An enchanted evening, a captivated audience, a setting fit for a king. But it was not a king that
held the attention of the mesmerized followers. It was but a simple man, a mountain climber who
in his faltering steps and dwindling esteem created a vision and brought it to fruition.
"Meester GEEReg" as he was fondly called by the inhabitants of a small Karakoram mountain
range village called Korphe would not know that this insignificant Google map point would pave
the way to a miniature empire of hope for the many school children in the northern regions of
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Greg Mortenson having failed his K2 climbing expedition which he was doing for the loss of his
beloved youngest sister, Christa , stumbled tired and exhausted into the village of Korphe
where the language spoken is balti. Haji Ali the nurmadhar, the chief of the Korphe welcomed
him, piled the hospitality and won his heart. Greg awoke after long sleep hours from exhaustion
and saw barefooted little girls playing outside his hut. He asked them about their school to which
the children had no reply other than drawing with sticks in the mud and some slates. He thus
vowed to build them a school in return for the kindness Haji Ali's village had shown him. With no
money and barely a ticket back to the US he started his true mission sleeping by day in an old
car and working as an emergency RN at night he started to raise money. Through numerous
adventurous means he started building schools. It is recommended that you read his book
"Three Cups of Tea," in which he described how he did this. Relationships are built through tea
in those regions, thus the naming of his book, (an international best seller).
It was the fate of a lost path in the mountains that built his little empire of some 85 schools in the
northern rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
COPAA recognizing his immense contribution to the people of Pakistan honored Greg
Mortenson at a gathering at the Pasadena Hilton, Los Angeles .The Pakistan Consul General,
Syed Ibne Abbas presented COPAA 's plaque to him. Greg Mortenson, a Nobel Peace Prize
nominee is now the Executive Director of the Central Asia institute and has been awarded
Pakistan highest civil award Sitara-E-Pakistan.
His beautiful family, wife Tara and children Amira and Khyber are supportive of his wonderful
projects. They appeared on stage with him that evening and his daughter Amira honored her
father's work with a lovely song. The evening continued with musical tributes from Sufi group
Fanna-Fi-Allah and Pakistan pop star guitarist Haroon.
The image of Greg Mortenson on stage in traditional attire of Shalwar Kameez , spoke for itself.
His tireless demeanor and humble spirit is unmatched. A quote from his book, "Greatness is
always built on this foundation: the ability to appear, speak and act as the most common man",
written by Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz, fits Greg Mortenson's description to a, "T".
COPAA President, Adnan Khan and COPAA Board of directors were proud to be a part of this
memorable occasion.
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