CAI

Ask me who some of my heroes are and I shall count among them Greg Mortensen.  Anyone who has read the book "Three Cups of Tea" or "Stones into Schools" will understand why.  He was one man who saw desperate need and thought "I can help."  Since wandering into the Baltistan during an attempt to climb K2 and later building one school in the nether-reaches of the world there, he has built 130 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan that teach balanced education, including to girls (who are usually excluded from education in this region) through the organization that he started, the Central Asia Institute.

If you trust me and want to support CAI, there are a couple of ways that you can help this little, amazing organization bridge the education gap in the middle east and - literally - make the world a safer for place for all the world's children.  (Also, if you want a further explanation what I mean but don't want to read the book, talk to me.  I will fill you in with what I know.)  First, you can make a donation directly to CAI.  I donate a little now and then and I get a newsletter every once in a while with these stories about the work CAI is doing that make me gasp, sigh, and my eyes fill with tears.  There is also the Pennies for Peace campaign that educates American children about the world beyond their experience and how they can make a positive impact on a global scale through and collects pennies to donate to building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan .  You can also read the books and spread the message.

Through this blog, I want to help Greg Mortenson spread his message of peace and show the amazing power of the human spirit and that one person can indeed change the world.

CAI also promotes The Girl Effect, which - if nothing else - is totally worth checking out.