From Wikipedia
The book's title comes from a Balti proverb: "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family..."
From True story is city's cup of `Tea'
...In September 1993, Mortenson, then something of a mountain-climbing bum,
stumbled into Korphe, a Pakistani village in the shadow of K2. He was
exhausted, sick and depressed after failing to scale the world's second
highest mountain.
As villagers nursed him back to health, he saw children writing lessons in
the sand with sticks and decided to repay the village for its hospitality by
returning one day to build a school.
Back in the U.S., he initially tried to make good on his promise by writing
fundraising letters to 580 prominent Americans. The result: one response, a
$100 check from NBC's Tom Brokaw.
Despite that slow start, Mortenson has proved better than his word. In 17
years, he has built 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has become
remarkably immersed in the culture of the Karakoramm Himalaya region, a
remote and dangerous area known as a breeding ground for al-Qaida and
Taliban terrorists.
"I've learned more from Greg Mortenson about the causes of terrorism than
during all our briefings on Capitol Hill," says Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm
Springs. "He represents the best of America."
Mortenson has succeeded in areas where foreign aid from the U.S. has not.
Even the American military is impressed. The Pentagon has placed large
orders for copies of "Three Cups of Tea."
Born in Minnesota, Mortenson, 50, grew up on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro
in Tanzania. His father, Dempsey, co-founded the Kilimanjaro Christian
Medical Center, a teaching hospital, and his mother, Jerene, founded a
school.
He served in the Army in Germany for two years, then graduated from the
University of South Dakota.
Mortenson has had his share of setbacks, including the 1992 death of his
younger sister, Christa, following her lifelong struggle with epilepsy. It
was to honor her memory that he made his attempt to climb K2.
In 1996, shortly after returning to Pakistan to build schools, Mortenson
survived an eight-day kidnapping in a tribal area of the country. In 2003,
he managed to escape a firefight between feuding Afghan warlords by hiding
for eight hours under a pile of putrid animal hides. At various times, he
has incurred the wrath of local mullahs. Following 9-11, he was criticized
severely by some Americans who, not understanding his work, accused him of
helping terrorists.
"I expected something like this from an ignorant village mullah," he said,
"but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Americans made me wonder
whether I should give up."
Happily he did not. Today, more than 28,000 children are being educated in
his 78 schools, where, by his design, the stress is on teaching girls. He
cites an African proverb: "If you educate a boy, you educate an individual,
but if you educate a girl, you educate a community." ...
...In September 1993, Mortenson, then something of a mountain-climbing bum,
stumbled into Korphe, a Pakistani village in the shadow of K2. He was
exhausted, sick and depressed after failing to scale the world's second
highest mountain.
As villagers nursed him back to health, he saw children writing lessons in
the sand with sticks and decided to repay the village for its hospitality by
returning one day to build a school.
Back in the U.S., he initially tried to make good on his promise by writing
fundraising letters to 580 prominent Americans. The result: one response, a
$100 check from NBC's Tom Brokaw.
Despite that slow start, Mortenson has proved better than his word. In 17
years, he has built 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has become
remarkably immersed in the culture of the Karakoramm Himalaya region, a
remote and dangerous area known as a breeding ground for al-Qaida and
Taliban terrorists.
"I've learned more from Greg Mortenson about the causes of terrorism than
during all our briefings on Capitol Hill," says Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm
Springs. "He represents the best of America."
Mortenson has succeeded in areas where foreign aid from the U.S. has not.
Even the American military is impressed. The Pentagon has placed large
orders for copies of "Three Cups of Tea."
Born in Minnesota, Mortenson, 50, grew up on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro
in Tanzania. His father, Dempsey, co-founded the Kilimanjaro Christian
Medical Center, a teaching hospital, and his mother, Jerene, founded a
school.
He served in the Army in Germany for two years, then graduated from the
University of South Dakota.
Mortenson has had his share of setbacks, including the 1992 death of his
younger sister, Christa, following her lifelong struggle with epilepsy. It
was to honor her memory that he made his attempt to climb K2.
In 1996, shortly after returning to Pakistan to build schools, Mortenson
survived an eight-day kidnapping in a tribal area of the country. In 2003,
he managed to escape a firefight between feuding Afghan warlords by hiding
for eight hours under a pile of putrid animal hides. At various times, he
has incurred the wrath of local mullahs. Following 9-11, he was criticized
severely by some Americans who, not understanding his work, accused him of
helping terrorists.
"I expected something like this from an ignorant village mullah," he said,
"but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Americans made me wonder
whether I should give up."
Happily he did not. Today, more than 28,000 children are being educated in
his 78 schools, where, by his design, the stress is on teaching girls. He
cites an African proverb: "If you educate a boy, you educate an individual,
but if you educate a girl, you educate a community." ...
[ With thanks to Vibecke for the heads-up ]
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