There's a memorable scene in Three Cups of Tea where Greg Mortenson tucks his 6-foot, 4-inch frame into a tiny cable car and pulls himself across a river gorge in northern Pakistan. Reflecting later on the creaky cable that he entrusted to hold him aloft, he said, "If it broke, you'd fall. And if you fell, you were dead."Overcoming one obstacle after another, Mortenson has helped to build 131 schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. His is a remarkable story of courage, persistence, and cross-cultural understanding. It's also an ideal tale for launching students on their own quest to make a difference in the world through a service-learning program called Pennies for Peace.
I'm delighted to be hosting a webinar for Edutopia on April 15, when Mortenson will talk about his own journey and the examples of youth leadership that he encounters wherever he goes. (This new article from Edutopia introduces one such student from San Diego.)
Are there questions you or your students would like to ask Mortenson? Post them here in the comments, and I'll do my best to pass them along in person. Hope you can join us!
Photo by David Oliver Relin
3 comments:
This a remarkable achievement for someone to have the courage to do something constructive like this. I would like to contribute to the community in a similar way but life gets in the way !
Suzie,
I am looking forward to the webinar with Greg Mortenson. I work with the non-profit, One Hen which grew from an educators movement to use the children's book, One Hen: How One Small Loan made a Big Difference and the website www.onehen.org. Educators are looking for ways to integrate service learning and global citizenship into their curriculum. Greg and his organization are so inspiring to all of us working to teach the next generation on the values of giving back!
I really love reading your blogs. It’s good to know about people like Greg Mortenson can devote their life to this kind of mission. They are ready to give up their comfortable life to help those who are in need. It really does require a great passion, courage, patience and perseverance to undergo this situation. I hope Greg succeeds on his mission and I also wish that he will always be safe. I’m really thankful that there are people like him. They are the people who we should look up to. What they’re doing is not an easy task at all.
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