Greg Mortenson
Greg Mortenson
Greg Mortensonis an American humanitarian, professional speaker, writer, and former mountaineer. He is a co-founder and former executive director of the non-profit Central Asia Institute, from which he was forced to resign as executive director following an investigation by the Montana attorney general, and the founder of the educational charity Pennies for Peace...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
CountryUnited States of America
children military war
If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs.
moving mountain our-society
And they did it with something that is basicly worthless in our society - pennies. But overseas, pennies can move mountains
laughing tea islam
We all sat there laughing and sipping tea peacefully, an infidel and representatives from three warring sects of Islam. And I thought if we can get along this well, we can accomplish anything. The British policy was ‘divide and conquer.’ But I say ‘unite and conquer.
girl religious reading
Because most of the girls were still in mourning and all of them had lost their textbooks, even pencils and pens, Shaukat Ali began the first classes by reading to them from poetry and religious texts. "Reading, literature, and spirituality are good for the soul," he told them. "So we will start with these studies.
opportunity giving doe
Really, what education does is it gives opportunity, but it also gives hope.
military warrior curves
In 'Three Cups of Tea' I was fairly critical of the military. And I mentioned that they're laptop warriors and there's no boots on the ground. But I can say now that they've gone through a tremendous learning curve.
school kids firsts
Once I started the first school, I realized this is what my life is meant to be, is to promote education and help kids go to school, and that's very clear.
children war hate
One thing that I noticed is having met some former Taliban is even they, as children, grew up being indoctrinated. They grew up in violence. They grew up in war. They were taught to hate. They were, they grew up in very ignorant cultures where they didn't learn about the outside world.
taken eight passports
Yes, I was detained for eight days in Waziristan in 1996. It was against my will, and my passport and money were taken from me. I was not mistreated or harmed, but I was also not allowed to leave.
fighting terrorism ifs
I say if you fight terrorism, it's based in fear, but if you promote peace, it's based on hope.
girl pakistan literacy
I decided in '96 to dedicate my life to mostly promoting literacy and education for girls in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
christian thinking together
Liberals, conservatives, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and I find - I think education is something that can bring us together.
long mentor valleys
Yes, I first visited Korphe village, Braldu valley, Baltistan, Pakistan, after failing to summit K2 in 1993, and met Haji Ali, a long time dear mentor and friend. My second visit to Korphe was in 19
christian mother father
My father ended up starting the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, which is on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. My mother started a school.