Mortensen, G. & Relin, D.O. (2007). Three cups of tea: One man’s mission to promote
peace one school at a time. New York: Penquin Books.
Chapter 8 describes the many challenges Mortenson faced when he finally reached Skardu and wanted to move quickly to Korphe to start building the school. He ran into a few conflicts with Changazi, his trekking agent, whom he thought could help move supplies into Korphe. After several heated arguments, Changazi says that he will have Mortenson taken to Korphe to talk to the villagers about the construction of the school. He also tells Mortenson that he has moved all of the supplies to a safer location, but keeps making up excuses to keep Mortenson from checking them.
Mortenson faces his biggest disappointment when he reaches the village of Korphe. The people are overjoyed to see him, and support his desire to build them a school. He learns, however, that he cannot start building the school, until he builds a bridge to move the supplies there. Korphe is so remote that there is not other way to get all the supplies they will need across the river, than to build a bridge.
Mortenson had miscalculated how remote Korphe was, and had simply assumed that buying the materials to build the school would be his only challenge. However, the only way to get into Korphe was in a 350-foot cable car, over a river. Crossing the supplies over the river in the cable car would be impossible. Mortenson would need to build a bridge, but it will cost him money that he does not have.