From a Teton County Library press release:
For journalist Karin Ronnow, following in the footsteps of humanitarian Greg Mortenson turned out to be exhausting, exhilarating, enlightening and even life-changing.
Ronnow will offer a behind-the-scenes peak at Mortenson's mission to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan during a Teton County Library discussion of the bestselling book, "Three Cups of Tea," on Friday, January 25 at 7 p.m. at the library. The book discussion is free and open to the public through the generous support of the Central Asia Institute and Teton County
Library Foundation. Seating in the library's Reading Room is limited to 75 and will be offered first-come, first-serve with no reservations available.
Ronnow traveled from Montana to Pakistan and Afghanistan to document Mortenson's efforts to promote education and literacy -- and possibly even peace -- by building schools, especially for girls, in the Taliban's backyard. Mortenson is the subject of "Three Cups of Tea," a New York Times bestseller written by Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The book recounts Mortenson's unlikely endeavor to promote education and peace in the Middle East.
The library book discussion is a prelude to Mortenson's own presentation Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Grand Room at Snow King Resort. The Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs is bringing Mortenson to Jackson with the support of InterConnections 21, Teton County Library and Valley Bookstore. Free tickets for the Jan. 28 presentation are currently sold out.
In July of 2007, Ronnow and photographer Deirdre Eitel joined Mortenson to document the progress of his grassroots nonprofit Central Asia Institute for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Mortenson's hometown newspaper. The Chronicle published an in-depth series of articles, "Journey of Hope," by Ronnow, the newspaper's assistant managing editor, and Eitel, chief
photographer. The stories proved so popular, the newspaper compiled the articles into a report, which will be available for free at the talk.
Mortenson's school-building mission began after he drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains in 1993 after his failed attempt to climb K2. He wanted to thank the villagers for their hospitality and experienced a "eureka moment" when he saw 84 children
sitting in the dirt writing with sticks in the sand. So far, his institute has built more than 60 schools.
Contact the library's Adult Program Coordinator at 733-2164 ext. 135. To discover more about the Central Asia Institute, go to http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ or http://www.ikat.org/.
