Pakistan and Afghanistan are not countries Mary Carlson, Helene Fields and Sharon Maher have actually visited.

In a sense, though, they have been transported there through the power of both the written and spoken word.

They not only read the book “Three Cups of Tea,” which features these countries, they were able to hear its author, Greg Mortenson, speak in person. The trio read the book as an assignment for a book discussion group they are in.

“Everyone in the group was very impressed with the book and with Mortenson’s story,” Carlson said.

When it was learned that the author would be speaking at a fundraiser dinner nearby in his honor, they made plans to attend.

This dinner was held by the Central Asia Institute at Ashyana Banquets in Downers Grove. More than 900 people attended.

“In a nutshell, the story is that in 1993, after he failed in his attempt to climb K2 in the Himalayas, an ill and lost Mortenson was rescued by a Sherpa guide who took him back to a village in Karakoram, Pakistan’s Himalaya,” Carlson said. “He was nursed back to health by the Sherpa’s family, and in an impulsive moment, said he would return home, raise money and go back to them to build them a school.

“Fifteen years later and against countless odds, many schools have been built by Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute in both Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Carlson said. “He continues to raise money to build additional schools and to support the ones already built.”

“What struck me, both with the book and with listening to him, is that he was an ordinary man who had a passion and found a way to do what he believed in” despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Maher said. Mortenson was helped in part by the fact that “he has a wonderful wife and lovely children who support him. He is making a difference in a world where it is so easy to hate!”

Carlson said it was interesting to see at the dinner just how “revered Mortenson has become in the Pakistani-American community. Of the over 900 guests at the fundraising dinner, many were young, American-born Pakistanis. The community says that he is doing for Pakistan what they could not do for themselves.”

The title of the book refers to the local custom of classifying the level of friendship as casual or deep by the number of cups of tea the relationship deserves, Carlson said.
All the attendees at the dinner received a copy of the book, and those who stood in a long line were able to get it autographed by the author.

Mortenson also narrated a documentary slideshow of photographs of both people and the building of the schools, which Carlson found very interesting.

It was also very inspiring. “What manner of man could bring learning to so many children through such courage and love?” Fields asked. “Watching this man interact with that huge audience in such a low-keyed, honest and touching way made it all real.”

One hopes Mortenson’s efforts seemed real enough — and therefore possible — so that others will be inspired and encouraged to follow in his footsteps.