Educator addresses literacy

issues facing Central Asia
An American who has spent the past nine years promoting the education of girls in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan will present a slide show at 7:30 p.m. today in 100 Willamette.
Greg Mortenson, founder of the Montana-based Central Asia Institute has started 22 schools in Pakistan.
His chief focus has been the education of girls. The overall literacy rate in Pakistan and Afghanistan is about 32 percent, and the literacy rates for women are much lower, said Christine Slaughter, administrative director of the Central Asia Institute.
Mortenson, one of only a handful of foreigners to remain in northern Pakistan after Sept. 11, sees the education of girls in the region as a “long-term solution to terrorism,” said Slaughter.
His presentation, “Three Cups of Tea: Cross-Cultural Lessons from Pakistan and Afghanistan,” is free and open to the public.

— Kara Cogswell