Stones Into Schoolsby
Greg Mortenson
The Following is from the Author's Website:
Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace Through Education in Afghanistan and Pakistan (www.stonesintoschools.com). Over the past seventeen years, Greg Mortenson, through his nonprofit Central Asia Institute (CAI), has worked to promote peace through education by establishing more than 171 schools, most of them for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The story of how this remarkable humanitarian campaign began was told in his bestselling 2006 book, Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson’s philosophies about building relationships, empowering communities, and educating girls have struck a powerful chord. Hundreds of communities and universities, as well as several branches of the U.S. military, have used Three Cups of Tea as a common read.
Just as Three Cups of Tea began with a promise—to build a school in Korphe, Pakistan—so too does Mortenson’s new book. In 1999, Kirghiz horsemen from Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor rode into Pakistan and secured a promise from Mortenson to construct a school in an isolated pocket of the Pamir Mountains known as Bozai Gumbad. Mortenson could not build that school before constructing many others, and that is the story he tells in this dramatic new book. Picking up where Three Cups of Tea left off in late 2003, Stones into Schools traces the CAI’s efforts to work in a whole new country, the secluded northeast corner of Afghanistan. Mortenson describes how he and his intrepid manager, Sarfraz Khan, barnstormed around Badakhshan Province and the Wakhan Corridor, moving for weeks without sleep, to establish the first schools there.
Those efforts were diverted in October 2005 when a devastating earthquake hit the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan. Under Sarfraz’s watch the CAI helped with relief efforts by setting up temporary tent schools and eventually several earthquakeproof schools. The action then returns to Afghanistan in 2007, as the CAI launches schools in the heart of Taliban country and as Mortenson helps the U.S. military formulate new strategic plans as a road map to peace. As the book closes, the initial promise to the Kirghiz is fulfilled.
Stones into Schools brings to life both the heroic efforts of the CAI’s fixers on the ground—renegade men of unrecognized and untapped talent who became galvanized by the importance of girls’ education—and the triumphs of the young women who are now graduating from the schools. Their stories are ones you will not soon forget.
(I finished listening to Stones Into Schools last pm on my way home from work. As most people know, 60 minutes did a negative program on Greg Mortenson in April which has resulted in law suits being filed against Greg. It is my hope that even if adjustments are needed to be made (and I am not saying that there are adjustments that need to be made as I am still waiting on the outcome of all this to make a judgement) that it is all resolved and Greg and the CAI are able to continue their very important work. Please follow the links at the title and the author's name to learn more about Greg and the CAI. In the past I have posted the 60 minute video about Mr Mortenson so I am not re-posting it at this time. I am going to post a video about the CAI which I hope will help people understand how important the work of the CAI is. A friend and I hope to get tickets to hear Greg Mortenson speak in October as he is scheduled to be in Chicago. Since he had open heart surgery last month I do hope he can make it to his Chicago presentation.)
The story of how this remarkable humanitarian campaign began was told in his bestselling 2006 book, Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson’s philosophies about building relationships, empowering communities, and educating girls have struck a powerful chord. Hundreds of communities and universities, as well as several branches of the U.S. military, have used Three Cups of Tea as a common read.
Just as Three Cups of Tea began with a promise—to build a school in Korphe, Pakistan—so too does Mortenson’s new book. In 1999, Kirghiz horsemen from Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor rode into Pakistan and secured a promise from Mortenson to construct a school in an isolated pocket of the Pamir Mountains known as Bozai Gumbad. Mortenson could not build that school before constructing many others, and that is the story he tells in this dramatic new book. Picking up where Three Cups of Tea left off in late 2003, Stones into Schools traces the CAI’s efforts to work in a whole new country, the secluded northeast corner of Afghanistan. Mortenson describes how he and his intrepid manager, Sarfraz Khan, barnstormed around Badakhshan Province and the Wakhan Corridor, moving for weeks without sleep, to establish the first schools there.
Those efforts were diverted in October 2005 when a devastating earthquake hit the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan. Under Sarfraz’s watch the CAI helped with relief efforts by setting up temporary tent schools and eventually several earthquakeproof schools. The action then returns to Afghanistan in 2007, as the CAI launches schools in the heart of Taliban country and as Mortenson helps the U.S. military formulate new strategic plans as a road map to peace. As the book closes, the initial promise to the Kirghiz is fulfilled.
Stones into Schools brings to life both the heroic efforts of the CAI’s fixers on the ground—renegade men of unrecognized and untapped talent who became galvanized by the importance of girls’ education—and the triumphs of the young women who are now graduating from the schools. Their stories are ones you will not soon forget.
(I finished listening to Stones Into Schools last pm on my way home from work. As most people know, 60 minutes did a negative program on Greg Mortenson in April which has resulted in law suits being filed against Greg. It is my hope that even if adjustments are needed to be made (and I am not saying that there are adjustments that need to be made as I am still waiting on the outcome of all this to make a judgement) that it is all resolved and Greg and the CAI are able to continue their very important work. Please follow the links at the title and the author's name to learn more about Greg and the CAI. In the past I have posted the 60 minute video about Mr Mortenson so I am not re-posting it at this time. I am going to post a video about the CAI which I hope will help people understand how important the work of the CAI is. A friend and I hope to get tickets to hear Greg Mortenson speak in October as he is scheduled to be in Chicago. Since he had open heart surgery last month I do hope he can make it to his Chicago presentation.)
sounds really interesting, thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteIt is a good book Loretta. I listened to his first book - Three Cups Of Tea - earlier this year. And then in April the 60 minutes program was aired. I asked my book group at the library if they wanted to do one of his books sometimes in spite of the controversy and the felt the controversy would make it more interesting and picked Stones Into Schools for July. We have two meetings - one next week and one the next - and I usually chose the one I am off to attend - I will try to post a comment here after attending the discussion.
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