Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with books, not bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson
Many people have read Three Cups of Tea and are familiar with Mortenson’s mission to build schools in Pakistan. In this book Mortenson continues to build schools in Pakistan (with some new challenges) and begins to to build schools in post 9/11 Afghanistan.
As you can imagine, building schools in Afghanistan after 9/11 is no easy task. And after the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Mortenson and the CAI had to change the way they built schools in Pakistan. Add to all that that the CAI’s policy is to build schools in the most remote areas first and then work their way towards the more populated regions. Mortenson has some amazing people working for him that don’t seem to ever let anything get in their way when it comes to moving forward with these schools. It’s really inspiring to read about the school building process and the people in the villages where the schools are being built. (Above: Sitara School, Afghanistan)
I was very impressed with the writing and the way the story was told. It’s entertaining and engaging and Mortenson told the story that was cohesive and had good flow. The only complaint I have is that there were some editing problems, missing or wrong words, and some typos. But the book contains events from as late as September of 2009 and the book was published in early December 2009 so I’ll cut them some slack in the editing department! If you enjoyed Three Cups of Tea, you will definitely enjoy this one. If you haven’t read Three Cups of Tea you should probably start there before picking up this one. I think both books are definitely worth reading.
All images courtesy Central Asia Institute.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
I’m sure most people are aware of what this book is about so I’ll make my summary brief. Greg Mortenson was coming off the mountain after failing to summit K2 (his failure wasn’t really a failure, he wasn’t really given the opportunity to even attempt the summit when he used up all his strength saving a friend’s life). Anyway, he was separated from his guide and stumbled upon a village in Pakistan called Korphe. The people of Korphe were very hospitable and sheltered and fed him for the night until his guide could come and retrieve him. In the short time that Mortenson spent in the village, he realized what every one before him had failed to see. The village desperately needed, and deserved, a school. And Mortenson decided that he was the right man for the job. And so begins the process that will result in several schools and become Mortenson’s life work.
I loved this book. It was so inspiring. It was amazing to me the things that Mortenson went through, without giving up! When he first began, he wrote 580 letters – mostly by typewriter in 1993 because no one had ever let him in on a little thing called computers! He got one response to those initial letters – resulting in $100, but he still didn’t give up! And this was just the beginning. There were language barriers, funding issues, unfamiliar customs, dishonest dealers, kidnappings, the Taliban and hatred of Americans, and he just kept going! This man just never let anything get in his way of accomplishing what he set out to do.
I also love the way the book portrays the majority of the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the post 9/11 world, I think we tend to see extremists carrying AK-47s when we picture the people in that part of the world, but this books shows that although that exists, it seems to be a minority. The people that Mortenson grew to love were well-deserving people just trying to do what was best for their family and their village. These are deeply religious people who are caring and kind. Most of the major players in Mortenson’s organization sound like people I would like to meet.
This one is a must read. Anyone who hasn’t already should really pick this one up.
