Greg Mortenson talked with area elementary and middle school students before the students presented him with their Pennies for Peace.

DURANGO - Greg Mortenson, co-author of the bestseller Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time, spent the day as the special guest of Fort Lewis College and the League of Women Voters of La Plata County. Three Cups of Tea was chosen as the College’s Common Reading Experience selection for this year.

Mortenson was here to speak to students and community members to raise awareness and funds for his Central Asia Institute. The Institute was co-founded by Mortenson in 1996 to help build schools and support other projects in the countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan, among others.

As of 2008, the Institute has helped build more than 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. During his one-day visit to Durango, Mortenson was able to raise more than $55,000 from the generosity of the town. That total included a Pennies for Peace drive initiated by area elementary and middle schools that brought in more than $5,700.

Mortenson spent the day speaking with FLC students, administrators and community members before addressing a capacity crowd in the College’s Whalen Gym.

This quest to bring education to those in need began for Mortenson when he tried, and failed, to climb K2, the world’s second highest peak. Crestfallen and weak, he stumbled into a northern Pakistan village and was cared for by the villagers. He noticed the village’s school was little more than the children sitting on the ground writing with sticks in the dirt. Mortenson promised the villagers that he would return and help them build a proper school.

Greg Mortenson speaks to FLC students in Hesperus Peace Park during his visit on Thursday.

After returning to the United States, Mortenson set about raising money to return to Pakistan and build their school. He struggled for years, selling almost all he had, before finally finding the funding to fulfill his promise.

Today, Mortenson, the Central Asia Institute, and the fundraising effort called Pennies for Peace, still strive to bring education to Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially education for girls. It was rare for girls to have the chance to receive an education in this region due to the strict rule of the Taliban. In fact, many girls’ schools were destroyed over the past years.

Today, more than 6 million children are receiving an education in Pakistan and Afghanistan, approximately 2 million of those being girls. That is an astronomical rise from the only 800,000 children receiving an education just a few years ago.

Mortenson presses on because he believes that it is through education that we can combat poverty and terrorism. He points out the tremendous impact that educated mothers can have on preventing their sons from getting involved in the violent extremes of Islam, not to mention other vital areas such as infant mortality and the overall health of the community.

If you’d like to know more about Greg Mortenson, the Central Asia Institute, or Three Cups of Tea, visit https://www.ikat.org/.

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