Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Greg Mortensen: What motivates me to do this?

Mountaineer and builder of schools, Greg Mortensen has had plenty of challenges and opposition in getting schools established in the remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. So what is it that keeps him going when he has been tempted many times to throw in the towel?

“What motivates me to do this?” he asks.

“The answer is very simple. When I look into the eyes of the children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, I see the eyes of my own children full of wonder—and hope that we each do our part to leave them a legacy of peace instead of the perpetual cycle of violence, war, terrorism, racism, exploitation, and bigotry that we have yet to conquer.”

Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin, Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time (New York: Penguin Books, 2006), 335.

Another story from this book can be found at this link.

A review of this book is posted at Reviewing Books and Movies.

Image: “When I look into the eyes of the children…”