Journey of Hope

In 2010, Central Asia Institute projects have continued with educating a roster of 68,000 students, including 54,000 girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also established 42 new schools, and also initiated two dozen other temporary schools in shelters, tents and rented buildings. To date the Central Asia Institute has 172 schools, dozens of literacy and computer centres and a budding scholarship program for advanced students. 

Despite the gloom surrounding the region and the pain of the people, I want to begin 2011 with the view that there is always hope. I continue to remain in awe and admiration of Greg Mortenson's work and including a link here to the CAI publication that reflects on the previous twelve months, appropriately enough entitled Journey of Hope. 

Three Cups of Tea

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business: first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything."

No act of charity is without criticism, but Greg Mortenson's work is quite an inspiration and Three Cups of Tea is a valuable read for anyone's book list.

One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ...

As of 2008, Mortenson has established over 78 schools in the volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide education to over 28,000 children, including 18,000 girls, where few education opportunities existed before.

His work has not been without difficulty. In 1996, he survived an eight day armed kidnapping in the Northwest Frontier Province NWFP tribal areas of Pakistan, escaped a 2003 firefight with feuding Afghan warlords by hiding for eight hours under animal hides in a truck en route to a leather-tanning factory. He has endured CIA investigations, and also received hate mail and death threats from fellow Americans after 9/11, for helping Muslim children.

... One School at a Time ...

Mortenson is a hero to rural communities of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he has gained the trust of community leaders, military commanders, government officials and tribal chiefs from his tireless effort to champion education, especially for girls in the region now considered the front lines of the war on terror.

Congresswoman Mary Bono (Rep – Cali.) says, “I’ve learned more from Greg Mortenson about the causes of terrorism than I did during all our briefings on Capitol Hill.”