( CNN ) -- When I saw these words on Twitter , I could n't help but put down my tablet : `` They say the smallest coffins are the heaviest to carry . '' They weigh heaviest upon the heart . First the Sydney attack Monday , then all too soon there came the school killings Tuesday -- 145 people , 132 of them children -- in Peshawar , Pakistan . Tragedies are stacking up . There is n't enough time to grieve . To spend one minute of silence in honor of each of the lives lost would take more than two hours . The average life expectancy for men in Pakistan is about 66 years . These children killed at their school had some 50 years of life stolen from them â€ ” life that will never be lived . Think back on the last year . What did you accomplish ? How many times did you laugh ? How many act of kindness did you bring into the world ? Think on all you did . Think of what could have been if these children had lived â€ ” of how each of their lives could have changed the world . It takes but one person , one moment , one conviction , to start a ripple of change . Because they ca n't , we must . Those stolen lifetimes deserve fulfillment . Those children 's lives can still change the world . But it requires us to be called from despair to action . Although their deaths are senseless and tragic , their potential lives can unfold through us . The smallest coffins are the heaviest , but living for the child lightens our hearts . It is easy to fall into despair thinking about all that is wrong with the world . The joys seems so small in comparison . Internet videos of cats riding Roombas just ca n't compete with a father talking about how his dead 13-year-old son had wanted to be a pilot . How do we not yield to despair ? Action is my antidote . I do something . The Taliban attacked a school -- and earlier had shot Malala , an education activist -- because they are scared . They fear the potential of education to change the world , and move beyond them . Education is the light that fights their darkness . It is up to us . The horror of their methods only redoubles our commitment to spreading the light . We know education is a human right and an unstoppable force . We can use our grief to activate and motivate us , to work so even more children are educated , to ensure that these child killings are the last throes of the Taliban 's reign of terror . The question becomes : how ? Not long after the devastating news of the attack , I began to see a growing online community , started in large party by people of Pakistani descent across the world , looking for ways to help those in need in . Each is seeking ways to honor those murdered in Peshawar . You do n't have to donate . But at the very least , you can add your name to online pledges and join this community in saying , `` Your terror only makes us fight harder . '' If you want your checkbook to follow your heart , make a donation to those doing work you support . The Malala Fund is a great place to start . UNICEF and the Global Fund for Children are other established , well-respected organizations that do great work across the world for children . If you are n't in a positon to give money , get some skin in the game . In 2015 , the Hult Prize challenge will provide quality education for 10 million children who live in urban slums . If you are a student whose school is involved , apply online before December 21 . Apply for a chance at $ 1 million to change the lives of 10 million children , and through them , to help change the world . If your school is not involved , apply here . If you are not a student , you can connect with your local university and offer to support the team working for early childhood education in urban slums . You have something to offer â€ ” maybe you bake fantastic cookies , or provide expertise in financial modeling , or simply ask good questions . Each skill , no matter how modest you feel it is , is useful to the students . Help them . We 're a world away from Pakistan in geography , but not in sentiment . We mourn with the parents as one people . Now , we must act as one people .
Donna Brazile : Lives cut short by Taliban 's school system is tragic and can cause death . She says turn that into action . Call to support and spread education everywhere . She says join online community calling to honor slain children by fighting harder for schools . Brazile : UNICEF , Malala Fund among those pressing this issue . Hult Prize is another .