Inspiring...

I just finished the book "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson. I had heard a lot about him while working in Nepal and of the work that he had done in Pakistan and Afghanistan but it was not until I read of his journey over the past 15 years or so that I realised the impact he has had and also of the kind of person he must be - to endure so many challenges, to keep pushing on.. "Failure: When its Dark enough, you can see the stars."

His story is not dissimilar to the great Edmund Hillary's post-sumimit story in Nepal. A mountaineer who decides to give back a little to the people of the mountains and build schools and clinics. But Gregs story is also very different because he was an American, building schools for Muslim children, in the 9/11 era.. Not so straight-forward. He also stepped into a society with strict moral codes and immediately challenged it head on by striving to educate girls. "You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change." - Greg Mortenson.

"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." - Greg Mortenson