As Robert Frost reflects in his poem "The Road Not Taken," a course, once chosen, sets in motion events not easily reversed. For Greg Mortenson, co-author of Three Cups of Tea, “the road less traveled” included an unsuccessful bid to reach the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain, but resulted in a humanitarian effort that has made “all the difference” in the lives of thousands of Pakistani and Afghan children.
The son of U.S. missionaries to Tanzania, Mortenson returned to the United States at age 14 to attend high school in Minnesota. After serving as a medic in the U.S. Army—he was stationed in Germany—he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an Associate Degree in Nursing at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. From there, it was further west to the Rapid City, South Dakota, area, where he worked as a nursing supervisor and ER nurse. Then, he moved to California, where he worked as a trauma nurse in San Francisco and Oakland to support his real passion—mountain climbing.
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| Greg Mortenson |
Eventually, in 1993, his passion for climbing took him to within 600 meters of the top of K2, the killer peak in the Himalayas of Pakistan that most climbers regard as the ultimate test of mountaineering skills. It was his participation in the rescue of a fellow climber—not lack of climbing prowess—that prevented Mortenson from reaching the summit of “The Savage Peak.” By depleting his strength and making it impossible to reach the summit, the rescue, which was successful, robbed Mortenson of the opportunity to deposit on top of the mountain an amber-beaded necklace he had planned to leave as a memorial tribute to his youngest sister, Christa, who had died less than a year before.
In search of a fitting tribute
Christa had contracted meningitis at age 3 and had never fully recovered. Over the years, she had endured severe epileptic seizures and, on her 23rd birthday, a massive seizure had robbed her of life itself. Mortenson, who had sought to protect Christa and empower her to successfully cope with life’s difficulties, was devastated. He thought that leaving her necklace in the Himalayas at 28,267 feet was the most meaningful tribute he could make to the sister he loved. But, he had failed to reach K2’s summit, and both he and Christa’s necklace had returned to lower altitudes.
In making his descent, Mortenson took a wrong turn and became separated from Scott Darsney, his climbing partner, and Mouzafer Ali, the sturdy porter they had hired to haul equipment. Weak, lost and alone on the trackless Baltoro Glacier, Mortenson came close to perishing in the unforgiving environment before he and the porter found each other. Mouzafer helped replenish Mortenson’s depleted strength by fixing paiyu cha—green tea mixed with salt, baking soda, goat’s milk and rancid yak butter—and, for the next three days, never let Mortenson out of his sight. Finally, they reached the end of the glacier, and Mouzafer, now confident his charge could find his way, each day hiked ahead of Mortenson to set up camp and prepare dinner.
That was a mistake, or it appeared to be. Seven days after leaving K2, Mortenson was lost in thought as he continued to make his way down the mountain, At 10,000 feet, distracted by the first greenery he had seen in weeks, Mortenson again missed a turn and became separated from Mouzafer. Instead of crossing the Braldu River and arriving in Askole, his planned destination, Mortenson found himself, like an unsuspecting Lemuel Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels, in Korphe—a town he had never seen on a map and had never heard of, but around which his life has revolved ever since.
Where's the school?
While recuperating in Korphe from his ordeal, Mortenson asked to see the village’s school and was informed that they had no school building. Unable to afford a full-time teacher, they shared one with a neighboring village and, on the days the teacher was away, 82 schoolchildren—78 boys and four girls—rehearsed their lessons outside, writing on the frosty ground with sticks. Struck by their desire to learn, Mortenson was reminded of his sister Christa’s determination to overcome hurdles in her life, and he decided there was a much more fitting way to honor his sister’s memory than leaving a necklace at the top of a mountain. With little money—his home back in Berkeley, California, was a burgundy Buick he called “La Bamba”—he rashly determined to build a school for the children of Korphe.
Mortenson found himself, like an unsuspecting Lemuel Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels, in Korphe—a town he had never seen on a map and had never heard of, but around which his life has revolved ever since.
What follows is told in Three Cups of Tea, a New York Times bestseller since its release in January 2007. Co-authored by Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, the book dramatically chronicles how selection of a path—even one chosen supposedly in error—can make “all the difference.” Mortenson’s failure to make it to the top of K2 set events in motion that have definitely made “all the difference” in the lives of more than 34,000 children—24,000 of them Pakistani and Afghan girls—who were previously denied opportunity for formal schooling.
Today, Mortenson and Central Asia Institute, the organization he co-founded in 1996 with Jean Hoerni, the late semiconductor entrepreneur, continue to build schools. At last count, with help from generous donors—including schoolchildren, many of whom donate pennies through Pennies for Peace—he has established 131 secular schools for girls in Pakistan and another 48 in Afghanistan.
Building relationships
In the intervening years, Mortenson has survived two fatwehs issued by fundamentalist Islamic mullahs who were enraged by his commitment to build schools for girls. He has been interrogated by U.S. intelligence officials suspicious of his work. And, after 9/11, he received loads of hate mail from fellow Americans who saw in his love for the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan—states from which Al Qaeda operated—disloyalty to the United States.
Over time, however, Americans have come to recognize that Mortenson is no friend of terrorists or the Taliban extremists who oppose his personal war on ignorance. Originally critical of the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has helped the military modify its approach to nation building. Quoted in a recent New York Tmes op-ed piece by Thomas Friedman, Mortenson said: “The U.S. military has gone through a huge learning curve. They really get it. It’s all about building relationships from the ground up, listening more and serving the people of Afghanistan” (Friedman, 2009).
Building relationships, which is key to Mortenson’s success, is alluded to in the title of his book, Three Cups of Tea. “Although symbolic, to do business in Pakistan or Afghanistan, it takes three cups of tea first,” says Mortenson. “In their culture, the first cup you are a stranger; by the second tea gathering you become a friend; and with the third cup, you become family, and they will protect you with their life and are ready to do business, but the process takes several years.”
General David Petraeus, commander of CENTCOM, has read Mortenson’s book, and it is required reading for U.S. senior military commanders and U.S. Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan. Mortenson refuses, however, to accept money from the military, although he admits it was tempting to take the $2.8 million he was offered a year or two ago by the Pentagon. The funds would have doubled his organization’s budget and allowed him to build more schools but, in the end, he turned it down. “The conditions would have stipulated that they could decide where the schools go, and I couldn’t accept that" (Dreazen, 2008).
Members of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) who attend the honor society’s 40th Biennial Convention will have an opportunity to hear Greg Mortenson tell his story on Monday morning, 2 November, and will be able to meet him in person later that day at two book-signing events. That evening, the honor society will present him with the Archon Award, given by STTI to individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership in promoting health and welfare throughout the world. RNL
James E. Mattson is editor, Reflections on Nursing Leadership.
Photo on home page: Mortenson with refugee schoolchildren in Gultori, Pakistan. Image courtesy Central Asia Institute.
References:
Dreazen, Y. (2008). Military finds an unlikely adviser in school-building humanitarian. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2009 from http://www.threecupsoftea.com/2008/12/26/wall-street-journal-2008/
Friedman, T. (2009). Teacher, can we leave now? No. New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19friedman.html?_r=2
