It is so very interesting how the book titles we have chosen to discuss in the last few months reflect the current events happening around the globe. Our understanding of these events is further deepened by the knowledge we have gained from these very timely book discussions.
Several important discussion points included the thesis by Greg Mortenson that if you educate the girls and women you empower them and help advance healthcare and peace in their communities. "The girls stay home, become leaders in the community and pass on what they've learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls."
Another important important point was his premise "that terror doesn't happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decide to hate us. It happens because children aren't being offered a bright enough future that they have a reason to chose life over death." An appealing aspect of "Three Cups of Tea" is the title and the personal reflection of the local culture by the author: "If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways.... "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die... Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time."
The author, Greg Mortenson, has an uncanny ability to live, work, and succeed in this very remote and harsh area of Pakistan by totally engaging with the local community leaders and citizens. This is an interesting, enjoyable and optimistic book about how one man is working to solve a critical problem and at the same time expanding our understanding of the world.
