My New Hero (and I'm not being cheeky)

I just happened to turn on the tv and Oprah's on. Today she's focusing on people who "found their calling" to help others. She was talking to this man who left his high-paying job at Microsoft to increase worldwide literacy. John Wood is responsible for the donation of 2.8 million books to children in developing countries, the establishment of 5,100 libraries, the creation of local language books, and is providing scholarships for girls and women.

A Room to Read Library in Cambodia, photo by Jayson Morris

On our trip to Lesotho, I saw exactly one Library, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a community library. I had never even thought of such a thing before, and it made me sad. Of course, we had brought 15 or 20 kids' books with us for Kiddo, and it was amazing to see how the children we met, even those much older than Kiddo, were fascinated with his books. They would ask politely to see them and then just pore over them. I felt awful asking for them back, so I did leave a few behind with our family and with our friend, Bokang. But I wanted to give so much more!

John Wood is definitely doing A LOT more; he's changing millions of lives by giving women and children the opportunity to read and to learn. I can't imagine my life without these blessings, and I love what Mr. Wood is doing to bring them to millions of children.

For more information on John's charity, Room to Read, and their wonderful work, please visit:

http://www.roomtoread.org

Or of course, you can always check out www.oprah.com !