History
Central Asia Institute (CAI) is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, founded in 1996, with IRS registration number 51-0376237. Greg Mortenson, cofounder and executive director of CAI, began his work in northern Pakistan in 1993. Initial funds to establish CAI were provided by Dr. Jean Hoerni (far right in photo below), a Swiss physicist and Silicon Valley microchip-industry pioneer.
Mortenson lived overseas for many years, growing up on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, for fifteen years, and serving in the U.S. military from 1975-1977. But it was the Balti people he met after climbing K2 (the world’s second-highest mountain) in 1993 that inspired his humanitarian efforts. The K2 climb was dedicated to his sister Christa, who died from severe epilepsy in 1992. Mortenson’s biography describes his background in detail.
Mortenson’s work was catalyzed when Dr. Hoerni provided funding for the first two projects, a bridge over the Braldu River and a school in Korphe village. From 1993-1996, he spent the majority of his time living and working in the rugged Karakoram mountain villages of northern Pakistan. This was an invaluable experience in a remote region relatively unknown to outsiders. Mortenson learned to appreciate the vitality and resourcefulness of the Balti mountain people, and the skill it takes to survive-not to mention raise a family– in the harshest of conditions. In 1996, Hoerni established Central Asia Institute, and appointed Mortenson as director. Tragically, Hoerni died a year later from leukemia. The first CAI Board of Directors decided to focus efforts on one geographic region, Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains, to gain expertise facilitating community-based projects.
The tribal communities of northern Pakistan taught Mortenson a critical lesson in CAI’s early years: Sustainable and successful development can only occur when projects are entirely initiated, implemented and managed by local communities. He also learned that it was important to listen to the people in the communities served, rather than impose external evaluations or judge what is best from an outsider’s perspective. The philosophy to empower the local people through their own initiative is at the heart of all CAI programs. Over the first decade of CAI’s evolution, our programs and projects expanded to other remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan where few other organizations work. CAI also did a handful of projects in Mongolia (rural health education) and Kyrgyzstan (teacher-training scholarships). Since 1996, CAI has supported over 250 community initiated educational and service projects.
Since 2005, CAI has refined its focus, honing in on rural education and literacy, especially for females. This includes teacher training programs, school libraries and temporary education in regions of natural disaster or crisis. CAI also continues to pioneer and promote education in regions where there are few or no education opportunities. In addition, CAI in recent years has emphasized sustainability, reducing the number of new schools built and funds invested in brick and mortar and increasing efforts to improve the quality of education, support teacher training and help motivated students achieve their education goals with higher education.
