Give Big! October Charity of the Month is Pennies for Peace

How can you make a tremendous impact on world peace, education, and girls?  Donate to Pennies for Peace or the Central Asia Institute, both of which are helping to promote education and literacy, especially for girls.  If you don’t want to read my whole blog post, then trust me on this, and find a way to give to this organization which is building schools and doing more for peace in our world than we could ever imagine!  It only costs $1 per month for one child’s education in Pakistan or Afghanistan, and only a penny to buy a pencil.

Recently I read, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  I had been wanting to read this for sometime, but it wasn’t until I found out my kids school was integrating this book into a service learning project that it made it’s way off the bookshelf.  Once I started reading Greg’s story, I was totally and completely inspired on so many levels. 

Basically, Greg had been an avid and expert climber in one part of his life.  During a near death experience on K2 he drfited into a tiny village in the Karakoram mountains in Pakistan.  He was so touched by how they helped him and by how little the children had, he promised to return and build a school.  I was deeply touched by many aspects of Greg’s story:  from his description of his own journey, the hundreds of roadblocks he overcame, and his ability to be a peacemaker during these very tenuous times. 

He now has built over 55 schools, especially for girls.  Much of the area Greg has been building schools with his organization has been an area where the Taliban has recruited young people.  Greg Mortenson is an unsung hero in many ways and I can see how he is doing more for World Peace than most of us can imagine.   You won’t be disappointed by reading Three Cups of Tea  and I hope it inpspires you to donate a penny or two, or three, or more to this incredible mission!