Greg Mortenson, a mountaineer and military veteran, became a builder of schools in the remote Northern Areas of Pakistan. He now heads the CAI (Central Asia Institute). David Oliver Relin, a globe-trotting journalist, tracked down Mortenson to see him in action and to get this remarkable story written.

For Greg Mortenson, failure to summit K2 led to a new activity – a school builder. After this failure, Greg was led to a nearby village, Korphe, whose people cared for him until he healed. While healing he learned the villagers’ simple lifestyle. Trained as a nurse, the people he helped gave him the name Dr. Greg. When he learned that the children had no school, he promised them that he would return and build one for them – it would take $12,000 to build Korphe’s school. Nearly broke after flying back to the US, he worked as a nurse, sleeping in his old Buick to save money. With the help of many Pakistani friends, all Muslims, they managed to buy and transport all the building materials to Korphe over poor roads. When a rock slide blocked the last road to Korphe, its villagers hand carried all the materials the last 18 uphill miles. They also provided the labor for building the school. Since he had become well-known in the Northern Area, other village leaders asked him to build them a school. He promised to get the money, but they had to admit girls to the school, as he had insisted in Korphe. This was a new idea for uneducated Muslims but they listened and agreed to his terms. The villages’ women were quick to realize that educated daughters then would not be limited as they had been.

Back in the US again, Greg Mortenson sent out 580 letters asking for money to build more schools. He got only one reply, but it was from Dr. Jean Hoerni, an early integrated-circuit designer who had become quite rich – he had also been a climber who was especially fond of the Karakoram mountain range around Korphe. Later, after Greg had built a few more schools, Hoerni created and funded the CAI, naming Greg its director. Hoerni’s will created a solid financial base. An article in the Sunday Parade magazine, carried by many newspapers nationwide, brought Mortenson national recognition and many letters of praise and contributions. A decade later, Mortenson had built 55 schools in the rugged rural areas of Northern Pakistan and also in nearby areas in Afghanistan.

Mortenson’s work was praised by Pervez Musharraf, who let his former personal helicopter pilot fly Mortenson to the various school-building sites. The pilot’s boss, General Bashir Baz, also became a strong supporter when he learned that Greg kept his word to the Pakistanis. One conversation he had with Greg gives an interesting Pakistani perspective: “Your President Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one million Muslims against America for the next two hundred years.” Greg replied, “Osama had something to do with it, too.” Then Bashir roared. “Osama, baah! Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is in every home. As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who can shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of your enemy’s strength. In America’s case, that’s not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.” I have heard the same ideas from other educated Muslims, some from Pakistan. Greg Mortenson defeats ignorance with every school he builds. We need a lot more work like his in that region of the world. Meanwhile, we can support what he is doing. His remarkable story makes me recommend this book most highly.