Fighting Terrorism with Schools

Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, is featured in Parade talking about his experiences fighting poverty by building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here's an excerpt...

"Young women are the developing world’s greatest agents of progress. Just one year of schooling will dramatically raise a girl’s later economic prospects, and where girls get to fifth grade, birth rates and infant mortality plunge. Teaching girls to read and write reduces the ignorance and poverty that fuel religious extremism and lays a groundwork for prosperity and peace. In military parlance, educating girls is a “force multiplier.” Thus, the flame that burns at the center of my work, the heat around which I cup my hands, are the stories of girls whose lives have been changed by education. "

Fighting Terrorism With Schools | Parade.com