I recently finished reading one of the most remarkable true stories of recent times, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The book, which spent three years on the New York Times bestseller list, tells Mortenson's story of surviving a disastrous failed attempt to climb the notoriously dangerous Himalayan peak K-2 in 1993 and stumbling into the mountain village of Khorfe in northern Pakistan where the villagers took him in and nursed him back to health. In exchange for their hospitality Mortenson promised to build them a school.
Not a wealthy man, Mortenson went back to the United States, working as a nurse, and raised the money. What makes the story so interesting are the cultural aspects of dealing with people in that part of the world. Mortenson found he had to learn local languages, respect and follow local customs, listen to local concerns and hire and work through local people to get anything done, and often indeed, to stay alive. His approach has been so successful he and his Central Asia Institute has now built over 155 schools, insisting that girls be admitted as well as boys. As he likes to quote an African proverb, "Teach a boy and you educate an individual, teach a girl and you educate a community."
Beginning in 2004 he began building schools in Afghanistan as well, after initially having been invited to do so by Kirghiz tribesmen in the Wakhan Valley who heard of his efforts across the border in Pakistan. I am currently reading this story in a sequel book, Stones into Schools. His nonideological schools are a welcome alternative to the fundamentalist madrasas often funded in the region by Saudi Wahabis which all too often preach the kind of xenophobic and sexist extremism that inculcates a Taliban or terrorist perspective. Three Cups of Tea is said to be required reading at the Pentagon these days.
I really recommend you pick up Three Cups of Tea if you haven't done so yet and treat yourself to this amazing story. This is the way to spread peace and goodwill in the world. I'm thinking Greg Mortenson will win a Nobel Peace Prize someday. And if you live in my area you even have an opportunity to see him this fall. He will be appearing at the Visalia Convention Center at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 16. For tickets you can contact the Convention Center or Tickets.com. I hope to see you there.
1 comment:
Post a Comment