7th
CoW Book of the Month: Stones into Schools
Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson picks up about two-thirds of the way through Three Cups of Tea, at the moment in 1999 when a team of Kirghiz horsemen from the furthest reaches of Afghanistan ride into Pakistan to find Mortenson and request his promise to build a school for their families in Bozai Gumbad in the Pamir Mountains. Delayed by the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and the difficulties of transporting everything needed to build schools to the inaccessible Wakhan Corridor, Mortenson cannot finish his school for the Kirghiz before ten years have passed since the initial promise, and Stones chronicles every step of the way.
Mortenson’s second book seems more his own than Three Cups of Tea, a difference due perhaps to the change to first person, but more likely to the fact that he’s infused this book with more personal descriptions of what matters most to him in his life’s work. He offers readers a glimpse into the reasons for his success of literally bridging gaps and crossing borders. It is through the deep connections he has built with the people who have come across his path in a myriad of different worlds that Mortenson is truly powerful. He tells the stories of the incredible people who help him carry out his mission and those who benefit from his efforts.
Circle of Women’s first project, Project Wonkhai in Wardak, Afghanistan, demonstrates a similar goal of building relationships with people in various countries who share our vision. Perhaps we don’t have Mortenson’s freedom to disappear for three months beyond human reach and emerge with of a newly-formed network of khans, cab drivers and ex-Taliban to facilitate his next construction project, but we can learn from his value set, the values which have enabled one man to change the world. We can learn from his perseverance, his ability to trust and honor the individuals around him, even if they’re in the process of kidnapping him; and finally his capacity to take the time and effort to understand the workings of the different societies that surround him, so that he can truly help the people he encounters using the tools of their own cultures, without causing rifts due to simple misunderstandings.
Finally, we can take courage that the work we do is of vital significance and that it may be the answer to religious intolerance, medical need, or conflict of any kind. We are making a difference, which will pale in the shadow of the differences that hundreds of thousands of newly educated girls across the world will one day make themselves.
- Taylor Poor, Circle of Women Records Officer
