Last night I attended a talk by Greg Mortenson author of "Three Cups of Tea" - a book on Greg's experiences building girl's schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The talk, like the man, had a single-minded focus - education, particularly girl's education, is the key to development, the key to fighting terrorism and promoting peace and really, the only , viable,long-term solution to promoting change. He understands the complexity and difficulty in what he is trying to achieve and seems to have the required patience. He is absolutely relentless in his message and vision and while his presentation seemed rehearsed (he speaks round the year), I couldn't help wanting to support and believe him.
Much of Greg's work is funded by an organization he founded called "Pennies for Peace". When he was first trying to raise fund for his work a 4th grade kid told him that he could have his piggy bank - the school ended up raising about $62,000 through donations from kids (and parents) laying the foundation for Pennies for Peace. Since then the program has spread to hundreds of schools and is supposed to expand to thousands this year.
It sounds like a great organization and is another powerful example of how children can help.
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