14 Quotes by John Wood

...literacy is as vital as food, security, limiting population growth, and control of the environment.Education, after all, is the one issue that affects every other one. I think of it in the same way as dropping a pebble into a pond and getting a ripple effect. Educated people make more money and are more likely to escape poverty. Educated parents raise healthier children....The list goes on, just as ripples in a body of water emanate outward.

The only thing we wanted our young organization to give was an opportunity. We would say to children and to their families: "If you are willing to work hard and make sacrifices and think long term, then Room to Read is the best organization for you. If you're looking for a handout, then you should look elsewhere.

...parents everywhere desire a better life for their children. It's a near constant: They understand the importance of education and crave it for their children, even as they are well aware of the sacrifice they will have to make.

We had a policy of "no looking back". Once a decision was made, all members of our team were expected to stop talking about obstacles and instead focus intensely on solutions."Don't tell us all the reasons this might not work. Tell us all the ways it could work.

My view of the charity world is that compared with business, there is too much talk, way too many meetings and expert panels and blue-ribbon commissions, and not enough action. Or as an Australian friend of mine once opined: "Sometimes you just have to have a go and get on with it, mate!".

...talent is evenly distributed. You never know how many talented people are out there until you invite and inspire them to be creative.

I can guarantee you that had no relevance, ... We operate as an independent company. We have not called on them (Nana) for any such support, and they have not offered any.

Things do go wrong, ... We had sent all these books to Nepal, but then we did an evaluation with local teachers.

If you go in as an American outsider, Mister Moneybags, and say 'I want to build you a school,' the local people will have no incentive to work on the project smartly or economically,