In his attempt and failure to summit K2, the second largest mountain in the world located in Pakistan, Greg Mortenson stumbled upon the remote mountain village of Korphe where he was welcomed and nurse back to health. Here in this village Mortenson made a promise to return and build the first school the village had ever had. In area's such as this, he emphasized schools and education especially for girls where the Taliban banned it. Mortenson made the transition from mountaineer to humanitarian with his desire to bring education to area's in both Pakistan and Afghanistan that had been deprived of the right to an education. Through his efforts in providing schools for these area's he developed the Central Asia Institute. The CAI mission is to develop schools and provide qualified teachers to supply children, especially girls with the education they truly need and fully deserve.

With his constant travel to and from area's in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mortenson was welcomed into the villages with a single cup of tea. The first cup of tea villagers share is their hospitality to a mere stranger, the second cup of tea they share with a friend, and the third cup of tea they share with family. Mortenson shared his third cup of tea with a great deal of villages, and that third cup of tea created a bond with the villagers. Through a cup of tea he became family, and family to the villagers means that they would do anything for them.

In his early attempts to build schools Mortenson sold everything he had, wrote to multiple people in hope for a donation to help his efforts, and just when it seemed he was getting no where a group of students donated $623.40 in pennies (launching the Pennies for Peace Organization). With the help of such a young group of kid Mortenson was able to get supplies and finish building a school. Despite much adversary through kidnapping, threats, and even separation from his family, Mortenson overcame it all in order to oversee that his mission to keep his word and build school was complete.

With his strong will and determination Mortenson built a great deal of schools despite dangers that most people could never fathom coming across, he never backed out when the odds we against him and he successfully kept his word to all the villages full of his new family. Mortenson is the true proof that a single person can make a difference in the world, and change it for the better.