Greg Mortenson embodies something I have been feeling all my life but I have had trouble articulating.
 The former mountaineer and founder of the Central Asian Institute (CAI) has dedicated his life to building schools and promoting education in the most remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Since 1993, CAI has established 131 schools serving more than 58,000 students, most of them girls.
Before embarking on a project, Greg works with the local communities, including their tribal and religious leaders, to gain their friendship and to make sure that their hopes and expectations are respected.
He writes in his new book Stones into Schools: “When you take the time to actually listen, with humility, to what people have to say, it’s amazing what you can learn.”
This sentence is the best lesson in cross-cultural communication I have ever come across.
Greg and his colleagues have built schools in some of the most troubled regions of Afghanistan like the Wakhan Corridor and the notorious Kunar and Nuristan.
 They believe in the Afghans’ hunger for peace after 30 years of war. They want to support their dream of educating their children.
More and more people are waking up to the importance of Greg’s message. I was delighted to read that his previous book Three Cups of Tea, has been made required reading for all officers enrolled in counterinsurgency courses at the Pentagon.
There is something special about Greg. And again… something I can’t describe.
Stones into Schools is a journey into the realm of hope. I keep it on my desk now…. will some of Greg’s incredible ability to bond with people in the darkest places rub off on me…?
I spent an entire evening reading this book that took me back to Central Asia.
That night I went to sleep with a deep sense of peace. As long as there are people like Greg around, I know the world is in safe hands.
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