International Relations Committee donates books

Carol McDermott, School Board President, accepts copies of Listen to the Wind and Three Cups of Tea (Young Readers edition) from Altrusa members Carol Parker and Diane Winger.

This donation is part of an ongoing project by Altrusa's International Relations Committee to support the work of Central Asia Institute.  Its founder, Greg Mortenson, has spearheaded the building of over 70 schools in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, emphasizing education for girls.  Three Cups of Tea (Young Readers edition) tells Mortenson's story starting with his promise to build a school for the children in the town of Korphe, who he found studying while sitting on the bare ground and using sticks to scratch lessons in the dirt.  Listen to the Wind tells Mortenson's story from the point of view of the children of Korphe, and is beautifully illustrated.

The committee donated copies of Listen to the Wind to each Montrose County elementary school, and copies of Three Cups of Tea (Young Readers edition) to each middle school.  In addition, copies of both books were donated to the Montrose Library.

Val Burnell (L) and Diane Winger (R) present books to Jana Ackerman, Outreach Coordinator for Children's Services at the Montrose Library.

Both of these books are currently ranked #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list in their respective categories.  Mortenson's original book, Three Cups of Tea - One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for 114 weeks as of this writing, often in the #1 position.