Greg Mortenson's Blog

NPR National Radio (08/23/08)

2008-08-24T18:41:00.003-06:00

NPR National Radio

All Things Considered with Jackie Lyden
August 23, 2008

Events this week in Afghanistan and Pakistan have created a new sense of urgency among international policymakers. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday. That same day in Afghanistan, a pair of insurgent attacks rocked NATO forces — one a coordinated assault on a U.S. military base and the other an ambush that killed 10 French soldiers.

Greg Mortenson, director of Central Asia Institute, recently met with Musharraf over tea ..... more on podcast www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93902559

Mortenson builds hope for Pakistan (08/20/08)

2008-08-20T16:25:00.003-06:00

Billings Gazette Editorial Opinion (Montana)
Mortenson builds hope for Pakistan
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

Pakistan may be the most dangerous country in the world. Grinding poverty, chronic political instability, government corruption, civil unrest, terrorists operating within its borders and the nation's possession of nuclear weapons - all these factors contribute to that unfortunate designation.

In that perilous place, one Montanan continues to carry a torch for hope and enlightenment... read more

www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/08/20/opinion/gazette/50-gazetteopinion.txt

It Takes a School, Not Missiles (07/12/08)

2008-07-15T22:31:00.003-06:00

New York Times - Op-Ed Column
Sunday, Jul 12, 2008
It Takes a School, Not Missiles
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Since 9/11, Westerners have tried two approaches to fight terrorism in Pakistan, President Bush’s and Greg Mortenson’s...... Military force is essential in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban. But over time, in Pakistan and Afghanistan alike, the best tonic against militant fundamentalism will be education and economic opportunity. ....

Complete article can be viewed at: www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/opinion/13kristof.html?ref=opinion

The Economist print edition (05/01/08)

2008-05-01T09:09:00.004-06:00

Worldwide circulation 1,306,939 (

182,000)
True stories: Hope and inspiration fuel the most popular biographies and autobiographies
May 1st, 2008

WHEN Greg Mortenson, a six-foot-four night-nurse and mountaineer from Montana, first visited Pakistan in 1993 to climb K2, the world's second-highest peak, he failed in his mountain quest but ended up doing more to win hearts and minds in the region than any amount of official American propaganda.

For complete article, please click here.

2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammed Yunnus ('Banker for the Poor'), and Greg Mortenson at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Forum (03/08/08)

2008-03-08T18:49:00.005-07:00

Photo courtesy of Gary Smaby/2008

Minnesota Public Radio (NPR)
Friday, March 7, 2008
Mid-Morning with Kerri Miller: Man on a mission for education
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/midmorning/?date=03-07-2008

Greg Mortenson MPR interview at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.

Mortenson was the plenary speaker with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate keynote Muhammed Yunus and economist Jeffrey Sachs.

2008 Nobel Peace Prize Forum weblink:
www.cord.edu/Academics/Events/Peaceprizeforum

American mountaineer fights Taliban with books, not bombs - CNN.com (03/03/08)

2008-03-04T09:56:00.005-07:00

Follwowing is an excerpt from CNN.com coverage about Greg Mortenson:

CNN.com
March 3rd, 2008
American mountaineer fights Taliban with books, not bombs
John Blake

Greg Mortenson brushed his tears away. His body sagged when he saw it happen. The prize he had sought for 78 agonizing days was slipping from his view.

He was clinging to an icy patch of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. He had vowed to place an amber necklace on the top of the Pakistani mountain for his sister Christa. But clouds moved in when he was 600 meters from the top, blocking his path to the summit.

For complete article <Click Here>

Pakistan Free to Learn - Daily Telegraph UK (02/16/08)

2008-02-16T00:44:00.012-07:00

The following excerpt has been taken from Daily Telegraph UK:

Daily Telegraph UK
February 16th, 2008
Pakistan Free to Learn
Jonathan Foreman

After a disastrous attempt to climb K2, former US Army medic Greg Mortenson had to be nursed back to health by the inhabitants of a remote and impoverished Pakistani village. He vowed to repay them by building a local school, and has now built more than 60 in similar areas across south Asia. Jonathan Foreman meets him.

Shi'ite Muslim girls play in the grounds of Jafarabad Community Girls School. Behind are the high peaks surrounding the Shigar Valley

click here for the complete article

BBC 5 Live Radio International with Simon Mayo (01/21/08)

2008-01-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

During his visit to UK, Greg Mortenson was on the Simon Mayo program earlier today talking about his work and his book.

To listen to the interview, please click the link below:
Listen to Greg Mortenson talking about Three Cups Of Tea on BBC Radio 5 live

Click here for Greg's picture during the interview.

1,000 cue at library for Three Cups of Tea tickets in Lake Oswego, OR (01/17/08)

2008-01-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Lake Oswego Review

January 17, 2008

Tickets for ‘Three Cups’ go quickly

They were the hottest ticket in town, pun intended

More than 1,000 people filled the Lake Oswego Public Library on Saturday to stand in line for a pair of free tickets to hear “Three Cups of Tea” authors Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin speak Feb. 6 as a part of this year’s Lake Oswego Reads program.

When the library opened at 10 a.m., there were already people waiting for the 2:30 p.m. distribution of 1,000 tickets.

“Three Cups of Tea” supporters followed the taped line on the floor that wrapped around the book stacks on the main floor of the library.

People sat on the floor, read books, discussed “Three Cups of Tea,” knitted, drank tea and had fun. By 1 p.m., organizers estimated that the line had more than 250 people. By 2 p.m., there were more than 450 people waiting with the line leading to the second floor.

“It was so exciting. There was such a buzz throughout the library and you could feel the anticipation,” said Lake Oswego resident Gregory Breuner, one of the lucky library members to receive two free tickets. “The people waiting introduced themselves to each other and discussed the books in front of them. We left the library with tickets and new friends.”

At 2:30 p.m. tickets were distributed, two per person, and they were gone in 20 minutes, just as LO Reads organizer Cyndie Glazer predicted.

More than 500 people were turned away when the tickets ran out.

Lake Oswego Reads organizers were surprised and thrilled with the response to hearing Relin and Mortenson speak. Because of the high demand for tickets, Glazer said library officials plan to check Craigslist and eBay to see if people post them for sale – and if so, how much they sell for.

Although there is not a waiting list, people can show up on Feb. 6 at Lake Oswego High School and if there are seats available at 6:45 p.m., they will be seated in the cafeteria, where guests will be able to see and hear the authors talk on large screens.

The blue tickets are for the auditorium and the red tickets are for the cafeteria, officials said. The tickets note that there is no admission after 6:45 p.m. for the 7 p.m. presentation.

Mortenson will travel to Lake Oswego from his home in Bozeman , Mont. , while Relin lives in Portland . They will both talk at a student-only event at Lakeridge High School earlier in the day.

Library officials plan to solicit donations for Mortenson’s non-profit, the Central Asia Institute, during his evening appearance and through a elementary school program, “Pennies for Peace.”

This author event is made possible in part by a grant from the gOregon Council for the Humanities, a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OCH’s grant program. The Oregon Cultural Trust, which invests in Oregon arts, humanities and heritage, also helped fund OCH’s grant program.

This is the second annual Lake Oswego Reads and the goal of the program is to strengthen civic pride, foster discussion among residents and bring the community together through the common bond of reading. It gives a forum in which to talk about different themes, concepts and issues in the book and a means to access related experiences.

To find out about all the events planned around “Three Cups of Tea” during February, go to www.lakeoswegolibrary.org and click on the Lake Oswego Reads box.

http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com

Making friends, not enemies (01/14/08)

2008-01-14T19:25:00.002-07:00

The following excerpt has been taken from Colorado Springs Independent Newspaper.

JANUARY 10, 2008

Making friends, not enemies

In Pakistan and Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson's building schools — and goodwill

BY JOHN WEISS

Save the date: 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 15. A phenomenon is coming to town.
Everywhere Greg Mortenson travels, people flock to hear his story and his simple message about how to change the world. He has spoken to 1,400 in Cambridge, Mass., 2,000 in San Francisco and 2,500 on Bainbridge Island in Washington state.
People also are buying Mortenson's book, which has spent 47 weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list. And the readers aren't just peaceniks — the Army is requiring 5,000 officers attending the U.S. War College to read Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time..................

<click here> for complete article.

In remote Pakistan , Greg Mortenson is besting extremists by building schools (01/13/08)

2008-01-13T10:44:00.001-07:00

The following is an excerpt from Philadelphia Inquirer syndicated columnist, Trudy Rubin, on her recent December 2007 visit with Greg Mortenson and Central Asia Institute in Pakistan.

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Worldview: The Lesson Jihadis Fear
In remote Pakistan , Greg Mortenson is besting extremists by building schools.
By Trudy Rubin

Pakistan has made news lately as the world's most dangerous country: a nuclear-armed state that has become a base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other fanatic Islamists.

But on my trip there last month, I saw an antidote to this nightmare, a route out of this trap - if Pakistan 's government and the West would only seize it. I traveled to mountain villages with Greg Mortenson, a former mountain climber who has built fifty five schools in Pakistan , and eight in Afghanistan .

Mortenson got lost 15 years ago descending from K2 , and promised to build a school for the villagers who rescued and nursed him. His formula for countering extremism is summed up in the title of his best-selling book: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time.

<click here> for complete article.

Reuters: National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy announced (01/07/08)

2008-01-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy announced Award Ceremony to be held February 12, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
Monday, January 7th, 2008
Reuters

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy has announced six recipients of the first-ever National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy.

The honorees will be recognized at an Awards Ceremony at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. on February 12, 2008.

The honorees are recognized for inspiring others through their exemplary work as citizen diplomats and for promoting cultural understanding around the world. It is not only the right, but the responsibility of every American to be a citizen diplomat, of the highest quality, for our communities and our country,' said Harriet Mayor Fulbright, board member for the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy and the President of the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center. We are particularly proud to recognize these six recipients of the first-ever National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy.

The honorees, through their various causes and programs, understand the need for citizen involvement in international relations. We established this award to shine a spotlight on citizen diplomats and to recognize their efforts and highlight their national and international contributions.

National Award Honorees

Greg Mortenson of Bozeman, Montana, is the co-founder of the Central Asia Institute and Pennies for Peace. Mortenson has raised funds to build 64 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and has helped over 25,000 children. He is co-author of The New York Times best seller, Three Cups of Tea.

More on: www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS165945+07-Jan-2008

3CT #3 on NY TIMES BESTSELLER (01-07-08)

2008-01-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Three Cups of Tea is # 3 this week on NY Times bestseller list (paperback nonfiction) for week # 48

PAPERBACK NONFICTION

Top 5 at a Glance
1. EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. THE INNOCENT MAN, by John Grisham
3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
4. INTO THE WILD, by Jon Krakauer
5. CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, by George Crile
Complete Paperback Nonfiction List »

USA TODAY (12-28-07)

2007-12-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

Following is an excerpt from USA Today article on Greg Mortenson and "Three Cups of Tea". For detailed article please visit USA Today's weblink below:

USA TODAY

Mountaineer builds schools in 'Three Cups of Tea'

December 26, 2007

By Bob Minzesheimer

A surprise best seller this season is a non-fiction book, set in Pakistan and Afghanistan , that was published 21 months ago to limited notice.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin has climbed the lists, thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations and a tireless author with an inspiring story.

Tea describes how Mortenson, an American mountaineer, found a new cause: building schools, mostly elementary and especially for girls, in 1993 during a failed attempt to climb the K2 peak on Pakistan 's border.

www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-12-19-three-cups_N.htm

NBC Today Show (11-20-07)

2007-11-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Excerpt: ‘Three Cups of Tea’

Nov. 20: TODAY’s Ann Curry reports on Greg Mortenson, who has dedicated his life to giving girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan a better future by building them schools.

For the complete story please visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21883828

NewJersey Fundraiser a Huge Success (11-10-07)

2007-11-23T10:28:00.001-07:00

11-10-2007, New Jersey, -A fundraiser for CAI and was tremendously successful as it raised $264,000 to benefit the charity. This event was sponsored and organized by the American-Pakistani community and spear-headed by a local couple, Sumeera and Zahid Baig. The Robbinsville High school entrance hall where students mill, socialize, exchange notes and notice each other fashion oddities during the day was transformed in a splendid banquet Hall at night. Mortenson first had a book signing from which it was hard to tear away the 470 guests that were able to get a one-on-one time with the legendary author/humanitarian whose book has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over 40 weeks.

"If you promote peace, that's based on hope," Mortenson said, "The real enemy is ignorance because it's based on hatred." The book's title, Three Cups of Tea, refers to the measured progression of becoming a trusted partner with people in developing areas. With the first cup of tea, you're a stranger. With the second, you're an honored guest. With the third, you're family." Mortenson then spoke of his journey from the peaks of K-2 to the pinnacle of humanitarianism in front of the hundreds of spectators where one could have heard a pin drop. In simple lyrical sentences punctuated by a slideshow of his voyages, the unassuming American hero who has been called a real Indiana Jones retold his story. Mortenson explained, "There are 145 million children without education because of slavery, gender discrimination, religious intolerance and corrupt governments. It only costs $1 per month, per child to change that, roughly $6 to $8 billion per year."

In a region marked by tribulation, Mortenson's schools and projects have been triumphant by extending self-empowerment to communities, which leads to enduring life development. Before a project starts, he explained, the community matches Central Asia Institute project funds with equal amounts of local resources and labor. Such ownership ensures the project's viability and long term success. As he said, "When the Taliban was in power, only 800,000 kids were in school. Today more than 5 million children go to school -- and 1.8 million are girls. That's where we should be putting our money."

As Mortenson finished speaking, the captivated audience gave him a standing ovation. A school building now costs $50,000 and as the fundraiser ensued the checks cascaded in and a ticker on the screen tallied $264,000: the amount raised. All the proceeds will benefit Mortenson's Central Asia Institute and help sustain schools and build new ones.

East Coast vs West Coast (11-03-07)

2007-11-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

West Coast:

Three Cups of Tea supporters queue for hours in line for limited tickets for Cambridge Reads series on Nov 7 and 8th.November 8th talk at Sanders Auditorium, Harvard sold out in less than two hours (1,100 tickets) on Oct. 24th.This line, on Saturday, 11/3 at Cambridge library, is for the added 11/7 event at First Parish Church, Cambridge, and sold out also.

East Coast:

In response to sell out crowds in the West Coast, east coast 3CT and CAI supporters respond with equal enthusiasm Tickets (450) for New Jersey 11/10 fundraising dinner event sold out by 11/03.

Seattle Post Intelligencer interview with President Clinton (11-01-07)

2007-11-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

Seattle Post Intelligencer interview with President Clinton

Thursday, November 1, 2007

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/337596_clinton01.html

Extracted from full interview on above website:

QUESTION (by Bob Marshall - P-I book editor):

(The book) "Giving" provides many examples of successful philanthropic efforts. Two from the Northwest merit special praise from you. ... I'm speaking of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute (that builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan). Talk about what you have learned from those two. What I admire about the Gates Foundation, is that they've not only put a massive amount of money into play, but they are directing almost all the money, virtually 100 percent of it, trying to remedy the world's inequalities at the moment, not only around the world, mostly in health care, and in America, mostly in education.... With Mortenson, I admire the fact that he had a big idea that he realized it was big because it could be replicated. He's the ultimate social entrepreneur ... a guy with a good idea, prepared to start small and stay with it as long as it takes to have a big impact and commit a lifetime to it. ... I admire he was able to encourage and tap people of exceedingly modest means to help him. ... I also admire he was working and was effective in an area where Americans are not popular, ... he was able to break through all that because he was able to relate to people as human beings ...

Three Cups of Tea selected for Rochester Reads (11-01-07)

2007-11-01T01:46:00.000-06:00

Rochester Post-Bulletin (Rochester MN)
Three Cups of Tea selected for Rochester Reads
Thursday, November 1, 2007
By Christina Killion-Valdez

More than any other year of Rochester Reads, this has been the year that people want to know which book is in the lead.

Since the community began voting in June on which book Rochester will read, Katherine Stecher, chairwoman of Rochester Reads, has been careful not to give it away.

"People are coming up to me and asking who's winning?" she said.

Yet even before Mayor Ardell Brede announced the winner this morning in the city hall rotunda, one book had a clear lead, she said.

"Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations -- One School at a Time," a New York Times bestseller, has been a popular choice at the library all year. Book clubs have the book reserved through June, and the waiting list for single copies has been up to 30 people deep, Stecher said.

"I think people will be really pleased that this book won," Stecher said.

The book tells the harrowing journey of Greg Mortenson, a Montana resident, who helped build 58 schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The other books considered were: "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science" by Atul Gawande, "Sweet Land: New and Selected Stories" by Will Weaver and "Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague" by Geraldine Brooks.

The books were selected for a variety of reasons, including good writing, a good story and being ripe for discussion, she said.

"Three Cups of Tea" however got twice as many votes as the other books and has sparked discussions across the country, Stecher said.

The book "does not make people into terriorists," she said. "It's trying to explain their culture in a sensitive way."

Discussions based on the book and cultural programs will be a big part of Rochester Reads events in February. Mortenson will speak to classes and at a public forum Feb. 11.

The book selected for junior readers looks at the same region of the world. "The Breadwinner" is about a girl living in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban. Author Deborah Ellis is expected to visit Rochester as part of Rochester Reads.

(c) 2007 Rochester Post-Bulletin. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission.

The Daily Aztec (10-31-07)

2007-10-31T08:56:00.000-06:00

Daily Aztec
San Diego State University, CA
Pennies add up
By Shanee Warden - Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

In 1833, a penny could buy a newspaper. In 1950, a penny could buy a piece of candy. In 2007, a penny can help build a new school.

San Diego State 's Mortar Board raised $6,000 - the equivalent of 600,000 pennies - to help pay for half the cost of a school in either Pakistan or Afghanistan .

Mortar Board's Pennies for Peace project made its goal in June of this year. The campaign collected about 300,000 pennies and other forms of cash. Jane Smith, assistant vice president of academic services, said many people donated dollar bills, dimes and nickels.

With so many coins and dollar bills, sorting the donations was a hefty task, but the SDSU Bookstore and Aztec Shops helped out.

"We had to put all the pennies on a dolly to take them from my office," Smith said.

Smith said they received a letter saying that donations would help to build a school in either Pakistan or Afghanistan - which country it will be is currently unknown.

"One penny can buy a pencil in Pakistan or Afghanistan ," Smith said. "Every penny makes a difference."

Samantha Spilka, former president of Mortar Board, made the Pennies for Peace project a reality at SDSU in February. Penny collecting containers were set up in a variety of places, including fraternity houses, student service offices and the library.

Spilka, who graduated from SDSU and is attending Columbia University , got the idea of the penny project from the book "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson.

The program is a part of the Central Asia Institute, an organization founded by Mortenson, which encourages education in Pakistan and Afghanistan .

Henry Janssen, professor emeritus and the adviser to honors council, said SDSU chose "Three Cups of Tea" as its book for next year. Mortenson will be on campus to talk about the book.

Janssen said the next pennies project will be with the San Diego Public Library and hopefully include San Diego city schools.

"The San Diego schools could raise $12,000 to fund one whole school," Janssen said.

The project is supposed to start collecting pennies in January 2008.

http://media.www.thedailyaztec.com/media/storage/paper741/news/2007/10/31/City/Pennies.Add.Up-3067922.shtml

(c) 2007 Daily Aztec. All Rights Reserved.

Contra Costa Times (10-28-07)

2007-10-28T08:58:00.000-06:00

Contra Costa Times
Students at Livermore school save their pennies to build a school in Pakistan
By Mark Tarte
Sunday, October 28, 2007

CHILDREN LEARN IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. A fifth-grade class at Emma C. Smith School is learning about the world around them in a positive way and helping other children in Pakistan at the same time.

It started when a student's mother brought a book to her child's principal, Denise Nathanson, called "Three Cups of Tea." It is about a young man's near-fatal climbing accident on the mountain known as K2 and his subsequent recovery at the hands of poor Pakistani villagers.

Out of this near tragedy and recovery for the climber, Greg Mortenson, grew the program Pennies for Peace. A Berkeley nurse, Mortenson made a vow to the villagers who saved his life that he would come back and build a school for them.

The village was so poor that it couldn't even afford the dollar a day it takes to hire a teacher. The children would climb to the next village at times to go to school and still study together even if the teacher didn't arrive. Their writing was done with sticks in the dirt since they were so poor they couldn't afford pencils and paper in a country where a penny buys a pencil.

Mortenson did scrape together the money to build a school and fulfilled his promise. He then wrote "Three Cups of Tea" with David Oliver Relin about his experience. To date, he has helped to build 59 schools in Pakistan and is now expanding into Afghanistan .

His work is especially important for girls in a culture where they were not normally allowed to receive an education and the schools are slowly countering the Taliban-supported schools where children were taught only to hate.
The story has enthralled those who read it, and Nathanson asked if anyone at the Smith school wanted to get involved. Two teachers who job-share took it on enthusiastically. Erin Summers' and Megan Fletcher's fifth-grade class have jumped in with both feet and are trying to raise the $12,000 it takes to build a school in Pakistan .

The class has raised almost $2,200 in the past month or so toward their eventual goal, and they are working hard to raise the rest. This is a daunting task for any fundraiser, let alone a group of young students.

Each week these fifth- graders go into the other classrooms, update the younger students about the project and leave behind containers to collect pennies. At the end of the week, those cans are collected and added to the slowly growing total.

The students have also written letters to many politicians about what they are doing and will be making a presentation to the Livermore school board Nov. 7.

I learned about this wonderful project through Charlotte Grabill, the volunteer publicity chairwoman at the school. The more I looked into what Charlotte told me, the more I was pleasantly surprised by the dedication and drive these youngsters demonstrate. Everyone should be as passionate about something as these students are.

You can help if you'd like. Donations are being accepted through the school; you just need to earmark a check with "Pennies for Peace" when you send it.

You can mail a donation to the Emma C. Smith School , 391 Ontario Drive , Livermore , CA 94550 .

To find out more about the international project or the book itself, go to http://www.penniesforpeace.org. There, you will find different links to this project and other projects supported by this group throughout central Asia . My check is on its way ... how about yours?

Until next week, be alert, be safe and God bless America .

Reach Mark Tarte c/o the Times, P.O. Box 607 , Pleasanton , CA 94566 or by e-mail: Aroundliv@comcast.net

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7305968?source=most_emailed
(c) 2007 Contra Costa Times

Making a Difference: Bringing light to danger zones (10-12-07)

2007-10-12T14:27:00.000-06:00

NBC Nightly News covered Cetral Asia Institute and Greg Mortenson in their "Making a Difference" segment. Click the following link to view the story and watch the video that was aired:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10397946

A Journey Of Hope (10-10-07)

2007-10-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/pakistan/pakistan1.php

This is the story of one man's mission and what it means to those who live in a region plagued by war, poverty and illiteracy. The reports, in photographs captured by Deirdre Eitel and stories written by Karin Ronnow while in Pakistan and Afghanistan, detail why Greg Mortenson started the Central Asia Institute, and how his efforts have become a source of hope. Devastation & Hope

Winning Hearts and Minds

Isolation and Hope

War and Hope

Relocation and Hope

Poverty and hope

Mortenson: Regular guy gets big results (10-07-07)

2007-10-07T09:55:00.000-06:00

Photo: Deirdre Eitel - Greg Mortenson talks with his friend and supporter Mehdi Ali in the lobby of the Indus Hotel in Skardu,

Pakistan

, in July. Mortenson has been able to build girls schools in conservative, rural areas of the

Pakistan

by gaining trust and nurturing relationships with the villagers.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Mortenson: Regular guy gets big results

By KARIN RONNOW Chronicle Staff Writer

October 7, 2007, Sunday

Note: This is the last of a five part Sunday weekly feature by Bozeman Chornicle editor Karin Ronnow and photographer Deirdre Eitel who spent several weeks following Greg Mortenson and the work of Central Asia Institute in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the summer of 2007.

All five features are available on subscription to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle https://secure.pocatelloshops.com/Pioneer/subscribe.php?site=bozeman or from the office of Central Asia Institute after November 10th, 2007. Permission to reprint or use these articles in amy format or place must be obtained from the Chronicle first.

When Greg Mortenson was 3 months old, his parents packed him up in Minnesota and took him halfway around the world, to the East African country of Tanzania, where they would spend the next 14 years as Lutheran missionaries in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.

“When he was 2 or 3 years old, one day I couldn't find him,” said his mother, Jerene Mortenson. “And I looked outside and there he sat in the pathway with an old beggar and the cookie jar.

“Greg was handing the old beggar cookies and the two of them were having this conversation. He didn't just give him something, they were talking. And that just sums up how Greg has been all his life,” she said.

Now, at 49, Greg Mortenson heads the Bozeman-based Central Asia Institute, a nonprofit organization he founded. Instead of cookies, he's delivering education to children, especially girls, in some of the most isolated villages of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

His success and a bestselling book about his life, “Three Cups of Tea,” has made him a bit of a celebrity - both at home and in the areas where he works - and that takes a toll on him and on his family. But it hasn't changed who he is at heart. He's one of those rare birds, driven by a sincere compassion for disenfranchised people about whom few others know or care.

“Even as a child I was deeply affected and disturbed by seeing really impoverished people starving or dying,” Mortenson said. “If I had extra food, I always wanted to share it. And now it's hard to keep my balance because I see so much poverty and hurting and suffering. It really takes a concerted effort, stamina and sometimes courage to remove yourself a little bit.

“But I always think it's important that you touch and smell and feel poverty, extreme poverty. You have to do that to understand it. You can't do it from a think tank in Washington, D.C.”

And he really means that, said retired Lt. Col. Ilyas Ahmad Mirza of Pakistan, a longtime friend of Mortenson's.

“He loves those people, he listens to them, he lives with them,” Mirza said. “Their houses are dirty and smelly, but it doesn't matter. Greg goes and stays with them for days. He's a different breed.”

REGULAR GUY

One thing Mortenson is not is vain. He's about as humble as they come. All of the attention he's getting, the success of “Three Cups of Tea,” the speaking engagements, newspaper and magazine articles, TV interviews, are seen by him solely as opportunities to build more schools.

He is not a man on whom the mantel of celebrity and greatness rest weightlessly. Rather, Mortenson is far more at ease with his self perception as "a regular guy."

He comes from truly humble beginnings. His family never had much money. After Tanzania, he went to high school in Minnesota, then volunteered for the U.S. Army and served as a medic in Germany for two years. “I joined in 1975, after Vietnam, when it was not cool.”

When he got back, he attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., where he played football on an NAIA II national championship team. He later transferred to the University of South Dakota, and earned degrees in chemistry and nursing.

He was a trauma nurse and a mountain climber before he started the Central Asia Institute. In 1995, he married Tara Bishop, a psychologist, and they now have two children, Amira, 11, and Khyber, 7.

Mortenson has some quirks, just like everyone else. He is constantly running late. He sometimes forgets appointments.

“I'm still not very socially adept at the wining and dining” part of fundraising, he said. “Often I show up late and I don't even have socks on.”

Perhaps it goes back to growing up in Africa; perhaps it is something more organic, something temperamental. Either way, he's not wired like most Americans.

It is one of his “maddening aspects,” Bishop agreed.

In his own defense, Mortenson said, “To me, the world is an oyster. I am very curious about a lot of things, so I take time to do everything, and now I am perpetually late. I'm just so busy,” he said.

He is that. He is on the road at least six months a year, overseas and crisscrossing the United States. After his book, "Three Cups of Tea," was published in 2006, life became increasingly hectic. The phone rings off the hook with people wanting him to come and speak. He gets hundreds of e-mails each day. People stop him on the street, in the coffee shop or at the airport.

“Our lives have really changed since the book was published, as far as the level of demand for his time,” Bishop said. “It was already building its own momentum, but until then, if they didn't go to a talk, people didn't know about him. Then all of the sudden it just geometrically took off.”

Mortenson's perpetual lateness is less of an issue overseas.

“In Baltistan, in the language, there is no sense of time,” Mortenson said. “You can say, ‘I go to Korphe,' which could mean you will be there tomorrow, or you were there yesterday, or you were there 10 years ago. Time is irrelevant. They don't have watches over there. I enjoy working like that, things work well and we get things done.”

OVER THERE

Nevertheless, when he gets to Pakistan, he still can't enter a room without great fanfare. A steady stream of people come to see him as soon as he arrives at the Indus Motel in Skardu.

“It's like he's a rock star or something,” Doug Chabot, a mountain climber and friend of Mortenson's from Bozeman, said of the scene at the Indus. “People will do anything for him. They just love being around him. It's like, ‘I'll just be standing over here in the corner trying to anticipate your needs.' ”

In July, some of the teachers at remote institute schools had traveled long distances to visit Mortenson during his week in Skardu. Although he has staff in country to make decisions and keep the ball rolling, they often defer to him. Besides, Mortenson is the one who people want to see and talk to.

“He has this incredibly busy schedule when he goes over there, because not only is he checking on schools, but he has all these relationships with people,” Chabot said. “He doesn't sleep much when he's over there. When he's in work mode, it's pretty impressive.”

RETREAT

When he isn't working, Mortenson is often hunkered down in his basement office at home. The small space has, over the years, become his sanctuary.

The 8-by-10-foot room is cluttered with photos, satellite phones, old Texas Instrument calculators, camera parts and books, lots of books, on all four walls up to the ceiling. They are organized into sections on terrorism, poverty, nonprofits, fundraising, Pakistan, Afghanistan and history.

“I don't drink much or smoke,” he said. “The one vice I have is I am a voracious reader and I buy a lot of books.”

Over the years he has developed a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the history, culture and religion of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also has learned the languages spoken in the areas where he works - Balti, Urdu and Farsi.

As a kid, his mom said, “Greg's strongest areas were language, math and science.”

A few minutes later, she went back to that thought. “He does have a particular facility with languages. When he was 8 or 9 years old, we were in Rome and the maid came into the hotel room and said something. My husband and I couldn't understand her.

“But Greg said, ‘She's asking are we leaving today and should she change the sheets or just make the beds.' It amazed me. That was what she was asking us.”

Mortenson attended an international school his parents started in Tanzania, and that might have contributed to his ear for language.

But his appetite for knowledge is just a part of who he is.

“We had a set of children's encyclopedias and he started with A and read through the whole set,” Jerene Mortenson said. “We didn't have a television. Greg liked facts. I remember he got a ‘Guinness Book of World Records' that really intrigued him.”

These days, he prefers nonfiction to fiction. And he prefers reading to television, music or even parties.

“He doesn't watch movies,” Bishop said. “He doesn't have a pulse at all on popular media.”

He also doesn't, at this point, have a lot of friends he socializes with at home, Bishop said.

“He doesn't have time for it. His friends are his staff. They get him, his quirkiness,” she said. “He's a little cynical about western, American culture, the power stuff that's such a big part of how we interact here, the teasing, the one-up-manship and the humor around belittling. It baffles him.”

RELATIONSHIPS

Instead, he focuses on relationships he needs overseas to accomplish his goals of literacy and peace - a lesson he said he learned from his dad, Dempsey.

“My dad worked closely with the Tanzanians, especially his handyman, John Moshe,” Mortenson said. “The expats often scoffed at him, saying he should have the upper hand and be the boss. But he believed everybody was part of the team.”

Mortenson has integrated that philosophy into his own work in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“If anything happens to me, everything will be taken care of over there,” he said. “We have amazing staff and we have amazing community support.”

That staff, his central team, is largely a result of serendipity, composed of people that Mortenson tripped over in his work and later hired. But the team is devoted to Mortenson. And the feeling is mutual.

“I consider my staff to be family,” Mortenson said. “They are prepared to give up everything they have to help CAI. They are all family men who have kids and wives. But they are willing to be gone from their families even more than me, for months at a time.

“They are the ones who go to the village with the hardened mullah, trying to convince them to send girls to school, who really push the envelope in working with different ethnic groups, Sunni and Shia, and different politicians, bringing the hardest opponents together with the proponents and work until they come up with some solution.”

Most of the staff are not highly educated, either, he said, “yet they are willing to work very had to learn difficult skills.”

They have flaws, he said. Sometimes they push too hard when it might be better to give people time.

“I love them dearly as my family, but sometimes I have to remind them that to do business, sometimes it takes" time, he said.

TIME UNPLUGGED

While a lot of the village work might be handled by the in-country staff, the fundraising and public speaking is exclusively Mortenson's job. And it takes a toll.

“The success of all this has forced me to become a much more public person,” he said. “I'm rather shy and reserved by nature, and at first it was really hard on me. But the more I do this, the more comfortable it is. And I really want to do this because I want to promote education and promote peace. But I have to raise money.

“The hard part is that I've been married for 12 years and more than 65 months of that time, I haven't been with my family.”

“It's a tricky thing for Greg,” Bishop said. “I think he would like to do it all. I don't think can't is in his vocabulary. He really is committed to those little kids over there. And he has a huge heart.

“But I miss him, that's the biggest thing. I'd like more time with him. That's the part that makes me sad.”

The other thing Bishop would like her husband to do is take a little better care of himself; he's paying a price for the pace he keeps.

“I get frustrated because his life is so overwhelming,” she said. “I'm happy for his success and what it means for the world and for him. But I wish he could have some more time to catch up with himself, to be able to slow down a little bit and fully think. He's truly an introvert and he's not getting what all introverts need, which is time unplugged."

Karin Ronnow is at kronnow@dailychronicle.com

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2007/10/07/news/000guy.txt