One thought on “Three Cups Of Tea: Young Readers Edition”

1. The young readers’ edition of the worldwide bestseller Three Cups of Tea is a story about the nurse, and remarkable humanitarian, Greg Mortenson, and his tremendous efforts in the middle east. Many things can be learned from Greg’s outlook on life.

   This novel tells of Greg’s journeys to the middle east. In his attempt to memorialize his sister’s death by dedicating a climb of K2, Greg had to turn back when a member of his group fell ill. He became lost in the mountains of Pakistan. It was a small town who welcomed and took him in. They went out of their way to make Greg comfortable, and treated him like they would treat a king.

   Greg was interested in seeing the children in their school environment. He saw, “Seventy-eight boys and four girls were kneeling on the frosty ground to study. Haji Ali explained that Korphe had no school building. A teacher cost one dollar a day, which was more than the village could afford to pay. They shared a teacher with a nearby village, and he came to Korphe three days a week. The rest of the time the students were left to practice the lessons he had left behind.” Greg was fascinated by their eagerness to learn, and the lack of resources they had. They wrote with sticks dipped in mud on slate, or with sticks making scratches in the ground. Greg asked himself, “can you imagine a fourth grade class in America, alone, without a teacher, sitting there quietly and working on lessons?” His heart ached for these children and he yearned to help in any way he could, but he had no money. He promised the Chief of the village that he would be back to build them a school. It seemed to him a much better tribute to his sister than placing a necklace on the summit of a mountain.

   Greg knew that he wanted to build a school for the children of Korphe, but he had no idea how he would raise the funds to do so. He needed to raise 12,000 dollars to build a school in Pakistan. Greg started by sending out hundreds of letters to famous people hoping that they would donate to the cause, of which only one responded, Tom Brokaw. He spoke to the students from his mother’s school of which she was principal; they decided to run a fundraiser “Pennies for Pakistan”. Even with their generosity, Greg was far short of what he needed to build a school, so he lived as cheaply as possible saving every penny he could. The very dedicated Mortenson even slept in his car so he didn’t have to pay rent, sold valued belongings, and eventually even his car. A co-worker wrote an article about Greg and his efforts which was published in a newsletter put out by the American Himalayan Foundation, a nonprofit group who works to help the people of the Himalayas. Jean Hoerni, a successful mountain climber and scientist responded, and donated a check for twelve thousand dollars to building the school in Korphe.

   Mother Teresa once said: “What we are trying to do may just be a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” Greg Mortenson agreed with her wholeheartedly, in fact, being a holy woman who devoted her entire life to serving the poorest of the poor, she inspired him.

   Throughout this book, the Pakistani and Afghani people are constantly making reference to their being a peaceful people who do not support or affiliate themselves with terrorists or Al Qaeda. The believe that Greg’s gift of a better quality of education for their youths’ education, will deter their joining with such terrorists, as educated people make informed decisions. On Friday, September 14th, 2001, Syed Abbas gave a very important speech at the inauguration ceremony of a school in Kuardu, Pakistan. He said: “Today is a day that you children will remember forever and tell your grandchildren…Today from the darkness of illiteracy, the light of education shines bright…We share in sorrow as people weep and suffer in America today as we inaugurate this school. Those who have committed this evil act against the innocent, the women and children, to create thousands of widows and orphans, do not do so in the name of Islam. By the grace of Allah the Almighty, may justice be served upon them…For this tragedy, I humbly ask Mr. George and Dr. Greg Sahib their forgiveness. All of you, my brethren: Protect and embrace these two American brothers in our midst. Let no harm come to them. Share all you have to make their mission successful…I request America to look into our hearts and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and simple people. Our land is stricken with poverty because we are without education. But today, another candle of knowledge has been lit. In the name of Allah the Almighty may it light our way in the darkness we find ourselves in.”

   In a world filled with hate, and much of it directed to the middle east, this book is hopeful. It is a must read for people of all ages, because of the huge lessons that it holds. Greg Mortenson has dedicated his life to raising money to build schools in the middle east. This book tells of his dangerous encounters and his fulfilling rewards of giving the gift of education and knowledge. His philosophy being, if you educate these children, they grow up able to make their own decisions, they are not brainwashed or sucked into terrorist organizations. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to both youth and adult, as it is an essential work of non-fiction of today.

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   April 21, 2011 at 7:40 am