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Three Cups of Tea
Mar. 30th, 2011 03:37 pmI just finished the book, Three Cups of Tea the story of Greg Mortenson's quest to provide schools to the poor children of Pakistan and then Afghanistan. I'm sure I'm way behind the game and this is old news, but I highly recommend it. 'Dr. Greg' is not a polished speaker (or a doctor for that matter), but his story is amazing. This quote from an interview really struck me:
“The real reason that drives me is I've learned from Haji Ali who was tribal chief, or my father, and they all say we need to listen more, and so I try to listen, and I ask widows and women in rural areas in Pakistan, Afghanistan, 'What do you want? I want to help you, but what do you want?' And you'd think most women would say, 'I want a good husband, I want a big house, I want prosperity,' but most women tell me just two simple things: we don't want our babies to die, and we want our children to go to school, and of anything that really drives me, those are two things that keep me on.”
“The real reason that drives me is I've learned from Haji Ali who was tribal chief, or my father, and they all say we need to listen more, and so I try to listen, and I ask widows and women in rural areas in Pakistan, Afghanistan, 'What do you want? I want to help you, but what do you want?' And you'd think most women would say, 'I want a good husband, I want a big house, I want prosperity,' but most women tell me just two simple things: we don't want our babies to die, and we want our children to go to school, and of anything that really drives me, those are two things that keep me on.”
