Library's "Pennies for Peace" Campaign Fights Terrorism

Did you know you can help to fight terrorism with books and pencils? That access to information, education, and literacy can do as much to defeat terrorism as guns and armies?

<Your library name here>, in collaboration with the Montana Library Association, is sponsoring a "Pennies for Peace"(www.penniesforpeace.org) project. The penny, 1% of a dollar, is symbolic of the 1% of the Gross Domestic Product goal set by the United Nations for foreign aid to impoverished countries. A penny in the United States is virtually worthless, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy. The Montana Library Association will send all funds raised to the Central Asia Institute, based in Bozeman, MT. The goal is for Montana libraries, with the support of the Montana community, to fully fund a school or library in Pakistan or Afghanistan. With the villages donating land and labor, a school can be built by CAI for about $20,000, a quarter of the price charged by the Worldbank and half of what it costs the Pakistan government.

The Central Asia Institute (www.ikat.org) was founded by Greg Mortenson of Bozeman. The Institute's mission is community education, particularly for girls. A 5th grade education for a girl improves not only the basic indices of health for her and her family, but will also spread the value of education within the girl's community. Literacy provided by secular schools is neutralizing the power of the extremists. Mr. Mortenson began the Institute after climbing a mountain in Pakistan. He became very ill, sought help in a village, and was nursed back to health by the inhabitants. While recovering he observed the village's numerous children scratching their lessons in the dirt because they could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. To repay their kindness he raised funds to build the village a school. Greg has since been responsible for the building of over 45 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and has received national awards for his efforts. Just recently, Greg received the Montana Jeanette Rankin Peace Award (Billings Gazette article 11/18/04).

Since we are coming into the Thanksgiving season (Christmas, or season of giving) it seems the perfect time to kick off the Pennies for Peace campaign. As we give thanks across the state for the freedom to read, and call attention to the power of books and reading, join Montana libraries in building bridges to peace. The campaign will continue through National Library Week in April and an announcement will be made at that time regarding the funds raised. Thank you for participating in the Pennies for Peace campaign. And thank you for helping to fight terrorism with books.