read's network of libraries around the world, one of the biggest of its kind according to Wood, and publish children's literature in local languages in the countries the charity operates in.
