Winds of Peace Foundation

Steve Sheppard | April 21, 2011

Like many in the philanthropic community, I am following with great interest the developments  surrounding Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute (CAI), following a recent 60 Minutes report alleging improprieties.  Few stories in recent memory have touched the public like this one.  His book, Three Cups of Tea, is an inspiring and motivating book relating  Mortenson’s dramatic epiphany and subsequent commitment to building schools in Afghanistian and Pakistan, especially for the benefit of girls’ education there.  But the 60 Minutes story calls into question the accuracy of Mortenson’s tale as well as his stewardship of millions of dollars in contributions to CAI.

Without any direct replies from Mortenson to-date, the 60 Minutes expose’ is no more than an allegation thus far, though Mortenson and his aides have admitted that some parts of the story “may have been compressed.”  In any case, this is a sad and disappointing turn of events.

If the allegations turn out to be unfounded or exaggerated, the shame will be on 60 Minutes for wounding, perhaps gravely, the reputation of one man who appears to have done a great deal of good in two countries wherein a great deal of good needs to be done.   There is little denial that Mortenson has made a difference in the lives of many young people in these countries, and raised a tremendous amount of awareness here in the U.S.  If the 60 Minutes report turns out to be misguided, journalistic sensationalism, then we are all poorer for that.

On the other hand, if the epose’ turns out to be even partially accurate, then we are all the poorer as dupes to the fraudulent and self-serving motives of a common huckster.  We have all experienced the feeling of embarrassment and humiliation at being deceived by some persuasive pitchman, but somehow it hurts even more deeply when the basis of the “pitch” involves vulnerable lives.  Cynicism thrives on such occurrences and renders all charitable acts suspect.

I’ve read Mortenson’s first book.  I’ve listened to him speak; he is as humble and unassuming as anyone I’ve ever heard.  I’ve even met him, and have come away with an excitement and inspiration such as a teenager might feel after meeting a favorite pop star.  To meet a seemingly ordinary man who has accomplished great things for the poor and disenfranchised is a hopeful and motivating experience, and one that I have treasured.  I’m very disappointed to learn of even a hint of impropriety in Mortenson’s work.  Time will tell the impact it may have on Mortenson or any of the rest of us, in fact.

I’m unpleasantly surprised at the allegations against Mortenson and CAI, although upon reflection, maybe I shouldn’t be.  One thing that I have learned since entering the field of philanthropy is that despite the altruistic faces of many charitable organizations, there are other drivers of activity at work in many, as well.  Some organizations appear to be motivated primarily by how much money they can place, so that they may point with pride to the extent of their largesse, regardless of whether such financial placements actually make sense to the recipients or not.  Great sums placed mean greater sums received from donors.  Bigger is better?

Others apparently embrace an “everything invented here” attitude, where the only good methodologies are the ones invented by themselves.  Again, there is fundraising strength in being able to claim that “our methodology is the most successful, the leading edge.”  Only in the rare case of, say, a Muhammad Yunnus and his notion of microlending, are such organizations reluctantly willing to adopt outside ideas.

Still others seem to be motivated by a “messiah complex,”  where the initiatives are seemingly created for the self-aggrandizement of a founder or principle donor.  Outcomes are less important here than personal recognition, and contributions are almost never anonymous.  Looking good is a higher priority than doing good.

I suppose all three of those profiles can apply to individuals, as well as organizations.  And maybe motives for doing almost anything can be made to seem self-serving.  But Greg Mortenson would be neither the first nor the last to be swept up in the need to create an heroic persona built on a foundation of shifting sands.  The temptation is enormous.  The personal rewards can be too great to reject.  The fallacy of coming to believe in one’s own heroism is an intruder which eventually becomes a master, and soon a noble purpose can become little more than a warped scheme.

The whole question reminds me of a difficult truth: that we are at our best- and most secure- when our motivations are based on truth and self-honesty.  It may be a less comfortable and very difficult place to stand, but in the long run it serves our beneficiaries and ourselves as an unshakeable base….

 

 

 

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Steve Sheppard | April 17, 2011

I took a class this Spring.  It was called, “Big Questions, Big Ideas,” and it was taught by a college philosophy professor of mine, now retired.  Richard Ylvisaker is still an icon on the Luther College campus, however, due to the legacy of 35 years of teaching as well as the continuing keenness of his mind and manner.  The class included excursions into Plato, Dostoyevsky, Bertrand Russell, Martin Buber, Clarence Darrow and others as a sort of romp through some very big thoughts and thinkers, indeed.  Professor Ylvisaker still has the gift of provoking thought and guiding to insight; I enjoyed the class immensely for its content and encouragement to read some “big ideas.”  I even felt a little pride that I was able to read these famous thinkers and still understand a good deal of what they were trying to say!  What a great experience.

And then last week, I was back in Nicaragua.  And this time, in addition to the usual partner visits which we made, there was also significant time spent in pursuit of understanding the education dilemma that exists in Nicaragua today.  Winds of Peace has embarked on a new initiative, one that will focus on the need for education transformation and how we might play a role in helping to bring that about.  We met with teachers, activists, economists, university professors and administrators, grassroots educators and more.  In the process, we tried to immerse ourselves into the depths of a problem that is a threat to Nicaragua both current and future.  Simply stated, Nicaragua is in an education crisis.

Pick your statistic.  Only 20% of students finish secondary school, while only 45% even register for any amount of secondary school.  Only 40% of students “graduate” from primary schools, with a majority dropping out between grades one and three.   Among youth between ages of fifteen and twenty-four, almost 25% have less than four grades of school completed (the functional illiteracy rate).  There’s more, but I think you get the drift as well as the scope of the problem.

United Nations development statistics suggest that a country needs to invest no less than 7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to escape the systemic conditions of poverty in any given country.  According to almost all available data, Nicaragua invests 3.8%, although the government statistics tout 10% as their number because they include private funds that are dedicated to education, a reporting strategy which defies common practice but makes the government’s efforts appear laudable.   But it’s a strategy that is short-sighted and dangerous, as the people’s abilities to function in the future grow less and less capable.

In a recent study of ninety-two schools, only four passed the test of reading at twenty words per minute, against an already-low standard of forty words per minute.  I thought about that result during the entire week as I tried to imagine myself in that predicament.  Inability to read.  What must that be like?

It certainly would have removed me from the “big ideas” classroom.  I could not know of Socrates, Dickens, Conan Doyle, Austen, Frost or even Peanuts.  I would not have learned to play guitar, studied law, crafted poems for my mom, written manuscripts or performed public speaking.  I might have been unable to adopt children, read to them at bedtime, or edit their papers in school. I could not read the news.  I would not be writing these blog entries.  In short, my entire life would have been so dramatically altered that an entirely different human being would exist.  And so it is with all of us.

There are some items that we choose not to read, like the license agreements we confront when accessing our computers to a download.  But choosing not to read is far different than being unable to read, and we are blessed to have the choice.

Reading is the throttle on the engine of education.  As Winds of Peace delves more deeply into the crisis that looms in Nicaragua, I know that reading will likely be at the top of the priority list of actions.  It’s how that society will strengthen itself, by having greater access to truth and deeper insight into reality.  In fact, it’s true within our society, as well.  We should probably all remember that the next time we turn on our TVs….

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Steve Sheppard | April 1, 2011

I’m headed for Nicaragua again, for a solid week of meetings with educators, producers, researchers, Indigenous people, campesinos, you name it.  The visits are always mixed in terms of activities and the range of people with whom we meet, but this week has a clear and overarching theme: education.

In the first half of the week, we’ll be meeting with educators across the spectrum in an effort to gain an understanding of how we might best become an asset in helping to address the education deficit in Nicaragua.  Like most places, Nicaragua’s key to its economic future rests in large part on the education of its youth.  Based upon the unique connections the Foundation has cultivated over the years, we think there may be a way to weave together some initiatives and some funding to make an impact in this crucial arena.

The second half of the week will include the second of two, three-day workshops for the coffee producers, cooperatives, supporters, funders and buyers in the north.  San Juan del Rio Coco is the site of this second meeting where the participants will complete joint strategic thinking about their interconnectedness and how they can best unite for mutual, long-term success.  It’s a unique setting and gathering, and the participants- and Winds of Peace (WPF) which is funding it- are excited about continuing the conversations.

The second half of the week will also include visits with two of the Indigenous communities supported by WPF.  We’ll be sharing views of organizational structure and transparency as these communities think about upcoming elections in their midst.

In one sense it could be said that WPF is becoming more active within the education arena, and that’s true.  But the real learning is what I am privileged to receive through the lives and experiences of the people I will meet.  And that is education of a lifetime, invaluable in its clarity and truth….

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