As a class, we have made it through the seventh
chapter of Three Cups of Tea. So far, we have
learned that Greg Mortenson is a mountain climber, who after losing his way
while trying to summit K2 in honor of his sister, ends up in a village called
Korphe. Korphe is in Pakistan; the people there welcomed him into their homes,
and they helped Greg regain his strength. Greg was so struck by the kindness of
the people of Korphe that he promised to come back and build them a school.
There was only one problem; Greg had no money to pay for his promise.
Greg reached out to everyone he could, sold all
of his valuable belongings, and lived out of his car, all so he could keep his
promise. Trying to raise enough money to build a school was a slow and
exhausting endeavor. Greg had done everything he knew to do in order to get the
money, but he still had not raised nearly enough.
His first big break came when his mother, a
principal at an elementary school, called to say that her students heard about
what he wanted to do for the children of Korphe, and that they wanted to help.
They organized a drive (Pennies for Pakistan), and raised $623.45. Greg’s second
break came when a man, Jean Hoerni, read about Greg’s mission in newsletter.
Jean asked Greg how much more he needed to build a school. Greg said that he
would need twelve thousand dollars to build the school he envisioned. Jean sent
Greg a check for the twelve thousand dollars he asked for.
Before Greg could make it back to Korphe to build
the school, he stopped in Rawalpindi to buy supplies. He worked with a local
man, Abdul, to get everything as cheaply as possible. Greg knew he had to be
frugal in order to stay within his budget. Once he had gotten all of his
supplies, Greg was ready to travel to Korphe.
Traveling to Korphe was an adventure all of its
own. Greg had to stop in the city of Skardu, where he would hire jeeps to carry
the supplies. While trying to leave Skardu for Korphe, Greg was reminded of a
promise he made to a man named Akhmalu. Greg promised to go with Akhmalu to his
village, Khane. Akhmalu told Greg that his people had prepared a feast for him;
knowing how little the people had, Greg knew he had to go. Once he made it to
Khane, the people tried to talk him into building the school in Khane instead of
Korphe. Greg refused and demanded to be taken to Korphe.
Greg reflected on his conversations with the
people of Khane and realized that in such a poor area, he seemed like a wealthy
man who could afford to build schools in every village. He knew that he would
have to be more patient if he was going to be successful. As Greg approached
the bridge that would connect him with Korphe, he was greeted by an old friend,
the chief’s son, Twaha. Greg and Twaha pulled themselves across the rickety
bridge, as the cable car box that they sat in moved in the wind.
Having made it safely across, Greg was finally
ready to tell the people of Korphe that he was ready to build them a school. He
would have to wait until tea had been served to discuss business, as to not
disrespect the people of Korphe’s culture. After having tea, Greg was bursting
to tell Haji Ali, the chief of Korphe, his news about the school, but Haji Ali
had news for Greg too. Haji Ali told Greg that before the people of Korphe
could commit to building a school, they and Greg needed to commit to building a
new, safe bridge. Haji Ali told Greg that the bridge was what the people needed
now, and that without the bridge, there was no way to get the supplies for the
school to Korphe. The chapter ends with Greg drinking tea and thinking about
the words of Haji Ali.
