Greg Mortenson of Three Cups of TeaBy Mocha, Section War and Peace
New York Times bestselling author Greg Mortenson spoke at Viterbo University about his efforts to bring peace in Asia.
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I heard Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, speak at Viterbo University in La Crosse on Tuesday, September 29th. Sitting in the highest balcony I listened to his words and the enthusiastic reaction of the other people present.
Two sayings bookended his speech. The first comes from a Persian proverb, "When it is dark, you can see the stars." The second one quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Even if the world ends tomorrow I will plant my seed today." The main themes of Greg's talk revolved around the importance of respecting the elders and listening to their stories and the wisdom and significance of educating children and involving them in service endeavors. In our country we lag behind Afghanistan and Pakistan in listening to our elders, but our children excel in wanting to change the world into a better place. Greg shared stories of young Americans who began working to support his efforts in Asia and then saw another need and organized a foundation to fill it. One young man started an organization to help the homeless school children in his city. They all chose children under the age of 18 for their boards of directors. Despite their youth they excel in raising money for their organizations. Greg emphasized education as the best way to combat poverty. He sees that educating women, in particular, brings a big benefit. Greg quotes statistics that the countries with the lowest rate of literacy produce the highest birth rates. He explained that when girls learn to read they come home and teach their mothers to read also. When a paper comes into the home the mother brings it to her daughter and asks her to read it to her. Further he revealed that the men who chose not to join the Taliban said that they did so because their mothers told them the Taliban acted in bad ways. The soldiers who left the Taliban left after their mothers advised them to do so. So far Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute started 131 schools teaching 58,000 children, focusing on remote rural areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They believe in empowering people and trusting their capabilities. Each community needs to invest hours of labor to show their commitment to a school being placed in their midst. Greg related the story of a headman who initially opposed educating girls. Eventually he became convinced of the importance of this policy. Now he sits at the door of the school recording attendance to be sure that all the girls come to school. To date the Taliban destroyed only one of their schools. The village headman rode his bicycle 23 miles to reach a militia group. This group came and attacked the Taliban group. They discovered that a local mullah paid each Taliban fighter to attack the school because it educated girls. A group of men from an area of heavy Taliban influence came to visit one of the schools. These rough-looking men played for an hour on the playground equipment. Before they left they asked for a school to be built in their area that would include playground equipment and educate their girls. The program Pennies for Peace involves children, their parents and schools in raising money to support the building of schools by the Central Asia Institute. In our area 42 schools in 17 communities participate in Pennies for Peace. In Viroqua both Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School and the Viroqua Public Schools join in these efforts. Our area plans to raise enough money to build one school--$25,000-$40,000. |
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