Stones into Schools

Stones into Schools
Greg Mortenson

After enjoying Three Cups of Tea, I was expecting to be disappointed by the sequel, but I was pleasantly surprised for several reasons. Greg Mortenson’s second book about the schools for girls which he is building in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan is full of new information and continues to be imbued with his enthusiasm for his project. It is about the amount of work needed to keep an NGO functioning, the enthusiasm for learning in Third World Countries, the challenges of society and terrain in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the capacity for Afghanis and Pakistanis to forge ahead with projects if they are only given the right opportunity. It is an adventure story, with wild rides, unlikely heroes and achievements that defy the odds. The story is told with sympathy and admiration and shows what can be achieved with trust and commitment. It is an interesting book.
I learned a lot about the earthquake in Azad Kashmir in 2005, the history of the nomadic tribespeople in Northern Afghanistan, transportation challenges, banking difficulties, and the erosion of skills and education among Afghans who have spent their lives in combat and refugee camps. I also learned about what can be accomplished by one man with a purpose.
I found it interesting that the two project managers of the Central Asia Institute, Sarfraz Khan in Pakistan and Wakil Karimi in Afghanistan are not people with diplomas and pedigree, but honest, zealous men with vision, connections, ingenuity, and knowledge of local communities.
A really key factor in the success of building and maintaining CAI schools is the trust established with the local communities. The CAI never start a project unless invited by the local head men and supported by the community. This is a key approach, and is unfortunately a novel one. In early April there was a story in my local newspaper about the challenges the Canadian armed forces are having as they establish schools in Afghanistan. They find that they are facing opposition from local leaders, a problem the CAI never has.
I enjoyed putting the maps together with the text and understanding the challenges and the beauty of this mountainous area where people survive in the fertile and sheltered valleys, but are separated and isolated by those magnificent ranges: the Pamir, the Karakorum, and the Hindu Kush.
Clearly, the book was put together to heighten awareness of Mortenson’s project among potential supporters. He is now largely entrusting the work in Pakistan and Afghanistan to local organizers and directing his energy to fund-raising. He is courting middle America with his stories of cooperation from the US military and telling us stories that we like to hear.
We are meant to learn about The Central Asia Institute and its objectives and challenges and there are many appendices to guide us. I really appreciated the many maps, the list of Who’s Who, the glossary of terms and the index. The didactic purpose is underlined with the lists at the end: “Investing in Girl’s Education Yields Huge Returns,” “Take Action,” and “Key Ingredients in Successfully Building Girls’ Schools.”
It concerned me that so much of the success of the CAI depends on its founder, Greg Mortenson. The Institute has a board of directors, all women, I notice, but the bulk of the publicity, fundraising and organisation of the overseas projects depends on Mortenson. He pushes himself very hard, and if something should happen to him, I am afraid the whole worthwhile venture would fall apart. He does a tremendous amount of public speaking and traveling, and has already had a few burnouts.
I could not understand how such a busy man would have time to write this book, important as it is to the fundraising efforts of the CAI to keep interest high by keeping the story before the public. I found my answer in the long list of ‘Thanks.’ Mortenson writes: “Two dedicated writers put in literally thousands of hours to help me bring Stones into Schools into the world. Mike Bryan worked nearly every day for an entire year to research and lay the groundwork. Kevin Fedarko helped find the most compelling way to construct this narrative and put in marathon efforts over one hundred consecutive 16-hour days.” Both traveled to the Wakhan and Baltistan. This book was written by a committee who worked well together.
I did not see the recent CBS programme debunking Mortenson and his work, but it makes me very angry. CBS sent reporters to distant places in Central Asia, not to help the local people but to investigate this man and his organization which have done so much to promote literacy and give girls the hope of a future. Who is going to step in and support education in Central Asia when CBS has knocked out Mortenson’s fund-raising campaign? Does CBS have a plan to fund these schools out of the money it makes discrediting Mortenson? At the end of his book, Mortenson apologises to his family for his long and frequent absences from home and regrets that while he has been helping children far away, he has missed seeing his own children grow up. Is the CBS programme his reward for this sacrifice? I think there are enough genuine cases of crime and mismanagement to keep CBS ‘investigators’ busy without having them attack a man who has committed his life to providing marginalized girls with an education!