Recall the wise mentors who proclaimed words of wisdom in your youth.
“Education is key” they would repeat, each time with a little more conviction.
Today, a man passionate about his life’s work as an educator of Middle Eastern girls, is putting his money where his mouth is. To launch his career, he literally saved every penny he made as a nurse and invested it in overseas schools. He slept in his car until he had no car. He slept in the hallway of a friend’s apartment to save money. He was called a California kook by many because his sole focus was and is to educate where there is no education.
Meet Greg Mortenson and peruse the pages of his life in the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea.
The story takes root as Mortenson attempts to scale K2, the second highest peak in the world. Known to the professionals to be a killer, Mortenson succumbs to Mother Nature and on his descent drifts into a poor Pakistani village only to tap into a wealth of kindness.
He is nursed back to life from near death and is moved by the generosity of such simple minded tribal people. A widow used her lone blanket to cover Mortenson’s freezing body. The blanket had belonged to her late husband.
To pay his expenses, Mortenson vows to return and build a school for the village. His idea is sparked after seeing dozens of young students heading for the top of a dirt hill one morning to their makeshift school. No books. No pencils. No papers. No desks. Just a desire to learn.
Book clubbers should expect discussions all over the spectrum. There are political views to be addressed. Why are American citizens in the business of educating people in Pakistan and Afghanistan? Mortenson’s answer to you and to Congressional members has been and continues to be “why not?”
“The enemy is ignorance” claims Mortenson. He argues vehemently against the United States’ use of force to fight terrorism. Instead, he believes, as do tens of thousands of his supporters, that the simple truth to destroying terrorism, is elevating education.
Mortenson believes in “building relationships with these people.
Draw them into the modern world with business and education. Otherwise, the fight will go on forever.”
Consider the clubbers’ cultural conversations as there were struggles tracking tribal traditions.
“It was difficult to keep straight the numerous tribes and tongues plus customary differences of villages only separated by a mile or two long mountain pass,” recalled one reader.
“And yet, I feel empowered by the knowledge I now have of that area of the world. The evening news makes a little more sense to me,” added another.
With several mothers eager to discuss this New York Times bestseller, hearts were softened and opinions won over when Mortenson made his case for educating girls. It is his argument that when girls are educated, villages are education.
“They continue the cycle,” he says.
If a girl is educated, she will pass academic knowledge to her village. Once the empowerment begins, there is a high value placed on academics.
With more than fifty schools now in place in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mortenson continues to build bridges between the East and West.
As the director of the Central Asia Institute, he appears almost as an Indiana Jones type character. Adventures described in the book are nothing short of what Hollywood puts on the big screen. The 300 plus page book takes readers around the world more than once.
There are kidnappings, scuffles, close calls, broken relationships, family ties and struggles just to name a few. And yet, Mortenson always seems to have angels nearby, protecting him in what is certainly one of the more dangerous places in the modern world.
To understand Mortenson’s mission is to understand the title of the book. Sit. Read. Take tea and build relationships that eventually build bridges to understanding.
After the tea takers are no longer strangers, and once the third cup of tea has been poured, there is opportunity for more than friendship.
There is an elevated status that allows for honest, open dialogue. Perhaps, here is where the wise ones have been right all along.
Education is key. And, oh to wonder and imagine what that key could unlock?!