Letter to Greg Mortenson

Date: 2017

Sub: Letter to Greg Mortenson.

Dear Greg,

I read about you and your work on “Three Cups of Tea” just recently. And ever since I finished reading the book I wanted to write to you. But I am sorry I could not write to you earlier as I got tangled up in my work. However, today I am writing you this letter to thank you. Thank you for changing my perception and giving answers to many questions through your work. Thank you for giving us hopes and spreading goodness. Your contribution towards peace, love and youth empowerment is immeasurable. Greg, I am sure there are lots of people like me who have not heard about you and your work. But I am sure that they will come to know about you someday and appreciate your work because your work deserves respect and admiration. I hope that your work reaches every nooks and corners, and that people (all around) are motivated to pursue the non-violent way to deal with current humanity crisis.

Greg, you are an inspiration. Your story of courage, tolerance, persistent efforts and struggle for peace has inspired me to the core of my heart. You are a hero Greg, a true hero who realized the exact and proper way to root out barbarity in this hour of desperation. You discovered the right way and you are adamant to lead people towards that direction. Your passion to make a favorable environment for kids to learn, and eventually to empower them to make them capable of handling their problems themselves has motivated me a lot. Whenever you advocated the importance of girl education in your speeches and helped girls like Jahan to dream and to succeed, little sparks of fireworks lit my heart and lift up my aspiration. You know Greg, I felt that Jahan represented little Nepalese girls too. 
I still remember vividly about my last visit to one of the public schools of my hometown where I got a chance to interact with the children, esp. girls. I listened carefully to them as they shared to me about their dreams. Greg, those kids had great dreams, BIG dreams. Although being born and raised in a patriarchal society, those girls were full of ambition to empower themselves through education. They want to take charge of their society, they want to become a part of decision making process, and they dream of becoming respected and responsible citizens. At that point of time I could only imagine all the hardships that these little girls had to endure to literate themselves. 
Life is not easy for kids around different parts of the world. But I am hopeful that one day the world joins your sentiment towards educating kids. I hope that they rationalize your way of investing in education and not on guns and bombs to make this world a better place to live in.

Greg, I like to mention that you are a brave man. I could talk and write about the tales of your bravery the whole day, but that would still not be enough to address the way you convinced the stubborn ones to accept education at their disposition. The other day I had watched a documentary based on the rise of extremism through “madrassa”. It broke my heart to see such a scenario. Instead of teaching little kids the alphabets, they taught them to pull the trigger; instead of learning rhymes kids learnt about killings, beheadings and bombings; instead of school bags those little shoulders carried guns. It bothered me whether the world even cares to draw its attention towards these realities? I am afraid not. In fact, the world leaders seem to turn blind and deaf towards the root cause. Only you seemed to face the truth and put effort to change it, Greg. You were far ahead than the humanitarian organizations in reaching out to the people and actually trying to solve the issue. You connected to those people, empathized to their stories, and became a part of them. You understood the consequences of war and made others realize that proper education to kids is a better solution to fight the terror rather than guns, bombs or others.

“Three Cups of Tea” flows like a beautiful song that is composed to introduce the readers to the fact. The way your story portrayed the innocence of the people in those regions (Pakistan and Afghanistan), their openness to change, reluctance for war and violence, respect for humanity, practice of love and care, their loyalty and friendship for a foreigner, and warmth of brotherhood; these have cleared the cloud of skepticism of an outsider. It was not until I read your book that I came to know about people like Ghulam Parvi, Abdul, Faisal Baig, Mullah Mohammed and many others from those regions who put tireless efforts to promote peace and to guarantee restoration of humanity. The enthusiasm those people shared and maybe still share for a better future was commendable. I guess you remember that you have mentioned somewhere in the book that although their home was turning into a war zone, they still had an unwavering patience and hope.  Greg, your book made me realize that these are the most misrepresented groups of people. I believe Mr. Relin wanted to prove the same fact when he mentioned that Pakistan was the most hospitable country on earth. We are always fed the news that people from these regions waged a war against the rest of the world, but little do we know that such news are the distorted versions of what exactly the general people of those regions want. Likewise, your story showed that a war does not attack a race or religion but it attacks humanity. I wonder when will humans stop obsessing about national borders and religion and give up this savagery.

Greg, I also want to remember Haji Ali through this letter. The bond you shared with Haji Ali was special to me and his wisdom a light for me too. His sacrifice, patience, struggle, hope, vision, conviction and compassion were lessons in themselves.

Whenever you mentioned about the schools you constructed in the remote areas of the Himalayan region, I used to form images of those beautiful buildings with slick roofs, perfectly painted walls, symmetrically placed desks and benches, clean and wonderful smell from around the corners, well-functioning windows and doors and a very peaceful environment to learn. I don’t know about the other things, but I guess the kids were not fortunate enough to afford peace and I can imagine how that might have disturbed you. And I am sure the scenario is still the same even after 11 years. This is a long fight Greg, and I am sure that one day we will be able to gift kids that luxury too. If only everyone understood about the passion kids have for education, just like you did, I guess the world would be a different place, in a pleasant way. Greg, the pain and hardships you, the kids, the women and the elder ones endured in those remote villages, encourage me to take the extra mile that I would not otherwise take. Having the opportunity to afford quality education my entire life, I guess I had taken those chances for granted until I came across “Three Cups of Tea”. It has changed my perception towards the importance of education. I realize it now that education has given me the opportunity to learn, inculcate and speak up for the values I believe in, and be thankful to the multiple number of doors that it has created in front of me to unlock, go through and become whatever I wish to and however I want to contribute even as a girl.

I hope someday, just as you dreamt, every kid has access to quality education, and learns empathy and practices peace. I want to express my gratitude towards Jean Hoerni and all the contributors at CAI for their noble contribution. I pray to the God for wellness of you, your family and your work.

Best Regards,

Ayusha Dahal

Nepal.

“Three Cups of Tea” is one of the best books I have ever read. It’s a story about Greg Mortenson who took on the responsibility to build schools for kids of remote Himalayan regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book incorporates the story after Greg’s failed attempt to climb Mt. K2 and his difficult but successful pursuits to contribute the greatest gift of education to the ever hopeful people of Pakistan. The story of the first school Greg built in Korphe and several after that with the help of some noble men in America and Pakistan is beautiful and motivating. As a foreigner, Greg chose to work tirelessly for the people in those regions even in a war-ridden era, and that too with full support and love of people. This mutual act of benevolence, acceptance, tolerance, and sympathy deserves sheer admiration and respect. His story of struggle, sacrifice, empathy and fight for peace is an inspiration in itself. I recommend you to read the book.

The book was written in 2006. Eleven years passed since then but the war is getting worse and is spreading exponentially. Greg is no more a part of CAI today. But I hope his generosity is still intact and that CAI will continue to give more in the days to come. And I pray that all of us will come together to create a peaceful environment for kids to learn and to grow into good human beings.