Helping Kids for Peace (02/11/09)

Washington Post
Helping Kids for Peace
Kindness Saved Greg Mortenson's Life. Now He's Passing It On.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
by Valerie Strauss

Imagine that you are climbing down the world's second-largest mountain, and suddenly you realize you are lost and alone. You have no water and only one protein bar. And you haven't taken a shower for three months!

That's what happened to Greg Mortenson.

At that moment, he began an adventure that changed his life -- and the lives of countless people in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

click here for complete article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/10/AR2009021003591_pf.html

NY Times Best Seller List 02/15/2009

All three "Three Cups of Tea" books are on NY Times Bestseller List. Thank you for your support, please keep spreading the word of peace.

At Mills Lawn School, a penny saved is a penny learned (01/29/09)

Yellow Springs News (OH)
January 29, 2009
At Mills Lawn School, a penny saved is a penny learned
By Susan Gartner

www.ysnews.com/stories/2009/01/012909_pennies.html

The ad hoc public relations team hurried down the hall, snaking their way past the lobby where colorful flags from 20 different countries hung from the ceiling. The group quickly grew in number as they stopped to collect more members en route to the 10:45 a.m. press conference. Sometimes a quick hug with a new arrival would take place before continuing on. The group, representing varying levels of fundraising experience, squeezed around a small, round conference table to discuss the project, how it got started, and what they had learned so far.
McKenna Banaszak-Moore began the meeting by stating that the money being raised will be used to assist people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, “to help build schools and let girls have an education.”
...

click here for complete article: www.ysnews.com/stories/2009/01/012909_pennies.html

Contact: sgartner@ysnews.com

Three Cups of Tea for children (01/27/09)

Tampa Examiner

January 27, 2009

by Karen Deerwester,

Parenting Examiner

Three Cups of Tea for children: Greg Mortenson writes new books for kids by Karen Deerwester

Greg Mortenson's new books for young readers debuted last week. Listen to the Wind is written for the 5 to 8 year olds and Three Cups of Tea, the Young Reader's Edition is for 8 years and up. When I recommended these last week, one reader asked for more information on the books and their amazing author, Greg Mortenson. The original Three Cups of Tea has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 102 weeks and counting. These new books for children are sure to follow. Both books introduce children to a larger world - to other cultures, to compassion and appreciation of other people, and to the dynamic power of education and peace. Mortenson's first book told us of his journey that begun as a young mountain climber and ended as a humanitarian building schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson tells a hero's story - one of truth and honor. He taught me that "peace education" is the daily practice of seeing other people's points of view, respecting differences, generously extending the benefit of the doubt to sometimes hurtful situations, and searching for peaceful solutions instead of impulsive defensiveness. Mortenson teaches all of us how to effect positive change through relationship-building - taking the time to share "three cups of tea". Young children will enjoy hearing the story of Listen to the Wind, as told by the children of Korphe. They will recognize the lives they share and imagine living with yaks and goats. American children will be intrigued when they read:
With our small fingers we wedged tiny slivers of stones into the cement to make our walls stronger. Our school grew each day, up from the high, flat ground where we used to write with our sticks. Mortenson's books give parents and teachers a wealth of ideas and activities to construct lifelong meaning from the words and images on these pages: children can reenact the building process from carrying supplies across treacherous landscape to erecting walls; they can compare how people in far away places dress, what they eat or recreate the style of home; children can take up the cause of helping Dr. Greg by getting involved with Pennies for Peace. The Young Reader's Edition retells Dr. Greg's original story with breathtaking clarity for his new audience. The foreward by Jane Goodall connects Dr. Greg's work to another extraordinary role model for young children. The lessons of this book are personal and inspiring. Children, like Dr. Greg's many adult readers, will be forever changed by meeting a real-life, get-dirty, break-few-rules adventurer like Dr. Greg. And meeting the children whose lives he touches. These are must-have books for your at-home or school library.

Click here for complete article

http://www.examiner.com/x-494-Parenting-Examiner~y2009m1d27-Three-Cups-of-Tea-for-children-Greg-Mortenson-writes-new-books-for-kids

Reaching young minds (01/21/09)

BOZEMAN CHRONICLE
Reaching young minds
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
By GAIL SCHONTZLER

Greg Mortenson has spoken to thousands of U.S. university and high school students about his bestselling “Three Cups of Tea,” the inspirational story of his work building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to “promote peace, one school at a time.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEIRDRE EITEL

Greg Mortenson, with his son Khyber and daughter Amira, visit with students at the Gultari war refugee girls school built in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan in 2007. But when Mortenson visited a fourth-grade class in Houston, he realized the kids were struggling with the adult-level book. That prompted his wife, Tara Bishop, to suggest once again that he write a version for children.“Kids are so excited,” Bishop said, especially about Mortenson’s Pennies for Peace program, which allows children here to raise pennies that will buy pencils and school supplies for students in Pakistan. “It would feel empowering if kids could read it themselves.”Two years later, her idea is being realized.Two children’s books based on Mortenson’s story are being released today. One is a half-length version for young readers, entitled “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World One Child at a Time.” It has a forward by famed primatologist Jane Goodall, plus photos, maps, a timeline, glossary and list of who’s who, as well as information about how kids can get involved and help Pennies for Peace.
Advertisement The second is a picture book illustrated by artist Susan Roth called “Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea.”Mortenson and his 12-year-old daughter, Amira, are set to appear this morning on NBC’s “Today” show to talk about the books. It’s the first stop in a national tour that will include the United Nations Children’s Forum and a book expo in Los Angeles.Amira, who has traveled to Pakistan with her family three times, discusses what life is like for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan from a kid’s point of view in a 30-page question-and-answer interview in the young-readers book.“I think it’s important for kids to know, no matter how small you are, you can make a difference in the world,” Amira said.Chatting with the seventh-grader Tuesday, as she sat next to her dad in the family’s Bozeman home, it quickly became clear that she has a confidence and self-possession far beyond her years. When they speak to groups, it’s her dad who is more introverted and Amira - a taekwando champ and Equinox Theatre alum - who is naturally outgoing.Still, she admitted the “Today” show, though “a huge adrenalin rush,” was making her nervous.Mortenson’s mission began in 1993, when he was saved by Pakistani villagers after his failed attempt to climb K-2. Seeing village kids learning by sitting on the ground and scratching in the dirt with sticks, he made a rash promise to build a school.Back home, he struggled to raise a few thousand dollars to keep his promise. One big break came when children in his mother’s Wisconsin school raised $623 in pennies. Mortenson built the first school, and that snowballed into working with other villages to build more schools, aimed especially at educating girls, in remote areas where the Taliban has attacked hundreds of government schools.“I think their greatest fear is not the bullet but the pen,” Mortenson said. “The real enemy is ignorance n ignorance that causes hatred. To overcome it we need compassion and education.”So far, he said, his nonprofit Central Asia Institute has built 78 schools, and runs another four dozen, educating 28,000 children.Thanks largely to word of mouth and book groups, his book, co-authored with David Relin, has sold more than 2 million copies in paperback and been on the New York Times bestseller list 102 weeks. It has become required reading from Montana universities to the high school population of New Hampshire. He has gotten e-mail from such notable readers as Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.Pennies for Peace, meanwhile, has mushroomed among students, growing from 270 schools last year to 3,200 today.One stop on the Mortensons’ tour will be the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., which President Obama’s daughters now attend. Mortenson said his mother-in-law, Lila Bishop, taught there for 20 years. He and Amira have a chance to share their story with Sidwell students, and possibly First Lady Michelle Obama, he said.Mortenson said he is “very excited” about the new president, but concerned about Obama’s “brazen statements” about hunting down Osama bin Laden and plans to beef up the U.S. military in Afghanistan. He’d rather see something like the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II.“They’re all thinking firepower, and what we really need is brain power,” he said. “It’s education that will determine if the next generation (in Pakistan and Afghanistan) is educated, or illiterate fighters. The stakes could not be higher.”

Gail Schontzler is at gails@dailychronicle.com.

www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/01/22/news/000cups.txt

'Three Cups of Tea' author finds new mountains to climb (01/02/09)

USA TODAY

By Laura Bly, Travel Editor

Friday, January 2, 2009

'Three Cups of Tea' author finds new mountains to climb

WASHINGTON — Globe-trotting humanitarian Greg Mortenson, co-author of the best-selling memoir Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time, keeps a reminder pasted to his bathroom mirror back home in Bozeman, Mont.: "When your heart speaks, take good notes."

Mortenson's own heart started hollering 15 years ago, when the exhausted mountaineer lost his way in northeastern Pakistan's untrammeled Karakoram Range. After stumbling nearly 60 miles down a glacier to the Muslim hamlet of Korphe — where he was welcomed as the first foreigner the 400 villagers had encountered — he watched local children substitute mud-coated sticks for pencils in an apricot orchard that served as their only classroom.

Inspired by his parents' work to start a hospital and school on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and by fellow climber Edmund Hillary's charitable work in the Nepalese Himalayas, Mortenson promised he would return to Korphe to build a school.

But unlike most well-meaning tourists touched by encounters with Third World poverty, Mortenson delivered on his pledge.

To read more please follow this link: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2009-01-01-three-cups-of-tea_N.htm

Wall Street Journal (12/26/08)

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Friday, December 26th, 2008
By Yochi J. Dreazen

Greg Mortenson, a humanitarian and co-author of the best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea," has a surprising new job: advising the U.S. military on how to fight extremism . . . In recent months, Mr. Mortenson has begun a second career as a guru of sorts for the military. In November, he was invited to the Pentagon for a private meeting with Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In December, he flew to Florida to talk to senior officers from the secretive Special Operations Command . . .

read more
link to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123024938351734255.html

OUTSIDE MAGAZINE (December, 2008)

OUTSIDE MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2008
No Bachcheh (child) Left Behind
By KEVIN FEDARKO

Greg Mortenson’s school-building program in Central Asia dates back to 1993, when the banged-up K2 survivor made a pledge to the mountain villagers who took him in. Fifteen years and Three Cups of Tea later, it’s both a powerful example of a great idea...KEVIN FEDARKO hits the rough road with Mortenson in Afghanistan, where they roll with warlords and deliver teacher pay the old-fashioned way

Feature article in print in OUTSIDE Dec. 2008 issue.

Posted online in January 2009.

Forbes.com Adventurer Series (09/23/08)

Forbes.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Forbes.com Adventurer Series host Jim Clash interviews Greg Mortenson on building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and recent K2 fatalities.

Watch Video:

www.forbes.com/video/?video=fvn/adventurer/jc_adv092308

"Night Talk" with Mike Schneider (09/17/08)

Bloomberg TV
"Night Talk" with Mike Schneider
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008
www.bloomberg.com/tvradio/tv

Click below for Greg Mortenson interview by Mike Schneider; part two of three part interview www.clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/697103/night_talk_an_interview_with_greg_mortenson_part_2

NPR National Radio (08/23/08)

NPR National Radio

All Things Considered with Jackie Lyden
August 23, 2008

Events this week in Afghanistan and Pakistan have created a new sense of urgency among international policymakers. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday. That same day in Afghanistan, a pair of insurgent attacks rocked NATO forces — one a coordinated assault on a U.S. military base and the other an ambush that killed 10 French soldiers.

Greg Mortenson, director of Central Asia Institute, recently met with Musharraf over tea ..... more on podcast www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93902559

Mortenson builds hope for Pakistan (08/20/08)

Billings Gazette Editorial Opinion (Montana)
Mortenson builds hope for Pakistan
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

Pakistan may be the most dangerous country in the world. Grinding poverty, chronic political instability, government corruption, civil unrest, terrorists operating within its borders and the nation's possession of nuclear weapons - all these factors contribute to that unfortunate designation.

In that perilous place, one Montanan continues to carry a torch for hope and enlightenment... read more

www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/08/20/opinion/gazette/50-gazetteopinion.txt

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

It Takes a School, Not Missiles (07/12/08)

New York Times - Op-Ed Column
Sunday, Jul 12, 2008
It Takes a School, Not Missiles
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Since 9/11, Westerners have tried two approaches to fight terrorism in Pakistan, President Bush’s and Greg Mortenson’s...... Military force is essential in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban. But over time, in Pakistan and Afghanistan alike, the best tonic against militant fundamentalism will be education and economic opportunity. ....

Complete article can be viewed at: www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/opinion/13kristof.html?ref=opinion

The Economist print edition (05/01/08)

Worldwide circulation 1,306,939 (UK 182,000)
True stories: Hope and inspiration fuel the most popular biographies and autobiographies
May 1st, 2008

WHEN Greg Mortenson, a six-foot-four night-nurse and mountaineer from Montana, first visited Pakistan in 1993 to climb K2, the world's second-highest peak, he failed in his mountain quest but ended up doing more to win hearts and minds in the region than any amount of official American propaganda.

For complete article, please click here.

2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammed Yunnus ('Banker for the Poor'), and Greg Mortenson at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Forum (03/08/08)

Photo courtesy of Gary Smaby/2008

Minnesota Public Radio (NPR)
Friday, March 7, 2008
Mid-Morning with Kerri Miller: Man on a mission for education
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/midmorning/?date=03-07-2008

Greg Mortenson MPR interview at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.

Mortenson was the plenary speaker with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate keynote Muhammed Yunus and economist Jeffrey Sachs.

2008 Nobel Peace Prize Forum weblink:
www.cord.edu/Academics/Events/Peaceprizeforum

American mountaineer fights Taliban with books, not bombs - CNN.com (03/03/08)

Follwowing is an excerpt from CNN.com coverage about Greg Mortenson:

CNN.com
March 3rd, 2008
American mountaineer fights Taliban with books, not bombs
John Blake


Greg Mortenson brushed his tears away. His body sagged when he saw it happen. The prize he had sought for 78 agonizing days was slipping from his view.

He was clinging to an icy patch of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. He had vowed to place an amber necklace on the top of the Pakistani mountain for his sister Christa. But clouds moved in when he was 600 meters from the top, blocking his path to the summit.

For complete article <Click Here>

Pakistan Free to Learn - Daily Telegraph UK (02/16/08)

The following excerpt has been taken from Daily Telegraph UK:

Daily Telegraph UK
February 16th, 2008
Pakistan Free to Learn
Jonathan Foreman

After a disastrous attempt to climb K2, former US Army medic Greg Mortenson had to be nursed back to health by the inhabitants of a remote and impoverished Pakistani village. He vowed to repay them by building a local school, and has now built more than 60 in similar areas across south Asia. Jonathan Foreman meets him.

Shi'ite Muslim girls play in the grounds of Jafarabad Community Girls School. Behind are the high peaks surrounding the Shigar Valley

click here for the complete article

BBC 5 Live Radio International with Simon Mayo (01/21/08)

During his visit to UK, Greg Mortenson was on the Simon Mayo program earlier today talking about his work and his book.

To listen to the interview, please click the link below:
Listen to Greg Mortenson talking about Three Cups Of Tea on BBC Radio 5 live

Click here for Greg's picture during the interview.

1,000 cue at library for Three Cups of Tea tickets in Lake Oswego, OR (01/17/08)

Lake Oswego Review

January 17, 2008

Tickets for ‘Three Cups’ go quickly

They were the hottest ticket in town, pun intended

More than 1,000 people filled the Lake Oswego Public Library on Saturday to stand in line for a pair of free tickets to hear “Three Cups of Tea” authors Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin speak Feb. 6 as a part of this year’s Lake Oswego Reads program.

When the library opened at 10 a.m., there were already people waiting for the 2:30 p.m. distribution of 1,000 tickets.

“Three Cups of Tea” supporters followed the taped line on the floor that wrapped around the book stacks on the main floor of the library.

People sat on the floor, read books, discussed “Three Cups of Tea,” knitted, drank tea and had fun. By 1 p.m., organizers estimated that the line had more than 250 people. By 2 p.m., there were more than 450 people waiting with the line leading to the second floor.

“It was so exciting. There was such a buzz throughout the library and you could feel the anticipation,” said Lake Oswego resident Gregory Breuner, one of the lucky library members to receive two free tickets. “The people waiting introduced themselves to each other and discussed the books in front of them. We left the library with tickets and new friends.”

At 2:30 p.m. tickets were distributed, two per person, and they were gone in 20 minutes, just as LO Reads organizer Cyndie Glazer predicted.

More than 500 people were turned away when the tickets ran out.

Lake Oswego Reads organizers were surprised and thrilled with the response to hearing Relin and Mortenson speak. Because of the high demand for tickets, Glazer said library officials plan to check Craigslist and eBay to see if people post them for sale – and if so, how much they sell for.

Although there is not a waiting list, people can show up on Feb. 6 at Lake Oswego High School and if there are seats available at 6:45 p.m., they will be seated in the cafeteria, where guests will be able to see and hear the authors talk on large screens.

The blue tickets are for the auditorium and the red tickets are for the cafeteria, officials said. The tickets note that there is no admission after 6:45 p.m. for the 7 p.m. presentation.

Mortenson will travel to Lake Oswego from his home in Bozeman , Mont. , while Relin lives in Portland . They will both talk at a student-only event at Lakeridge High School earlier in the day.

Library officials plan to solicit donations for Mortenson’s non-profit, the Central Asia Institute, during his evening appearance and through a elementary school program, “Pennies for Peace.”

This author event is made possible in part by a grant from the gOregon Council for the Humanities, a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OCH’s grant program. The Oregon Cultural Trust, which invests in Oregon arts, humanities and heritage, also helped fund OCH’s grant program.

This is the second annual Lake Oswego Reads and the goal of the program is to strengthen civic pride, foster discussion among residents and bring the community together through the common bond of reading. It gives a forum in which to talk about different themes, concepts and issues in the book and a means to access related experiences.

To find out about all the events planned around “Three Cups of Tea” during February, go to www.lakeoswegolibrary.org and click on the Lake Oswego Reads box.

http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com

© 2008 Lake Oswego Review. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission.

Making friends, not enemies (01/14/08)

The following excerpt has been taken from Colorado Springs Independent Newspaper.

JANUARY 10, 2008

Making friends, not enemies

In Pakistan and Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson's building schools — and goodwill

BY JOHN WEISS

Save the date: 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 15. A phenomenon is coming to town.
Everywhere Greg Mortenson travels, people flock to hear his story and his simple message about how to change the world. He has spoken to 1,400 in Cambridge, Mass., 2,000 in San Francisco and 2,500 on Bainbridge Island in Washington state.
People also are buying Mortenson's book, which has spent 47 weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list. And the readers aren't just peaceniks — the Army is requiring 5,000 officers attending the U.S. War College to read Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time..................

<click here> for complete article.

In remote Pakistan , Greg Mortenson is besting extremists by building schools (01/13/08)

The following is an excerpt from Philadelphia Inquirer syndicated columnist, Trudy Rubin, on her recent December 2007 visit with Greg Mortenson and Central Asia Institute in Pakistan.

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Worldview: The Lesson Jihadis Fear
In remote Pakistan , Greg Mortenson is besting extremists by building schools.
By Trudy Rubin

Pakistan has made news lately as the world's most dangerous country: a nuclear-armed state that has become a base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other fanatic Islamists.

But on my trip there last month, I saw an antidote to this nightmare, a route out of this trap - if Pakistan 's government and the West would only seize it. I traveled to mountain villages with Greg Mortenson, a former mountain climber who has built fifty five schools in Pakistan , and eight in Afghanistan .

Mortenson got lost 15 years ago descending from K2 , and promised to build a school for the villagers who rescued and nursed him. His formula for countering extremism is summed up in the title of his best-selling book: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time.

<click here> for complete article.

Reuters: National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy announced (01/07/08)

National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy announced Award Ceremony to be held February 12, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
Monday, January 7th, 2008
Reuters

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy has announced six recipients of the first-ever National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy.

The honorees will be recognized at an Awards Ceremony at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. on February 12, 2008.

The honorees are recognized for inspiring others through their exemplary work as citizen diplomats and for promoting cultural understanding around the world. It is not only the right, but the responsibility of every American to be a citizen diplomat, of the highest quality, for our communities and our country,' said Harriet Mayor Fulbright, board member for the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy and the President of the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center. We are particularly proud to recognize these six recipients of the first-ever National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy.

The honorees, through their various causes and programs, understand the need for citizen involvement in international relations. We established this award to shine a spotlight on citizen diplomats and to recognize their efforts and highlight their national and international contributions.

National Award Honorees

Greg Mortenson of Bozeman, Montana, is the co-founder of the Central Asia Institute and Pennies for Peace. Mortenson has raised funds to build 64 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and has helped over 25,000 children. He is co-author of The New York Times best seller, Three Cups of Tea.

More on: www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS165945+07-Jan-2008

3CT #3 on NY TIMES BESTSELLER (01-07-08)

Three Cups of Tea is # 3 this week on NY Times bestseller list (paperback nonfiction) for week # 48

PAPERBACK NONFICTION

Top 5 at a Glance
1. EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. THE INNOCENT MAN, by John Grisham
3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
4. INTO THE WILD, by Jon Krakauer
5. CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, by George Crile
Complete Paperback Nonfiction List »

USA TODAY (12-28-07)

Following is an excerpt from USA Today article on Greg Mortenson and "Three Cups of Tea". For detailed article please visit USA Today's weblink below:

USA TODAY

Mountaineer builds schools in 'Three Cups of Tea'

December 26, 2007

By Bob Minzesheimer

A surprise best seller this season is a non-fiction book, set in Pakistan and Afghanistan , that was published 21 months ago to limited notice.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin has climbed the lists, thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations and a tireless author with an inspiring story.

Tea describes how Mortenson, an American mountaineer, found a new cause: building schools, mostly elementary and especially for girls, in 1993 during a failed attempt to climb the K2 peak on Pakistan 's border.

www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-12-19-three-cups_N.htm

NBC Today Show (11-20-07)

Excerpt: ‘Three Cups of Tea’

Nov. 20: TODAY’s Ann Curry reports on Greg Mortenson, who has dedicated his life to giving girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan a better future by building them schools.

For the complete story please visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21883828

NewJersey Fundraiser a Huge Success (11-10-07)

11-10-2007, New Jersey, -A fundraiser for CAI and was tremendously successful as it raised $264,000 to benefit the charity. This event was sponsored and organized by the American-Pakistani community and spear-headed by a local couple, Sumeera and Zahid Baig. The Robbinsville High school entrance hall where students mill, socialize, exchange notes and notice each other fashion oddities during the day was transformed in a splendid banquet Hall at night. Mortenson first had a book signing from which it was hard to tear away the 470 guests that were able to get a one-on-one time with the legendary author/humanitarian whose book has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over 40 weeks.

"If you promote peace, that's based on hope," Mortenson said, "The real enemy is ignorance because it's based on hatred." The book's title, Three Cups of Tea, refers to the measured progression of becoming a trusted partner with people in developing areas. With the first cup of tea, you're a stranger. With the second, you're an honored guest. With the third, you're family." Mortenson then spoke of his journey from the peaks of K-2 to the pinnacle of humanitarianism in front of the hundreds of spectators where one could have heard a pin drop. In simple lyrical sentences punctuated by a slideshow of his voyages, the unassuming American hero who has been called a real Indiana Jones retold his story. Mortenson explained, "There are 145 million children without education because of slavery, gender discrimination, religious intolerance and corrupt governments. It only costs $1 per month, per child to change that, roughly $6 to $8 billion per year."

In a region marked by tribulation, Mortenson's schools and projects have been triumphant by extending self-empowerment to communities, which leads to enduring life development. Before a project starts, he explained, the community matches Central Asia Institute project funds with equal amounts of local resources and labor. Such ownership ensures the project's viability and long term success. As he said, "When the Taliban was in power, only 800,000 kids were in school. Today more than 5 million children go to school -- and 1.8 million are girls. That's where we should be putting our money."

As Mortenson finished speaking, the captivated audience gave him a standing ovation. A school building now costs $50,000 and as the fundraiser ensued the checks cascaded in and a ticker on the screen tallied $264,000: the amount raised. All the proceeds will benefit Mortenson's Central Asia Institute and help sustain schools and build new ones.

East Coast vs West Coast (11-03-07)

West Coast:

Three Cups of Tea supporters queue for hours in line for limited tickets for Cambridge Reads series on Nov 7 and 8th.November 8th talk at Sanders Auditorium, Harvard sold out in less than two hours (1,100 tickets) on Oct. 24th.This line, on Saturday, 11/3 at Cambridge library, is for the added 11/7 event at First Parish Church, Cambridge, and sold out also.

Photo: (c) 2007 Carole Feeney -Withrow, Cambridge Public Library

East Coast:

In response to sell out crowds in the West Coast, east coast 3CT and CAI supporters respond with equal enthusiasm Tickets (450) for New Jersey 11/10 fundraising dinner event sold out by 11/03.

Seattle Post Intelligencer interview with President Clinton (11-01-07)

Seattle Post Intelligencer interview with President Clinton

Thursday, November 1, 2007

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/337596_clinton01.html

Extracted from full interview on above website:

QUESTION (by Bob Marshall - P-I book editor):

(The book) "Giving" provides many examples of successful philanthropic efforts. Two from the Northwest merit special praise from you. ... I'm speaking of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute (that builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan). Talk about what you have learned from those two. What I admire about the Gates Foundation, is that they've not only put a massive amount of money into play, but they are directing almost all the money, virtually 100 percent of it, trying to remedy the world's inequalities at the moment, not only around the world, mostly in health care, and in America, mostly in education.... With Mortenson, I admire the fact that he had a big idea that he realized it was big because it could be replicated. He's the ultimate social entrepreneur ... a guy with a good idea, prepared to start small and stay with it as long as it takes to have a big impact and commit a lifetime to it. ... I admire he was able to encourage and tap people of exceedingly modest means to help him. ... I also admire he was working and was effective in an area where Americans are not popular, ... he was able to break through all that because he was able to relate to people as human beings ...

Please note: (c) 2007 Seattle P-I. All Rights Reserved

Three Cups of Tea selected for Rochester Reads (11-01-07)

Rochester Post-Bulletin (Rochester MN)
Three Cups of Tea selected for Rochester Reads
Thursday, November 1, 2007
By Christina Killion-Valdez

More than any other year of Rochester Reads, this has been the year that people want to know which book is in the lead.

Since the community began voting in June on which book Rochester will read, Katherine Stecher, chairwoman of Rochester Reads, has been careful not to give it away.

"People are coming up to me and asking who's winning?" she said.

Yet even before Mayor Ardell Brede announced the winner this morning in the city hall rotunda, one book had a clear lead, she said.

"Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations -- One School at a Time," a New York Times bestseller, has been a popular choice at the library all year. Book clubs have the book reserved through June, and the waiting list for single copies has been up to 30 people deep, Stecher said.

"I think people will be really pleased that this book won," Stecher said.

The book tells the harrowing journey of Greg Mortenson, a Montana resident, who helped build 58 schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The other books considered were: "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science" by Atul Gawande, "Sweet Land: New and Selected Stories" by Will Weaver and "Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague" by Geraldine Brooks.

The books were selected for a variety of reasons, including good writing, a good story and being ripe for discussion, she said.

"Three Cups of Tea" however got twice as many votes as the other books and has sparked discussions across the country, Stecher said.

The book "does not make people into terriorists," she said. "It's trying to explain their culture in a sensitive way."

Discussions based on the book and cultural programs will be a big part of Rochester Reads events in February. Mortenson will speak to classes and at a public forum Feb. 11.

The book selected for junior readers looks at the same region of the world. "The Breadwinner" is about a girl living in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban. Author Deborah Ellis is expected to visit Rochester as part of Rochester Reads.

(c) 2007 Rochester Post-Bulletin. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission.

The Daily Aztec (10-31-07)

Daily Aztec
San Diego State University, CA
Pennies add up
By Shanee Warden - Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

In 1833, a penny could buy a newspaper. In 1950, a penny could buy a piece of candy. In 2007, a penny can help build a new school.

San Diego State 's Mortar Board raised $6,000 - the equivalent of 600,000 pennies - to help pay for half the cost of a school in either Pakistan or Afghanistan .

Mortar Board's Pennies for Peace project made its goal in June of this year. The campaign collected about 300,000 pennies and other forms of cash. Jane Smith, assistant vice president of academic services, said many people donated dollar bills, dimes and nickels.

With so many coins and dollar bills, sorting the donations was a hefty task, but the SDSU Bookstore and Aztec Shops helped out.

"We had to put all the pennies on a dolly to take them from my office," Smith said.

Smith said they received a letter saying that donations would help to build a school in either Pakistan or Afghanistan - which country it will be is currently unknown.

"One penny can buy a pencil in Pakistan or Afghanistan ," Smith said. "Every penny makes a difference."

Samantha Spilka, former president of Mortar Board, made the Pennies for Peace project a reality at SDSU in February. Penny collecting containers were set up in a variety of places, including fraternity houses, student service offices and the library.

Spilka, who graduated from SDSU and is attending Columbia University , got the idea of the penny project from the book "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson.

The program is a part of the Central Asia Institute, an organization founded by Mortenson, which encourages education in Pakistan and Afghanistan .

Henry Janssen, professor emeritus and the adviser to honors council, said SDSU chose "Three Cups of Tea" as its book for next year. Mortenson will be on campus to talk about the book.

Janssen said the next pennies project will be with the San Diego Public Library and hopefully include San Diego city schools.

"The San Diego schools could raise $12,000 to fund one whole school," Janssen said.

The project is supposed to start collecting pennies in January 2008.

http://media.www.thedailyaztec.com/media/storage/paper741/news/2007/10/31/City/Pennies.Add.Up-3067922.shtml

(c) 2007 Daily Aztec. All Rights Reserved.

Contra Costa Times (10-28-07)

Contra Costa Times
Students at Livermore school save their pennies to build a school in Pakistan
By Mark Tarte
Sunday, October 28, 2007

CHILDREN LEARN IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. A fifth-grade class at Emma C. Smith School is learning about the world around them in a positive way and helping other children in Pakistan at the same time.

It started when a student's mother brought a book to her child's principal, Denise Nathanson, called "Three Cups of Tea." It is about a young man's near-fatal climbing accident on the mountain known as K2 and his subsequent recovery at the hands of poor Pakistani villagers.

Out of this near tragedy and recovery for the climber, Greg Mortenson, grew the program Pennies for Peace. A Berkeley nurse, Mortenson made a vow to the villagers who saved his life that he would come back and build a school for them.

The village was so poor that it couldn't even afford the dollar a day it takes to hire a teacher. The children would climb to the next village at times to go to school and still study together even if the teacher didn't arrive. Their writing was done with sticks in the dirt since they were so poor they couldn't afford pencils and paper in a country where a penny buys a pencil.

Mortenson did scrape together the money to build a school and fulfilled his promise. He then wrote "Three Cups of Tea" with David Oliver Relin about his experience. To date, he has helped to build 59 schools in Pakistan and is now expanding into Afghanistan .

His work is especially important for girls in a culture where they were not normally allowed to receive an education and the schools are slowly countering the Taliban-supported schools where children were taught only to hate.
The story has enthralled those who read it, and Nathanson asked if anyone at the Smith school wanted to get involved. Two teachers who job-share took it on enthusiastically. Erin Summers' and Megan Fletcher's fifth-grade class have jumped in with both feet and are trying to raise the $12,000 it takes to build a school in Pakistan .

The class has raised almost $2,200 in the past month or so toward their eventual goal, and they are working hard to raise the rest. This is a daunting task for any fundraiser, let alone a group of young students.

Each week these fifth- graders go into the other classrooms, update the younger students about the project and leave behind containers to collect pennies. At the end of the week, those cans are collected and added to the slowly growing total.

The students have also written letters to many politicians about what they are doing and will be making a presentation to the Livermore school board Nov. 7.

I learned about this wonderful project through Charlotte Grabill, the volunteer publicity chairwoman at the school. The more I looked into what Charlotte told me, the more I was pleasantly surprised by the dedication and drive these youngsters demonstrate. Everyone should be as passionate about something as these students are.

You can help if you'd like. Donations are being accepted through the school; you just need to earmark a check with "Pennies for Peace" when you send it.

You can mail a donation to the Emma C. Smith School , 391 Ontario Drive , Livermore , CA 94550 .

To find out more about the international project or the book itself, go to http://www.penniesforpeace.org. There, you will find different links to this project and other projects supported by this group throughout central Asia . My check is on its way ... how about yours?

Until next week, be alert, be safe and God bless America .

Reach Mark Tarte c/o the Times, P.O. Box 607 , Pleasanton , CA 94566 or by e-mail: Aroundliv@comcast.net

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7305968?source=most_emailed
(c) 2007 Contra Costa Times