Charity hero's new chapter
His name is as ordinary as plain rice, but John Wood (below) is no ordinary guy. Once the No2 man at Microsoft, China, he quit five years back to return to school.
No, he didn't sit classes; instead, he built schools for the underprivileged, believing in the motto, 'World change begins with educated children'.
He was recently named by Time magazine as one of 'Asia's Heroes, 20 Under 40'.
In just five years, Mr Wood's charity, Room to Read, has set up a network of more than 100 schools and 1,200 libraries across Asia, in such countries as Nepal, India, Vietnam and Cambodia. And now, in the wake of the tsunami, Room to Read has committed to working with at least 20 communities in Sri Lanka to rebuild schools.
'The best way we can help these kids overcome this is by allowing them to resume a normal life and get them back to school,' he says. When asked if he has children of his own, he replies: 'I am single but I have hundreds of thousands of kids.'
A Room to Read charity event will be held tomorrow at 7pm at One Bar and Grill, One Exchange Square. Call 9189 6232 for information.
