Building Dreams

Greg Mortinson was just like any other American, with ambition and the pursuit of success in his eyes. As he went to visit Pakistan in 1992 to climb the highest peak there he failed to reach the summit. In his exhausted state he stumbled into a small village where he saw the potential of higher education not found in those parts. He promised to the village that he would come back and build them a school in which the children can receive the proper education they desperately needed, and wanted. In 1996 the Central Asia Institute was founded and the education for the village was now given to the villagers. Mortinson achieved an impossible goal and one which is taboo in those parts. He sought the education of not only the children there but mostly the women. If the women are educated than 3 things are believed to happen. One is that the mortality rate would drop. Two the population would increase. Three the boom of a population decrease would cease to exist. The education brought to the women is a small stepping stone in the society and a step in the right direction for peace and stability within the central Asian countries. Mortinson knew that in order to first make his vision possible he had throw out all American customs out the window. The fast paced minute to minute movement of an average American is not known to central Asian culture. Mortinson first had to adopt their way of life and customs to show respect and honor. With the respect Mortinson showed the people of the Pakistani village the creation of the CAI had begun. Mortinson shows a different side of the American way that not all foreign countries get to see or even know about. Philanthropy is a big thing in