Stones into Schools

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a 2009 non-fiction book by American author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson. The head of the Central Asia Institute, an aid organization building schools in the undeveloped regions at the heart of the Asian continent, Mortenson became famous in the U.S. for his first non-fiction book, Three Cups of Tea, which described his work. Stones into Schools is a follow-up, in which Mortenson and his team labor to build a school in a remote Afghan village while dealing with the fall-out from the devastating earthquake that hit the Kashmir region in 2005. The book was written with assistance from Mike Bryan (research) and Kevin Fedarko (structural advice).

Mortenson is inspecting one of his organization’s projects in Pakistan, near the southern end of the Irshad Pass, which leads into the high mountains. They are approached by an almost mythical-seeming group of Kyrgyz horsemen. The leader of the horsemen, Abdul Rashid Khan, announces that he is searching for Dr. Mortenson, “the man who builds schools.” Mortenson identifies himself, and Khan asks him to build a school in his village, Bozai Gumbaz. The village is in an almost impossibly remote location in a mountainous region called the Wakhan Corridor. What’s more, the region is located in Afghanistan, which is under Taliban rule. It is nearly impossible for Westerners to enter the country; still less for Westerners to build schools there, as the Taliban favor a strictly Islamic education (and only for boys).

Nevertheless, Mortenson promises to help the Kyrgyz villagers. He is driven by a belief that educating girls is the single most effective humanitarian intervention: “Simply put, young women are the single biggest potential agents of change in the developing world—a phenomenon that is something referred to as the Girl Effect and that echoes an African proverb I often heard during my childhood years in Tanzania: ‘If you teach a boy, you educate an individual; but if you teach a girl, you educate a community’”



His opportunity comes with the American invasion of Afghanistan. As the Taliban’s centralized hold over the country weakens, Mortenson and his team are able to cross the border and begin the process of building a school for the Kyrgyz village. First, he travels to the principal town of Badakshan Province to win over the leadership of the local mujahedeen. This trip is so successful that Mortenson not only receives permission for the school is the Wakhan Corridor, but also a request for a school in the town. Soon, more requests begin to come in, and Mortenson’s team takes on as many projects as they can.

The CAI proceeds towards the Wakhan Corridor, building schools as they go, but before they reach their goal, an earthquake strikes Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Whole villages are reduced to rubble and hundreds of people killed. The CAI has built schools in the region, and Mortenson notes that on top of everything else the earthquake has robbed a generation of the chance to achieve literacy.

CAI finds itself swamped with donations from people who want them to help rebuild. Unsure how to help, Mortenson sends his project manager, Sarfraz Khan, to Kashmir, while he stays in Afghanistan to supervise the school building projects there.



Sarfraz learns that in the midst of the devastation, parents, children and teachers alike are determined to continue with education, setting up schools wherever they can: in tents or under shade trees. These communities are keen for CAI to build new schools, but they are also worried that another earthquake will destroy these new buildings. Sarfraz conducts research and identifies a Chinese design for a relatively cheap building that can withstand even large earthquakes. He sets about organizing these schools to be built throughout Azad Kashmir.

Mortenson takes several swipes at the aid efforts made the U.S. government and other aid organizations without on-the-ground experience in the region. He notes the “ridiculous boondoggle” of the U.S.-financed effort to deliver bottled water to Kashmir; meanwhile, he and his team are building water pipes and storage tanks. Mortenson witnesses a desperate family cooking over a fire built from donated mountaineering gear, and sheep wrapped up against the cold in donated clothes.

It is now nearly ten years since Mortenson made his promise to Abdul Rashid Khan. He and his team finally arrive in Bozai Gumbaz and begin to gather construction supplies. However, the region is so desolate and remote that the CAI team struggles to source materials. Khan is old now, and sick. When he realizes he is dying he addresses the villagers at his death bed, ordering them to help the CAI build their school before it is too late for him to see it. With the villagers’ help, the CAI is able to finish the school in record time.



Upon publication, Stones into Schools was warmly received, making the New York Times’ Bestsellers’ List. In 2011, Mortenson came under fire from journalists who accused him of inventing or falsifying details of his story. Mortenson has denied the accusations, and the controversy is unresolved.