Lynn C. Woolsey: “I want to call the House's attention to the work of Greg Mortenson, who has built schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan…”

“I want to call the House's attention to the work of Greg Mortenson, who has built schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and written two bestsellers about it. Mr. Mortenson has a lot to say about the power of education to dramatically improve the lives of people, especially girls and women, and how education can bring peace to the world. Mr. Mortenson began his work in Pakistan, where he originally went to climb K2, the world's second-tallest mountain. After the climb, he was very ill, and he was helped by the people of an impoverished village. To thank them, Mr. Mortenson built the town's first school. He wrote a widely acclaimed book about the project called 'Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time.' Mr. Mortenson then went on to build schools in Afghanistan. So far, he has built 131 schools, educating 58,000 children with a special emphasis on education for girls. He has written a second book about his remarkable work entitled, 'Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan.'”