Nepal has witnessed the generosity and humanitarian passion of few great people. They gave their wholeheartedness for the welfare of economically and socially challenged people of Nepal and Nepal returned them with showers of love and respect.

In Nepal, the NYOF kids call her Olga "didi," meaning "older sister." President of NYOF's board, Olga Murray is living proof that getting older doesn't mean slowing down, not that she ever did.

Born in 1925 in Transylvania, Olga Murray came to the U.S. as a six year old and eventually graduated from Columbia University and law school at George Washington University, where she was one of the few female students. She had worked her way through school by researching and writing for famed muckraking columnist Drew Pearson. With her law degree in hand, she found that no law firm would hire a woman. So Olga knocked on the door of the California Supreme Court, where she became a research attorney for Chief Justice Phil Gibson. When he retired, Olga joined the law staff of the new Justice Stanley Mosk. During her 37-year tenure at the Court, Olga helped to write important decisions in the areas of civil rights, women's rights, and environmental policy. She retired in 1992 to launch yet another career-helping impoverished children in Nepal.

Olga spends half the year in Sausalito, California raising funds for NYOF, and the other half in Nepal overseeing NYOF projects-redefining just what a didi can do.

John Wood is the founder of Room to Read -- a non-profit dedicated to bringing literacy to the developing world. He has just released an exciting new book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World - An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children.

Published by HarperCollins and now available to the public, this inspiring story gives a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into John Wood's journey from corporate executive to social entrepreneur. In 1998 the then-Microsoft executive went trekking in the Himalayas. The vacation would ultimately change his life and career path forever. Coming face to face with poverty in a rural Nepali school, John quit his job and has dedicated his life to bringing the gift of education to children worldwide.

To date, Room to Read has donated 1.2 million books, set up over 3,000 schools and libraries in seven countries and has impacted the lives of over a million children in the developing world. The organization was founded on the belief that education is crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Written as an accessible, firsthand account, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World is a page-turner that not only inspires, but also challenges our notions of achievement, wealth and one's life work. The book has already received great reviews and has been recently listed as a Book Sense selection for the month of September.

www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com and request a free copy of Chapter 1.

www.roomtoread.org.

Unsung heroes posted by Pradeep Chand @ 4:05 PM  2 comments

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