READ India

Although India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, 25.7% of the rural population still lives below the poverty line.

Centers established

Rural villagers have access to READ Centers

Sustaining enterprises launched

About READ India

READ India’s 54 Centers serve 22 states.

Poverty tears many families apart in rural India when villagers are forced to migrate to urban centers to look for work. There are more illiterate people in India than in any other country in the world. Women are impacted the most: one woman out of three is illiterate,2 and education is rarely prioritized for girls, leaving them without the skills they need to earn an income to support their families.

READ expanded to India in 2007 to empower women and marginalized groups, and create educational and economic opportunities in rural areas. We work in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Maharastra, Manipur, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

READ Centers are giving women the chance to learn to read, teaching people about their rights, and giving rural villagers skills to earn a living. Sustaining enterprises range from a gooseberry processing facility, to sewing and weaving businesses. READ India is home one of our all-women-operated centers, as well as several women’s self-help groups.

To learn more about READ India’s work, click here to download a pdf overview, or visit the READ India team’s page at ReadIndia.ngo.