Blog Post #12

Towards the end of the final product of the building Hoerni becomes sick and Mortenson has to go back to Pakistan to document the school for Hoerni to see. They finished then building they finished the school on December 10th 1996. Before Hoerni passes away Mortenson lives with him in Seattle. Moerni left an endowment of $1million to the organization to build a school a year. It seems perfect that before he passed away he could see something so amazing that he helped to make, and it is great the Mortenson's idea of a school in Korphe would go beyond that to inspire more schools like this.
Religious groups in Pakistan began to fight against this school because it was offering girls to be taught in a school. In Mortenson's response he traveled back to Korphe to compromise with the people, he finds a man named Parvi to go against the fatwa set up against Mortenson's school. I was curious to what a fatwa was so I found this site that explains what went on with Mortenson and the school: http://islam.about.com/od/law/g/fatwa.htm.
After this period of time Mortenson has been able to oversee the building of three more schools under the organization. Mortenson has gotten the organization up and running and has a board of people to control the group. This is the official site of the organization today:http://www.ikat.org/. 
While back in America Mortenson recieves a red velvet box from from a shiite religious groups and as told that they have gotten rid of the fatwa placed against the school. Mohammud Aslam Khan comes to Mortenson to request a school for his village, Hushe, because of what he heard of the program and the Korphe school.
Once that school is built the people of these villages begin to realize hiow important and benificial it is to educate the girls. The CAI begins to go beyond schools and provide fresh water sources for villages. Next they build a school in Skardu for girl's educations after what happened to a girl named Fatima during fights between Pakistan and India.
It is amazing that for so long he couldn't get the school in Korphe together, but within a year of its completion he was been able to get multiple schools and other facilities to help villages up and running. Things are going well for him and what he desired to do to help the villages.
Looking back on the beginning it is amazing to think that at first Hoerni was hesitant in selling his money out for the cause of the school, but what came from it was so many things that are helping central Asia, especially in places where they desperately needed it. The theme of this book seems to simply be that when tough times are upon us that eventually get better, and since the time he tried to originally raise money there didn't seem to be many misfortunes in Mortenson's work of helping these people.

Blog Post #11

They reach Korphe with the supplies, but Mortenson realizes it is getting too cold and that they will need to build a bridge to reach the area to build the school, so he raised another $10,000 from Hoerni. In the process of getting the remaining money, though, Mortenson comes across issues such as losing a girlfriend and a job for having gone to help the village for the school.
When Mortenson returns to Pakistan to build the Korphe bridge a man named Ali Chargarzi helps him with connections and the building of the bridge. While they have to wait for the bad weather to end Mortenson starts to learn more about the villages culture and how they deal with personal life issues. While spending time with some of the men Mortenson meets the most intelligent man of the village,Houssien, who he begins to imagine as a perfect teacher for the future school.
It seems that for a few months since Mortenson raised the money that he has so many obstacles to overcome that he never thought would get in the way of his process of building the school. He thought it would be simple after he raised the initial sum of money from Hoerni that in no time the school would be up in running. After he gets to Pakistan he finds that he deals with a lot of literal boundries and emotional.
Once they finally begin building the bridge a group of Americans come across them, including famous climber, George McCown and Faisal Baig.

The Braldu Bridge built in Korphe

This time when he returns the the U.S. he has a more successful, joyful visit. He has gained a new job at the E.R. and McCown and Hoerni have decided they will fund his trip back to Korphe and his living for the next year. At an event Mortenson meets his hero that did much the same type of project as him, Sir Edmund Hillary. A site of the achievements Sir Edmund Hillary has made and his biography. At this same event Mortenson meets Tara Bishop, who he marries after less than a week of knowing her.
After a trip back to Pakistan and back Mortenson is asked by Hoerni to form an organization in which they build a new school each year after what has been going on in his school in Pakistan. But during the time of Mortenson's next visit Haji Ali, the head of the village, tells him that Mortenson is being far too impatient about the building of the school. During this time, as well, Haji Mehdi, the leader of the village near to korphe named Askole, tries to interfere with the building of the school and how the children are to be taught.

Map of where Korphe is in Pakistan

Blog Post #10

While working I came across the children's book called Listen to the Wind. It turned out to be by Mortenson written in the village's point of view about the things he did for their village and the school. The book stayed true to what is in Three Cups of Tea.

While reading the section about how Mortenson and the truck driver, Muhhamad drove across the dangerous mountain on the way to Skardu I thought of the Passage in The Motorcycle Diaries in Whch Ernesto and Alberto were going through Chicuicamata, the Chilean mining town. "With the regularity of mile markers, white shahid, or "martyr" monuments honoredthe death of Frontier Works Organization roadbuilders who had perished in their battles with these rock walls." (Relin 81) This quote and experience was very similar to Guevara's experience,"... As they wait for the soulless arms of the mechanic shovels to devour their insides, spiced as they would be with the inevitable human lives -- the lives of the poor, unsung heroes of battle, who die miserably in one o the thousands of traps set by nature to defend its treasures, when all they want is to earn their daily bread."

Blog Bpost #9

Mortenson has now raised enough money because of Hoeni and travels to Pakistan after a couple years waiting. When he arrives there he stays in a small makeshift motel where he meets a helpful motel guard, Abdul Sha. Over time they gather building material that could help create the structure of the school. He is told by Abdul that the cement and lumber industry in Pakistan are run like a mafia, so it is hard to find quality building material for the school. He is also told that he has to have two new Shalwar Kamiz so he can wear it in the mountainous climates.  Mortenson is also introduced to a man named Khan who shows him how a ritual works and then how the prayer works. After taking part in this, Mortenson realizes how important community is and being able to have faith.

(shalwar kamiz)

After getting the supplies together they load it into a truck and a crowd of people are there to see Mortenson off to Korphe once again. Even though he has taken such a large step since he was in the U.S., Mortenson is  still worried of the dangers of traveling there and still having enough money for the actual process of building it after having spent so much money on the lumber and cement. He had reason to worry though, because halfway through his trip his truck is stopped because their is a brawl between the Pakistani army and gunman.

While reading this section I was reminded of other fundraising projects I have either taken part in or witnessed. Very similar to the "Pennies for Pakistan" my church did a "Penny Power" project for children to get clean water in South America. I have also done other various coin denominations to help third world countries around the world, similar to the Penny Power fundraiser.

Blog Post #8

The first part of this section was very disheartening and uninspirational. This was a time when Mortenson spant months trying to follow up with his promise, but had just barely enough money to live off of. He was sending out letters to people with money that seemed willing to  help with the trip and the school. The whole time he was painstakingly writing letters to each person individually (he was computer illiterate) until he came across a man at a copying shop that helped him. The man found out his reason for needing to write so many letters and was touched because he came from a village near to the one Mortenson working to help and had the same hardships living there. Mortenson seemed to be almost envious of a man that did nearly the same thing, but instantly gained endless support and sponsorships, Sir Edmund Hillary.  

Unfortunately, none responded except for Tom Brokaw who only gave a hundred. After months a rich man, Jean Hoerni, who discovered the silicon chip contacted Mortenson about wanting to support him. This man made hundreds of millions for selling his discovery to companies such as Intel. I looked him up and he is very famous for the discoveries he made. http://www.computerhistory.org/semiconductor/timeline/1959-invention-of-the-planar-manufacturing-process-24.html  Hoerni asked the aount he needed and Mortenson said 12 grand, Hoerni was amazed by how little, while others would be astounded by the amount.

Blog Post #7

In the Chapter "580 Letters, One Check" Relin writes of Mortenson's experience of raising money.
"Jerene Mortensonhad been anxiously following her son's odyssey... After finishing her Ph.D., she had been hired as a principle of the Westside Elementary School. Jerene convinced her son to visit, and to give a slideshow and speech to six hundred students in her school. 'I'd been having a hard time explaining to adults why I wanted to help students in Pakistan, but the kids got it right away. When they saw the pctures, they couldn't believe that there was a place where children sat outside in cold weather and tried to hold classes without teachers. They decided to do something about it." (Relin 52)

Relin describes all the struggles Mortenson came across trying to reach out to people to donate money for the Korphe school. He sent out hundreds of letters to celebrities, organizations, and anyone he thought would be capable of donating money for his cause. Very few responded to his request, but upon hearing about the children, the school kids wanted to help.
Mortenson hadn't even requested it, but the children decided to organize a project called "Pennies for Pakistan. They raised over $650 for his trip. I thought this was amazing because none of the people he contacted that had ridiculous amounts of money were willing to donate, but young kids wanted to help as best they could so other kids could have what they had.