The reading room

A widower opened a reading room in the wishes of his late wife, a place where people can learn to read. He was a rich businessman, and did not understand why his wife wanted that. Yet, he did it in order to fulfill her wish, and also thought it may make a difference to the community. The reading room was opened in Oakland, a community of poor people and gang bangers. Yet, he chose for it to be there, in the midst of the resentful, hopeless-feeling people.

He taught children to read, and had a vending machine giving out free sodas. He faced many difficulties. People were accusing him of his good will and didn't believe that his reading room will last in their community, thrashing his shop and stealing the computers inside. Yet, he chose to make the robber a security guard for his reading room, as an exchange of dropping charges against the robber. That robber was involved in a gang, and thought of the job as being a slave to the widower, but yet he chose to do the job because he knew it gave him hope, than being in a gang that offered him nothing.

A young student was studying for his SAT in hopes of getting a scholarship into college. His father sells tyres and did not think college was necessary. This student was a genius, but has a reading disorder. Yet chose to help himself, and allow the widower to help him with his studies till he got a 1540 for his SAT and got himself a scholarship. All because he wanted a future that does not involve selling tyres.

The widower also helped a little girl to read better, in which she taught her younger brother to read while babysitting. There was a bright young boy who was great in math, but had Dislexia so he couldn't read. The widower was not equipped to help him, but he searched hard to look for someone who was. The tutors he found were not willing because of the neighborhood the reading room was in. But he finally found someone who would.

In the end, the robber who got the job as the security guard gained the trust of the widower, who handed him over the reading room to manage, the little girl and boy learned how to read fluently, the high school student got a scholarship to college, and many more got themselves a job at the reading room which indicated the start of a new beginning. The reading room gave them hope. Yes, it may not have made a difference to the whole community, just like how we may not be able to save/help the world, but just like it did to the lives of these few people, we can make a difference in little.