3 Cups of Tea, or 3 Cups of Deceit? Is Greg Mortensen a Fraud, or a Humanitarian?

Dakini

This thread was inspired by a discussion that broke out on another thread.

Who has read Greg Mortensen's "Three Cups of Tea", a heartwarming story about his efforts to build schools in isolated locales in Afghanistan? Have you seen the critique of his book and of his Central Asian Institute NGO written by famous mountain climber Jon Krakauer? What do you think of this controversy? Is Mortensen a scam artist, or a sincere humanitarian who made some mistakes while struggling to fund his projects? Does Krakauer have a hidden agenda. or does he raise some valid points?

If you haven't read both books, it's ok, as long as you've read one of them. Members can fill each other in on the missing pieces.

Dakini

If a mod wants to move this to "Arts & Writings", that might be best. I didn't think of that. :rolleyes: Sorry.

compassionate_warrior

I'll go first, since no one else has. I haven't read the Krakauer book. I'll admit that when I read 3 Cups of Tea, I was a little suspicious about some of the projects, especially the first one. In spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, things fell together, and he got his project done is a more-or-less timely manner. It doesn't always happen that way in real life. Sometimes it seemed like things came together too easily, given all the challenges. However, I have no doubt that Mortenson really did build schools, and probably still is building schools. My recollection is that he was a loner in the office, and didn't like help or interference, but everyone needs help with filing and bookkeeping. That may be where he went wrong, I heard there were accusations of misuse of funds. I don't think he's a scam artist, I think he's genuine in his concern for the people on whose behalf he works, and in his belief that education is the key to a decent life.

I don't understand a criticism I read, that all the money coming into his organization was supposed to be for schools, but that he paid his travel expenses from that money. That's perfectly normal. Aid organizations always pay for travel of their personnel, where else are the people who coordinate projects in far-flung places supposed to get travel funds? There's nothing wrong with paying for travel from donations or grants.

Cinorjer

I don't think it was travel expenses that were the problem, but that an excessive amount of money from the charity was used for things like private jets and trips that had nothing to do with the charity, and that most of the money didn't actually make it to the building of schools over there and this one man controlled all the money and treated it like his private bank account.

It seems to me he's guilty at the least of stretching the truth for a good story, in his mind. When you're writing a book that is supposed to be both factual and an exciting story, the story easily starts taking over and facts get changed. Even memory begins to change to fit the elements of the story. For instance, he was a guest of some tribesmen at one time and probably wondered if they were Taliban, and if they might stop him if he tried to leave. Turns out he was perfectly safe. By the time he wrote his story, they became Taliban fighters who had captured him, and he escaped. Makes for a better, more exciting story.

This is perfectly normal business model for people who make a living on the guest evangelist circuit, including the private jets. If it was money donated for missionary work to build churches, he'd still be highly sought after, I think.

person

60 minutes did a piece on the critique of the book. Here's a link to the 15 minute video if interested.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363068n

compassionate_warrior

Good post, person. One good point in the video was that he exaggerated regarding the number of schools he's built in a remote, war-torn province. There's no need to exaggerate, his bad, but on the other hand, he did build 3 schools in a province at war, no small feat. The fact that some schools are vacant is not his fault. He was asked to build schools, and he did. The Ministry of Education in Afghanistan is responsible for hiring teachers and paying their salaries, not Greg Mortenson. This failure of government to do its duty is fairly common throughout the developing world. I've been to schools in remote Andean villages that had no teacher, in spite of a new government program run by leaders of the Indian movement to provide bilingual education in all Native communities.

As for his speaking tours, the film said many of them are promoting the idea of building schools rather than waging war. That's a big point in Mortenson's book, that foreign policy should be preventive rather than reactive, and it's an important point. It's why people like Obama donate to his organization, and why army generals invite him to meetings and training of their staff. The private jets, however, are excessive.

Full disclosure: I've done non-profit work in remote areas of the world. I always had to work on half a shoestring. I can relate to Mortenson. What happened to him is that he was struggling for years, then suddenly there were some breakthroughs, and money started pouring in. What used to be a simple bookkeeping job suddenly exploded into something that required an accounting staff to keep track of, and a higher-end board of directors than he started with. He was completely unprepared to handle the avalanche of money coming in, and probably had to scramble to try to find people to fill new positions that the influx of funding required. So he fell down on that job. Krakauer's book was his wake-up call. I read a comment by the mountain climber that accompanied him when he first staggered down off the mountain and into a village. This friend said Mortenson is working to professionalize his staff and board and to remedy these problems.

I still think this is a worthwhile program. Large donors should proceed with caution and wait until a satisfactory board and staff are in place. Small donors I think can still feel good about giving to a worthy cause.

One thing no one has addressed is how Mortenson gets paid. Does he push the book signings and lectures because that's the only way he gets paid? Or is there a line item in the organization's budget that's for his salary? I've read that all the money is supposed to go to schools, I don't know if that's accurate. If it is, then how is Mort. supposed to earn a living? There are some issues here that need clarifying before we can decide what's a fair criticism, and what isn't.

AMH

I take both books with scepticism. I pretty much figure there is some exageration in it basically.

As far as earning money, Mortenson is paid a salary by the organization. The board votes on an annual salary. It started out small of course, the salary does not seem out of line with running such a large operation however it is significant. All the travel expenses are paid of course. What bothered me was the claim that he keeps all the proceeds from books or tours, or at least is not proving otherwise.

I did question the criticism that teachers were not provided. That is a huge other venture! I do not see that Mortenson or his organization is responsible for providing and traning teachers, maybe that was on a wish list but takes ongoing supervision instead of one project.

I am glad he is starting to let people in who know how to handle a larger organization. No matter what they really need to be transparent about the accounting to continue funding.

My personal issue is not really relevant, just the vibe I got about how his actions and behavior were described. I do not doubt that he has done great
things, but I also have no doubt that it was exaggerated. As someone else said even 1 or 2 schools in an overseas area is a huge accomplishment, so one a year is great. No need to try and make it bigger.

compassionate_warrior

Thanks for the info, @AHeerdt. He's entitled to keep the proceeds from book tours and lectures, just as members of Congress are. For them, it's a lucrative second income. 60 Minutes has had a few words to say about that, too! lol But I believe Mortensen had pledged to donate some of his earnings from tours to the organization, and the video said he had made a large donation. One the other hand, if the organization is paying for his travel for those book and lecture tours, then he should at least reimburse the organization for those expenses.

Besides, speaking engagements usually cover travel expenses, they pay to bring the speaker in. So it's only the book tours that are in question, and even then, some bookstores pay airfare. hmm... :scratch: And if he's making good money from speaking & book tours, why would he have to use the org's money for travel? Something doesn't add up. On the other hand, according to some comments I read on Outdoor magazine's blog, there is no secret stash of money, no luxury home, no yacht, no sign of conspicuous consumption or embezzlement. Let's hope he gets the expertise he needs to manage the funds and the organization, and straightens up and flies right.

Cinorjer

It seems he was blindsided by his own unexpected success, in his book and the charity. His book shot up there to the best seller lists for reasons nobody can figure out. I've leafed through the book and read an occasional page at the library, and it's terrible writing. Take it from a writer. There were paragraphs of overblown prose filled with adjectives that made me cringe. But it's no worse than the usual Hollywood "based on a true story" product that people now expect.

Dakini

It seems he was blindsided by his own unexpected success, in his book and the charity. His book shot up there to the best seller lists for reasons nobody can figure out. I've leafed through the book and read an occasional page at the library, and it's terrible writing. Take it from a writer. There were paragraphs of overblown prose filled with adjectives that made me cringe. But it's no worse than the usual Hollywood "based on a true story" product that people now expect.

Interesting book review, Cinorjer. I don't recall having that reaction, but I agree that he was unprepared for the extent and suddenness of success. He went from a guy doing planning and bookkeeping in his basement amid piles of papers, to someone receiving $70,000 and $100,000 donations. He had to deal with that while simultaneously working on his projects abroad. It's no easy feat to build an organization staff from scratch, learning to interview people, and so on. To do it properly, he'd have had to put the projects on hold for a year, while he built an organization.

Also, we have no idea to what extent the publisher forced changes on his manuscript to spice it up. That happens. Once the publisher has you under contract, they can do anything.

I think the book was so popular because, contrary to what the media would have us believe, people like positive stories and happy endings. They like to hear about good samaritans making a difference and helping the underdogs of the world. Plus it was timely and edgy, being set in Afghanistan, and all. I think he did some work in Pakistan, too. Some people liked his political message--that preventing terrorism by building schools and educating people is the way to go, rather than spending billions upon billions on war, and killing innocent people. I think that's what he should be talking about on his speaking tours, not rehashing the book. He should be discussing the role of grassroots foreign aid and grassroots economic development in peacekeeping.