PARADE Magazine,
Sunday, November 22, 2009
By Greg Mortenson
Greg Mortenson featured in PARADE Magazine, Sunday, 22, 2009 discusses his 17 years effort to promote literacy and education for girls in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan, the progress of the U.S. military to listen more, build relationships and empower the elders in the AF-Pak region, and announces the release of his new book, Stones Into Schools (Viking) on December 1st, 2009. Excerpts below.
. . 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 . . .
. . . To succeed as nations, Pakistan and Afghanistan require the full engagement of their women. But not just their women. In every village in which CAI operates, we seek the support of local religious leaders and elders . .
For full article, click to www.parade.com/news/2009/11/22-fighting-terrorism-with-schools.html
