Round Table Discussion #5

13.       How does Mortenson’s work differ from large-scale relief efforts funded by our government or organizations like the UN? What are the pros and cons of each? How do relief organizations like Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity International, or Oxfam use some of the same principles that Greg Mortenson employs in the Central Asia Institute? (You will need to go to the websites if these organizations to answer these questions.) What scenes in the book best illustrate a comparison (or constant) between Mortenson’s philosophy of how to best help impoverished cultures and the philosophy of these organizations?

Help comes in many forms. Sometimes, the government backs it. Others times, it a church or a group of ordinary people. Either way, they all have a common goal: helping developing countries improve their lives for the future. Mortenson is no different from any group that tries to help those countries. But yet unlike the government, he lacks two things. He does now have huge sums of money and a political motive behind helping the kids in Pakistan. The pro of not being funded by the government or the UN is that there are not political motives behind his actions. So, the people in the Middle East can trust him a little bit better. However, there is a drawback to not being funded by the government or the UN. That is the lack of money. Mortenson did not have enough to start building a school. He had to get money from different schools in order to fund his project. Mortenson, like Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity International, and Oxfam, does not do this for money, he uses donation to fund his projects, and he promotes peace and education throughout the world. Throughout the whole book, he gets donations for kids in schools to help with own project. He also tries his best to promote peace with education and tolerance. That is the best way to help these developing countries have better presents for even brighter futures. Mortenson has proved to be a great man through all that he has gone through and his project.