Greg Mortenson Speaks at CCA

By Tomi Owens, 1-31-07

Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, recently named one of the top Asian books of 2006 by Time Magazine, will talk about his work and show images of his adventures.

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from an attempt on the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he eventually stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school.

From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time: Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism and terrorism by building schools—especially for girls—throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

“Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.”

-Tom Brokaw

presented by Waucoma Books at 7:30pm Saturday February 3rd in the theater at the Columbia Center for the Arts

Tickets are available at Waucoma Books, 212 Oak St., Hood River, or at the CCA lobby at 7pm on the day of the show.