Three Cups of Tea

Every Christmas I request books as presents from my mom and husband. I love seeing what they pick out. Usually it is something that I wouldn't think of buying/reading myself, but I always enjoy what they give me. The variety is fantastic, and all year I look forward to my Christmas books. This year was no exception. Chris picked out a number of great books for me, but there is one in particular I want to share with you because I think its story is so important.

This books is no literary masterpiece, but much more important that the quality of the writing is the true story that it tells of the amazing work being done by Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute. CAI's goal is to, "promote and support community-based education, especially for girls in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan". Mortenson strongly believes that peace is only possible through education. Children in poor and remote areas of central Asia are particularly susceptible to the propaganda spread when wealthy Saudi's come into their impoverished environs offering an education in the Wahhabi madrassas that their oil money builds.

My favorite excerpts from the book come from the section recounting Mortenson's pleas to Congress:

"People in that part of the world are used to death and violence, and if you tell them, 'We're sorry your father died, but he died a martyr so Afghanistan could be free,' and if you offer them compensation and honor their sacrifice, I think people will support us, even now. But the worst thing you can do is what we're doing - ignoring the victims. To call them 'collateral damage' and not even try to count the nubers of the dead. Because to ignore them is to deny they ever exsisted, and there is no greater insult in the Islamic world. For that we will never be forgiven."

"I'm no military expert, and these figures might not be exactly right. But as best as I can tell, we've lanuched 114 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Afghanistan so far [2002]. Now take the cost of one of those missiles tipped with Raytheon guidance systems, which I think is about $840,000. For that much money, you could build dozens of schools that could provice tens of thousands of students with a balanced nonextremist education over the course of a generation. Which do you think will make use more secure?"

I think that the work being done by the CAI is fantastic and I especially love their focus on education for girls. I was really surprised to read how open and even excited the vast majority of the conservative relgious leaders in Pakistan an Afghanistan are about the idea of education their girls. I think Mortenson is right, if you educate women, you change the world.

I highly recommend the book and I highly recommend that you check out the CAI and consider making a donation to their very worthy cause. Even small changes in these remote villages can have an impact on history and the world.

 
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)