Greg Mortenson: Promotes Peace Through Girls' Schools

Reader Comments
Back to article

its all lieesssss

justin lee of MO 10:02PM May 30, 2011

Hello Greg and CAI staff. Just finished reading Three Cups of Tea. Wow. What an inspiration. Can't wait to read Stones in Schools. Thank you for showing us it is possible. I am a South African and i have a dream for Africa and you've just shown me it is possible. One student at a time. Thank you and many blessings to the beautiful children of Afganistan and Pakistan and to all the courageous men and woman working in your organisation.

Julie Dakers 1:37PM May 29, 2011

I became hooked on Greg's story as soon as I finished reading Three Cups of Tea and read Stones into Schools the week it came out. Everyone here in the Uk was debating whether our troops should pull out and I felt I did not have enough of an understanding of Afghanistan and its problems. So I set myself the task of reading as widely as possible. Within weeks the country had got under my skin. I have rarely come across a people with so much resilience and such tenacity in the face of such hardship.
Then I found Greg. I tried really hard to get a review I wrote into one of the mainstream newspapers here in the UK but with no success. Then I tried to get a feature article published when Afghanistan was prominent in our news again (when is it ever not?) after the ten medical aid workers were killed. But because I am only an enthusiast and not already a recognised writer or "expert" the doors just do not open. Sorry.
I keep spreading the word amongst people I know because, as Greg says, you can make a difference one pencil or one penny at a time. Good luck to all of you in your endeavours.

Annie Hitch - Charity Fundraiser, in Herts, UK 5:36PM September 22, 2010

I read "Three Cups of Tea" very recently - had the book for some time but had misplaced it - was compelled to read it when it finally surfaced. Superb book - awesome man, Mr. Mortenson and the wonderful villagers who helped him help them. When he'd lived in his car for a year to raise the money for the first school, he bought the supplies necessary and then realized the only way to get to this remote location was via a cable stretched over a deep chasm with a rickety basket. He knew he couldn't get the school supplies across so went back home and raised the money to build a bridge and THEN the school was built.
Would that we could clone Mr. Mortenson - would that our military leaders, our president, the senators and congressmen would heed what he has to say and treat the people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan as fellow human beings - help them recover from the devastation of poverty and war as we helped Japan and Germany after World War II.
That we can never win a war there is obvious - Afghanistan has NEVER been defeated in the annuls of history! We need to respect their differences - to learn as much about them as we can. The Taliban is a common enemy to the people living in the Middle East as well as the people in the free world.
Mr. Mortenson is a most amazing, determined, humble and incredible man - I'd love to meet him personally! His wife and children are to be commended to being willing to part from him for months at a time as he continues to bring light where there has been darkness, to educate women in a country where women are treated with little consideration or respect.
Read the book - you will never forget it - it's been two weeks since I finished it and I think about the contents many times a day and recommend the book to everyone with whom I engage in conversation!

Pamela of WI 9:40AM August 25, 2010

On my own there is no way I would have chosen to read a book called Three Cups of Tea. But my wife saw a TV show about it and read it, and then insisted that I read it also. That proved to be a great and wonderful experience for me. Wow! What a book! And what a person Greg Mortenson is. Absolutely he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Linda and I have now gotten a copy of Stones into Schools so we can read it. I can't imagine anyone not being greatly touched by these books.

John Melvin Dodd of TX 11:01PM April 10, 2010

Reading about Pakistan and Afghanistan through the eyes of a human instead of through the eyes of an American Soldier touched me in a profound way. I had never truly considered the personal impact to nation rebuilding despite spending 15 months in Iraq as a Brigade military lawyer. In order to survive some of us in the military tend to distance ourselves just to get through the business of the day. We put aside emotions, personal comforts, and the luxury of being with family and friends to accomplish the mission of the President of the United States. In order to survive extended absences we harden ourselves to the mission. Sometime we even blame local Afghanis/Iraqis for having to be in their country to fix their systems.
Three Cups of Tea reminded me of all we value as a nation. The ideals of democracy, equal access to education for all, and raising the standard of living for everyone in the village and not just the upper class. These are precisely the same ideals that drew me to military service. Reading Mortenson’s views of the people in Afghanistan/Pakistan brought a touch of humanity to the military operations we are conducting overseas. Three Cups of Tea is required reading for those students attending some of the Army’s top war colleges, however, it isn’t required reading for our lower level managers. I recommend Fort Leavenworth’s Command and General Staff College add Three Cups of Tea to its curriculum for Intermediate Learning Education. Almost all Army Majors are required to attend this class and Majors are the rank that are equivalent to the Corporate Middle Manager.
While it is a great start to require Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels at the Army War College to read Three Cups of Tea, an even better idea is to require the reading at CGSC, ILE at the Major level.
The views expressed in this comment are mine and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the US Government.

May Nicholson, Major, Student, Command General Staff College, Fort Levenworth, Kansas of MO 1:55PM March 21, 2010

This has been a truly inspirational and challenging read and I intend to follow through on some of the suggestions on page 337. Although already supporting the education of children in Zambia through a program involving my church fellowship the work of CAI is too important to ignore.Whether they wish to acknowledge this,or not,Greg and Tara and everyone else involved with the work of CAI are putting into practice the humanitarian teaching of the New Testament concerning the care of the children and the strangers among us.
They will,from now forward, be included in my prayers.

Daniel P.Rough 5:11AM January 12, 2010

To Bill Livesay of GA and others wondering about the survival of the schools built by the Pakistan and Afghanistan communities and CAI: according to CAI offices (see ikat.org) NONE of the schools have been damaged by the Taliban or any other group.
Greg Mortenson's latest book (finished in the summer of 2009) also discusses how the schools are protected by each community that gave the land and built the schools with their own hands.
I check in frequently with ikat.org to see how things are going. I also get emails from the CAI with updates on what is happening. I encourage anyone interested to check out the web site.
Peace.

Jan Wilson of WA 1:40AM December 14, 2009

I don't listen to policicians much but when the Vice president used the term Madassas, I woke up a little bit.
First of all the Madrassas are the exclusive schools of boys, teaching the Koran and the Kalashnidoff, AK 47 Rifle. They are the ones that produce the majority of terrorists. They teach the Islamic conservatism that favors Islamic Radicalism. The Islam that justifies militant, hatred of non-muslims. 5 million kids go to these schools and when the Taliban takes a region these schools are put back in business. Because the national litteracy rate is 55%, parents send children to these schools because that is all there is in some areas. Pakistan and Afghanistan don't have the wealth of the oil rich countries next door. Because of the pressure of the culture and economics study of religion prevails resulting in fewer technically trained professionals. The Islamic clergy resist change. Trained women will make a huge difference. A mother doesn't want her sons killed in war and will encourage them to get a proper education. Students know they need technical training. Over a third of kids are not in any school. So the work of Greg Mortenson is pure and simple social phenomenon. This man already a LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME, is the LIGHT and the HOPE of the Free World. As far as I am concerned he didn't get the Nobel Prize because there is NO EARTHLY PRIZE LARGE ENOUGH to cover a tiny particle of his work. If we had the courage even the most sickly of us should give up half our blood tomorrow to buy into his educational projects. Thank God we can buy his wonderful writings and contribute in that way also.

David Galliher of TX 1:41AM December 12, 2009

Creaig Mortenson's approach to building schools with local buy in reminds me of a similar approach that was used by the Peruvian Social Investment Fund FONCODES in the 1990s in the Peruvian Andes. They created local community organizations to chose projects and manage construction. The Central Government transferred the financial resources directly to these community organizations which were accountable to the community. The government did this in response to a terrorist threat, the Sendero Luminoso and they build schools, health posts, potable water projects and small sewer systems. It seems to me that this concept could be adapted for use in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The key is the bottom hjup approach, and the local community buy in and ownership to what is built.
I was involved with this project while working at the Inter-American Development Bank in the late 1990s, and it was I think, a very successful effort which helped defeat the Sendero Luminos and made Fujimori very popular in the highlands, a popularity he maintains to this day in spite of corruption that grew under his government.

Sam Morley of DC 12:25PM December 07, 2009