We are just 2.5 years old but already we are a global organization. Our long term scholarships are currently serving 2,500 ambitious and promising young women across 9 low-income countries. Please enjoy this 2024 Mid-Year Report to share in our success as we continue in our mission to make opportunity as universal as talent.

You might wonder what a 13-year-old attending middle school in Irvine, California and a college student from Andhra Pradesh, India would have in common. More than you might think.

During the whirlwind start up years at Room to Read, people often asked me where I lived. I’d cheekily reply, “Seat 18A”. I had that feeling again over the last month as Amy, Orion and I hopped across Asia in support of U-Go’s continued growth. I am thrilled to share with you all the exciting news from a non-stop four weeks of U-Go activity.

In the spring of 1998, a much younger version of me went to Nepal for the first time and had my life changed forever when the headmaster of a rural school made a humble request that would forever change my life: “Perhaps, Sir, you will someday come back with books.”

We were delighted to have had nearly 200 of our supporters from around the world join us for last week’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration. Partners, donors and board members tuned in from 19 countries. We now have 2,500 ambitious and promising young women on long-term U-Go scholarships….

In the Bengali language, the word Jaago means wake up and go. Not coincidentally, that’s also the name of U-Go’s partner in Bangladesh. Founded in 2007, Jaago has worked across the nation in critical areas of children’s development…

As we enter December and ask ourselves, “Where has the year gone?”, we feel immense gratitude for your willingness to change the future through the power of our scholarship program.

As the new academic year begins, we are thrilled to share news that illustrates the impact U-Go is making. We hope you enjoy this brief update that shows the quality of our work, congratulates our first graduates and announces bold growth in the number of scholars in the U-Go family.