A Higher Calling

Greg Mortenson and students of the Sitara School in Sarhad, Afghanistan, in the rugged Pamir Mountains. It's one of the world's most isolated places. The Central Asia Institute (CAI) accepts no government funds; the 78 permanent schools Mortenson has built are supported by private donations, most from individuals. He turned down $2.2 million from the Pentagon, because he wanted to remain completely independent of politics.

Greg, son Khyber, now 8, and daughter Amira, now 12, with students at a school in Skardu, Pakistan, 2007, for refugees from a war-torn area of Kashmir claimed by both India and Pakistan. "More than 110 million children around the world are deprived of education because of war, slavery, poverty, religious extremism, corrupt governments, and war," Mortenson points out. "About 70 million — more than 60 percent — of them are girls. If we wanted to, we could eradicate illiteracy in 15 years with a global investment of $6 billion annually for 15 years. Sounds like a lot, but when compared to funds put into the military, it is a drop in the bucket."

Khyber Mortenson, mom Tara Bishop, and Amira Mortenson in 2007. "The hardest part of my job," Greg Mortenson says, "is that I'm gone from my family for half the year. I love them deeply, and it's very difficult." Says wife Tara, "Greg works very hard to be present when he's here with us, and he's a great communicator. And we're a good team, the three of us, when Greg isn't here. We support each other and have a good time together."

Girl students at the Khanday School, Pakistan. The slides were Amira's idea; she urged her dad to install playground equipment wherever possible, Says Greg, "I'm very serious; my kids have taught me to see life as a child, and to have joy — that there's fun and beauty in little things. I consult with my daughter whenever I can." Amira first visited Pakistan when she was nine months old.

Little scholars at the Torghu Balla Community School, Pakistan. "Unless girls are educated a society won't change," Mortenson says. Research shows that educated girls marry later, have fewer and healthier children, are more likely to contribute to family income and insist that their children are educated, and are much less likely to condone or encourage their sons to get involved in violence or terrorism.

A celebration outside the Chunda Girls School, Chunda, Pakistan. "It took us eight years to convince a religious leader to allow one girl to go school," Mortenson says. "When the Chunda Girls School opened in 2007, there were 74 girls enrolled. Now there are almost 300." CAI schools are secular, teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, science, math, history, and languages. "And we have the elders come in two or three times a week and tell traditional stories, " Greg notes.

Hushe Community School, Pakistan. All CAI schools are partnership — requested by a village, and run by them. "We provide funds; the community provides local resources, labor, and responsibility. That's why they're long-term successes. Sustainability is built in."

Want to help Greg Mortenson and his daughter Amira in their quest to educate girls and boys in remote villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan? To donate, visit the Central Asia Institute's Website, ikat.org (ikat is a beautiful silk fabric woven in Central Asia, prized for resilience, strength, and beauty). Or go to penniesforpeace.org.
If you buy Three Cups of Tea, the young reader's edition of the book, or the children's picture book Listen to the Wind online at amazon.com, Amazon will donate about 7 percent of your purchase to CAI.