You can try to force peace through military might — and you are bound to fail — or you can build peace through education. That seems to be the main lesson behind Greg Mortenson's life and work. Thanks to his efforts, 78 schools have been built in Pakistan and thousands of children have been educated, mainly girls. For Mortenson, building schools is proving to be a better way to fight terrorism than the force of arms.

After his sister Christa died of severe epilepsy, Mortenson went to Pakistan to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain, as a way of honoring her memory. Unable to climb to the top and feeling totally dispirited he started to climb down under subzero temperatures until he reached the village of Korphe. In that village he was fed and taken care of by the local people who helped him recover.

One day, while walking around the area during his convalescence he came upon a group of 84 kids (79 boys and five girls) who were attending a makeshift school. The children were kneeling in the frozen ground, doing their multiplication tables with a stick on the sand. Seeing these children's desire to learn even in the most difficult circumstances reminded him of his sister's Christa's fierce determination to overcome obstacles in her own life. He promised the villagers that he would build a school in their village. At that point his life changed forever.