Greg Mortonson: Educating One Child at A Time: the Practical Approach to NCLB

Greg Mortonson Surrounded by a Group of Students

He's climbed K-2 in the Himmalayas--step by step!

Though born in Minnesota, he grew up in Tanzania, near Mt. Kilimanjaro where his father helped establish a teaching medical center.

From humble beginnings and modest means, Greg Mortonson is proof positive that indeed performing small acts of kindness--repeatedly--can literally change the world.

He founded his first of many schools in the mountain region of Pakistan; he has continued to find funding and establish schools in the rural mountainous areas separating southern Afghanistan and Pakistan-near hostile terrorist strongholds.

Over the course of the last 15 years, he has established over 131 schools which provide education to over 58,000 children, 44,000 of which are girls. (this is in an traditionist Islamic culture which frowns upon educating its female residents) .

In 2009, Pakistan awarded Greg its "Star of Pakistan" medal given for meritorious public service in promoting girls's literacy and education and establishing schools in Pakistan.

He meets often with tribal elders, respects their advice; he has convinced the US military brass, General David Petraus, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Stanley McChrystal and others to negotiate peace through education rather than through weapons deployment and guerrilla, special ops warfare.

He has convinced Obama and the military commanders that there is no military solution to bringing war to an end.

Afghanistan has proven itself to be the graveyard of empires through three millenia: neither the Mongols under Genghis Khan the Greeks under Alexander , the Ottomans and the Russians were able to eithe unite the tribal chiefs or defeat them.

Greg Mortonson, the humanintarian, has demonstrated that tribal peoples want education badly, especially for their girls, and he is supplying them with it.

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