When my mother recommended the book Three Cups of Tea she knew my hesitation was due to the title. She assured me that it wasn't a "chick book" (my questionable term, not hers) and so I borrowed and read it. It is one of the most inspiring books I have delved into in a while. Greg Mortenson was a quirky, naiive, high-energy young mountaineer who decided to climb K2, one of the most technically challenging peaks in the world. The climb was to be a tribute to a beloved sister who died young, but due to a number of circumstances he did not make the summit. On the descent he ran into serious trouble and one of the Pakistani porters saved his life.
His goals changed, and he vowed to return and build a school in the impoverished village of the porter. Now, Mortenson had no money, no connections, and barely made ends meet been his mountaineering expeditions. Yet over time he convinced people that his cause was a good one and he built, first of all, a bridge connecting the village to the rest of the world, then a school for children who up to that point had received no formal education.
Mortenson now heads up an international organization which has built more than 75 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although there is strong anti-American sentiment in the regions in which he works, Mortenson is revered for his dedication to education. Both boys and girls are educated and the schools provide an antidote to the fierce and destructive Islamicism taught in some of the other schools established for that purpose.
When it became apparent that the invasion of Iraq was not Mission Accomplished, as George Bush declared, I commented to my wife, Ruth, that if the billions of dollars spent on this war had been invested in building bridges to the international Islamic community, the world would probably be a safer place.
Greg Mortenson has been building those bridges, literally and figuratively. I read recently that Mortenson has been recruited by the Pentagon as an expert on combatting terrorism. What an intelligent choice.
Blessed are the bridge-builders and the peacemakers.
What an inspiring story. I will certainly look for this book.
ReplyDeleteThe youth, boys and girls, of countries like Afghanistan want to be and deserve to be educated. It was moving to read in the paper recently about the girls who had had acid thrown in their faces for attending school. They have returned to classes and seem determined to let nothing stop them.
Another story on the CBC this morning was about a grade seven Afghan girl (I think that's right, I only caught a bit of it) who is writing a blog about her life and how the school she attends is not opening after vacation because the Taliban do not approve of the curriculum.She also writes about schools being destroyed by bombs.
I think we take our freedom to attend school and be educated far too lightly.
Reading Mortenson's book is an important reminder about access to education and what we sometimes take for granted.
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