Outside Reading #2

Greg Mortenson was taken in by a small village in Pakistan, and after gaining the trust of the people in the village, learned about their daily life and what true poverty the people live in. After learning that the children don't have a school building and only have a teacher for three days of the week, Greg tells the people that he will build them a school. Since Greg had very low income, it required remarkable sacrifices for this to be accomplished. Greg had to make many decisions in order for his school to be completed. Greg wanted to give all he had into the trip, and even, "decided not to rent an apartment. He had the storage space. And La Bamba's backseat was the size of a couch"(49). The enormity of Greg's passion for his mission was not shown as clearly before as in this choice. Deciding to live out of a car is an example of Greg's moral decisions, where he wanted to give everything he could to the people in Pakistan.
When buying supplies in Pakistan, Greg’s helper, Abdul, helps him bargain for supplies. When Abdul bargains, he brings in religious reasons for giving a better price. Greg hears Abdul tell a salesman, “A true Muslim would leap at the chance to help poor children instead of trying to steal their money” (65). When Abdul is trying to bring down the price he questions the seller’s religion, an act that arouses thought over the ethics of both men. While it is probably a good practice to keep religion out of business, Abdul makes a valid point about giving to the poor, a good, ethical act of any person, and especially of a devote Muslim. Whether or not religion should be brought into the problem, trying to sell lumber at a high price to an organization set out to help the poor is unethical.

Mortenson, Greg, and David Relin. “Three Cups of Tea”. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.