>• Since she was tiny, Amira Mortenson, 12, has done her part helping dad Greg build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan—a mission chronicled in his '06 megaseller Three Cups of Tea. Now they've collaborated on two kids' versions of the book.
WHY CHILDREN'S VERSIONS? G: When I promised to build the first school in '93, [American] kids raised 62,340 pennies in six weeks. Now we have 78 schools and a program called Pennies for Peace. Kids started this.
AMIRA, HOW DO YOU HELP YOUR DAD? I've gone to Pakistan three times. I visit schools and help him explain things in a kid's way.
DO YOU MISS HIM WHEN HE GOES ALONE? It can be hard. My brother [Khyber, 8] and I don't get to see him half the year. But I want to be just like him when I grow up.
GREG, DO THE DANGERS YOU FACE WORRY YOU? I have to be careful. Since '07 hundreds of mostly girls' schools have been bombed by the Taliban. Yet you still see kids trying to go to school. This is their greatest hour of need—we can't abandon them.
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