Scaling Global Change

2Vision and Execution: Framing the Issues

The day begins at 4:30 a.m. You get out of bed, escaping the confines of a huge bed net and take a lukewarm shower. You grab a handful of peanuts and dried fruit that you brought with you because the lodge is not yet serving breakfast. You strategically consider the amount of coffee to make in your room’s hot pot because you know that it will be hours on the road without a rest stop. You meet the driver and your two colleagues from the local Room to Read office who will be joining you for the day, all of whom you met only two days ago but have long since felt like long-lost friends and your lifeline to the world.

The van is comfortable enough, and the sunrise glorious as you watch it unfurl behind the high clouds. As you drive the three hours to the first school site, you get an important window into rural life. On some drives, the scenery is breathtaking: lush forests, ocean views, vast open spaces. Other drives are jam-packed with one industrial center after another, streets heaped with trash and air filled with car exhaust, with very little natural life evident. Irrespective of the views, it is always fun to observe the rituals of life: people getting up; preparing for the day; opening their shops, or walking or riding their bikes to morning destinations; stopping to talk with friends and neighbors along the way. In some countries, you see women carrying water or large packages on their heads. In other countries, you see very few ...