Journey of Hope 2016 | Page 5

A boy watches the sun set over the river near Korphe, Pakistan. home economics, and several languages.” Whether the schools in each country are run by communities or the government, all must comply with the national standards dictated by each country. Greg is excited by the progress from the early days of teaching literacy to CAI’s ability to help women earn Master’s degrees and Ph.D.s. The most powerful gift people can give each other is to believe in one another. Over two decades of building schools in some of the most remote and mountainous areas, Greg learned that beyond the building materials, teachers, and schools supplies the best way to support people and help them succeed is to believe in them. TWENTY YEARS OF LESSONS Lasting Change Takes a Long Time: “Change takes more time than most people think, and there isn’t anything bad about that,” says Greg. “I’ve learned to appreciate the circular and nonlinear process of creating lasting change. It’s OK to fail and start over, so make sure you plan time at the start of a project to go back to the drawing board in case there is a fork in the road.” Patience, flexibility, and long-term commitment are incredibly useful when attempting to change something as influential as women’s education. Working in areas with limited resources, changing Over the past 20 years Greg has learned valuable lessons about working with other communities, creating expectations, flexibility, and the true meaning of helping others. Looking back on his experiences, there are four major lessons CAI and the people of Central Asia instilled in him. Empower and Believe in People: “Once people have hope and they know you believe in them, they can do anything. If people don’t think you believe in them, little will come to fruition.” FALL 2016 environmental conditions, and cultural and language barriers consistently requires more time than Westerners usually plan for. After 20 years CAI has learned to account for unseen issues and adapt to different circumstances. Relationships are Essential: Many of the areas CAI works in are dominated by thousand-year-old tribal customs and traditions. Relationships are an important fabric of those cultures. Greg quickly learned that he couldn’t build schools that would last or succeed unless he took time to build relationships with elders and leaders of each village, region, and culture. “You have to build through relationships,” explains Greg. “Sometimes those relationships are circular, you have to gain the trust of several people before you find the original person you were looking for. Each relationship brings you to another key relationship. It all takes a long time, but you can’t get anything done without them.” JOURNEY OF HOPE | 3