Building peace with pennies

Cents from U.S. erect schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Betty Abah, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 26, 2006 at midnight

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As he ate a late lunch in the dining room of the Brown Palace Hotel, Greg Mortenson radiated all the qualities newspaper articles have attributed to him: unassuming, gentle, spiritual.

One would never guess Mortenson is an anti-terrorism warrior in the Islamic strongholds of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and that his main weapon is schools.

"Americans are now learning that we can't fight the war on terrorism with bombs, but with books," said Mortenson, 48, founder of a movement that has built 55 schools in those two countries in the past 13 years.

"The Mullah (Islamic extremist movement) is not afraid of the bullet, but (it is afraid of) the pen and its power."

One evening this month, an audience of more than 200 turned out at the REI flagship store on Platte Street in Denver, where Mortenson gave a slide show and signed copies of his new book, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations, co-written by David Oliver Relin.

He spoke about the events that transformed him from a mountaineer into a humanitarian.

In September 1993, the 6-foot-4 nurse and military veteran from Montana attempted to summit Pakistan's K-2, the world's second- highest mountain. His goal was to leave an amber necklace that had belonged to his late sister as a tribute.

But after 78 days and only 600 meters short of his goal, an illness forced the climbing party to turn back. Of the 12 climbers, five eventually died.

On the way down, he lost his way in the treacherous Baltoro glaciers, and, sick and emaciated, he stumbled into Korpe, a remote village in northern Pakistan. While being nurtured back to health, he learned the village had no school.

He recalled the sight of 79 boys and five girls doing their best to simulate a classroom, using twigs to scratch in the sand by the mountainsides.

The lone teacher was mostly absent because he had to split his time between two villages; Korpe residents could not afford to pay his salary, the equivalent of $1 a day.

"Now I know why I came here," the then-35-year-old American told himself, "not to climb the mountain, but to help the children in their education."

After he recovered, Mortenson left the village with a promise to return and build schools.

It was hard going at first. He sold everything he had and tried to raise funds, but after three years, he had only $2,000, including $623 in pennies, donated by elementary students in his mother's school in Wisconsin, and a $100 check from NBC's Tom Brokaw. (Of 580 celebrities and wealthy people he appealed to, Brokaw was the only one to respond).

His big break came when a Swiss-American scientist, Jean Hoerni, left him $1 million in his will in 1997. He got another boost when he appeared on the cover of Parade Magazine.

In the past decade, 24,000 children have enrolled in 55 schools because of Mortenson's efforts.

But he's had to contend with two fatwahs issued against him, and once in Pakistan he was kidnapped for eight days. Hate mail from fellow Americans questioned his motive for educating the children of U.S. "enemies." But he is undaunted.

Mortenson, founder of the nonprofit Central Asian Institute and Evergreen-based Pennies for Peace, is particularly interested in raising girls' literacy rates. Studies show that educating girls reduces infant mortality and improves health and quality of life.

"If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate a community," said the ex-climber, echoing an African proverb. Mortenson spent most of his teenage years in Tanzania, where his parents were Lutheran missionaries and teachers.

Today, Mortenson enjoys great support from the Central Asian countries where he spends four months each year, away from his wife and two daughters, ages 9 and 5, in Montana.

He illustrates this affinity with a comment by Hajj Ali, the Korpe village head who helped nourish his dream several years ago: "The first time you share a tea with a Balti, you are a stranger; the second time you take the tea, you are an honored guest; the third time, you become part of the family, and we protect you with our last blood."

In Colorado, one of Mortenson's biggest fans is Christiane Leitinger, who runs Pennies for Peace in Evergreen.

Pennies for Peace raises money from U.S. schoolchildren to help Mortenson build his schools.

"When they do the penny drive, they learn about their abilities as philanthropists," said Leitinger.

Her organization tours Colorado and schools in other parts of the country, raising funds and teaching students about life in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson, in the meantime, is enjoying rave book reviews.

Wrote Brokaw: "Mortenson's dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it's proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world."

To help

• Information: Go to penniesforpeace.org orwww.threecupsoftea.com

•In the past decade, 24,000 children have enrolled in 55 schools because of Greg Mortenson's efforts.

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