 |
 Scaling Heights of Compassion and Generosity
In September of 1993 Greg Mortenson lost his way on the Baltoro Glacier, descending from a failed attempt to reach the summit of the 28,251-foot K2 (the second-highest mountain in the world). When he was found the next day by his porter, Mouzafer, he was too dazed and weakened to track the path Mouzafer made down the mountain to the village of Askole in northern Pakistan. Instead, he found himself in the remote village of Korphe, a tiny Muslim enclave perched on a cliff. Here he found not only the hospitality to nurse him back to strength, but his second family and the journey his life would take to this day. During his healing days in Korphe, Greg developed a friendship with Haji Ali, the nurmadhar (leader) of the village. As the time came to depart for the long journey back to the United States, Greg asked to see the village school. With much embarrassment, Haji Ali took him to the patch of dirt where, three days a week, the children of Korphe scratched their lessons on the ground, open to the elements. On the spot, Greg said, “I will build you a school.” With those words he began an odyssey of epic and generous proportions. Upon his return to the states, Greg began to figure out how to raise enough money for the supplies it would take to build a school. He didn’t have a clue. Working as an emergency room nurse in San Francisco and sleeping nights in his car in Berkeley to save money, he spent his days at a local copy shop renting a typewriter to send letters to famous people he thought might be interested in sponsoring his project. The shop owner took an interest in his project and taught him the use of the word processor, but 580 letters later he still did not have the money needed. He found success when a climbing friend of Greg’s suggested he contact Dr. Jean Hoerni, the Swiss-born physicist whose invention paved the way for the silicon chip. Dr. Hoerni simply gave Greg the $12,000 to build the school, extracting the promise that the school would be built and Greg would deliver pictures of the completed project. It was a longer-than-expected process to build the Korphe school (including first building a bridge so that the supplies could be transported to the village), and an even longer one that followed as Greg, with support from Dr. Hoerni, began to build schools all across the remote northern reaches of Pakistan. As the project evolved, it encompassed teacher training and salaries, women’s vocational centers, water projects and other community health initiatives. As of this writing, the Central Asia Institute, established with an endowment in Jean Hoerni’s will, supports 55 schools, 520 teachers, and 22,000 students (over 13,000 of them girls). It has constructed more than 24 potable water projects and offered cataract surgery for over 3000 patients. Most of the staff that works with Greg and his Board lives in the villages and cities of Pakistan and Afghanistan where the schools are built. A minimal staff supports the work in the states, in Bozeman, Montana, where Greg lives with his wife and two children. As Greg continued to work among the Muslim people of this remote region, and as he watched the events unfolding in next-door Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, he became convinced the future lay in the education of girls. He also had a passion to extend the work of the CAI into northern Afghanistan. After the fall of the Taliban and the end of the most recent war, he was able to achieve this goal. After a harrowing two-night journey that included a breakdown in a tunnel, getting caught in crossfire between opium smugglers and arriving at his destination under a pile of rotting goat hides, he met the northern tribes people who welcomed him and assisted him on the next phase of the school-building journey. Resources: More information about the Central Asia Institute is available on its website: http://www.ikat.org/
|
 Receive a free Peace Quote screensaver with any purchase from Keep It Simple, or purchase the screensaver.
|
 |
 |
 |
  |
|
|
|||
