THREE CUPS OF TEA
Greg Mortenson’s book “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time” was of special interest to me as I’ve been working for a South African Literacy NGO for the past decade. This book is very similar to John Wood’s “Saving Microsoft to Change the World” which is about the establishing of Room to Read that had its genesis in building school libraries in Nepal ten years ago.
Room to Read, according to their latest newsletter, “have opened the doors of opportunity to over 4 million children through our over 7,500 libraries, 830 schools and 8,780 scholarships for girls, and are well positioned to reach millions more in our second decade” As of October 2009, Central Asia Institute (Mortenson’s funding vehicle) has established over 131 schools in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan, which provide education to 54,000 students including over 44,000 girls.
The different approaches of these two humanitarians in fundraising and communication are like chalk and cheese. John Wood is clearly a corporate animal that uses the skills, expertise and contacts he gained at Microsoft to establish Room to Read. It does in no way distract from his wonderful achievement.
Greg Mortenson’s book is more about guts and determination and an inventing-as-you-go-along approach which really touched me deeply. Wood started with a business model leaving a well paid career while Mortenson started with only an idea and a burning desire to make a difference. Again I am not detracting from Wood’s wonderful achievements but hell, Mortenson slept in his car for months on end to save money to build the first school!
Mortenson believes that education and literacy for girls globally is the most important investment all countries can make to create stability, bring socio-economic reform, decrease infant mortality, decrease the population explosion, and improve health, hygiene, and sanitation standards.
He also believes that 'fighting terrorism' only perpetuates a cycle of violence, and that the best way promote peace is through education and literacy, with an emphasis on girls' education.
"You can drop bombs, hand out condoms, build roads or put in electricity, but unless the girls are educated, a society won't change", is an often quoted statement made by Mortenson.
The following passage towards the end of “Three Cups of Tea” describes events in 2003 shortly after 9/11 and America’s invasion of Iraqi using WMD as an excuse that to date has cost thousands of lives with still no trace of either the weaponry or Bin Ladin.
This chillingly illustrate the futility of a misdirected war against terror;
“General Bashir Baz (a retired Pakistani Air force pilot) ruminated on the importance of educating all of Pakistan’s children, and the progress America was making in the war on terror.
Bashir watched a live CNN feed from Baghdad and was struck silent by the images of wailing Iraqi women carrying children’s bodies out of the rubble of a bombed building.
As he studied the screen Bashir’s bullish shoulders slumped. ‘People like me are America’s best friends in the region’ Bashir said at last shaking his head ruefully. ‘I’m a moderate Muslim, an educated man. But watching this, even I could become a jihadi. How can Americans say that they are making themselves safer?’ Bashir asked, struggling not to direct his anger at the large American target [Mortenson] on the other side of his desk. ‘Your President Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one billion Muslims against America for the next two hundred years.’
Mortenson commented that Osama bin Ladin had a large role leaving America no option to retaliate after 9/11. Bashir replied; ‘Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is in every home. As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of your enemy’s strength. In America’s case, this is not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.’”
Six years later the war in Iraqi is still raging, and despite what Barak Obama promised there seems to be no end in sight. I realise that withdrawal will be a long and intricate process but in the end War will be the only winner.
Working in the field of previously disadvantaged education the way that Room to Read and the Central Asian Institute seems to measure their successes are interesting. They measure it by the number of schools or libraries build. Maybe the Asian model differs vastly from an African model in the sense that, in my opinion, to build a school or establish a library is only the beginning. Real change can only happen within a print rich environment with adequately trained teachers to facilitate learning.
Mortenson was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 and apparently was one of a handful of finalists for the prize that was awarded to President Obama in October 2009. Mortenson was a more deserving winner as he walked the walk already while Obama is still talking.
The sequel to “Three Cups of Tea”; “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan” is due for release in December 2009.
Here’s to these two visionaries; Greg Mortenson and John Wood that is making a huge difference in the lives of children not for financial gain but because They Can.