I just finished reading Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” about his extensive work in building school for girls in remote, rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. What an inspiring book! I DO hope he gets a Nobel Peace Prize – surely he deserves one.
For those of you who haven’t read the book, Greg went from being broken, lost, and with a huge sense of failure with little help or direction. From those very dismal beginnings he has made a HUGE impact on the lives of tens (hundreds?) of thousands of poor girls and has been a force for peace and understanding.
I finished the book the night before last and then this morning heard on some snippet on the radio that the average length of unemployment in this country is now 33+ weeks – the longest ever recorded.
That juxtapositioning has stayed with me.
Awhile back my friend Mary Anderson noted that there surely MUST be something that the army of unemployed can do to change the world as they await employment.
This idea continues to percolate for me. Today my friend Diane Shak is working on an all-women crew building a Habitat for Humanity house. People with a little time on their hands (employed or not) making a big difference in the world – and a HUGE difference for the family who will end up in that house.
Can we talk about this? How can the folks who are unemployed and discouraged band together and change the world while still attending to their own pressing need – to get work that PAYS so they can meet their own needs?
I will continue to let this percolate – but I sense that it is YOU GUYS who have some deciding ideas that can do for the US what Greg Mortenson has done for rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
And by the way – if you haven’t read Three Cups of Tea- do. It’s positively inspiring, well-written, and very very hopeful.
[...] on yesterday’s post here’s my initial proposal to start a TRUE revolution in this country. The America I grew [...]
Three Cups of Tea was an amazing and inspiring book that I remember reading during the summer between my Junior and Senior year in High School. I absolutely adored the concept of empowering girls in the most impoverished areas of the world and building a bridge of understanding between our culture and theirs. In terms of using such an inspirational model to help invigorate our own society, I think you will need to do a lot of very serious logistical planning, and you will probably need some funds to help kick-start the project. As per usual, I love the idea, and I hope you are successful in making it happen!