Three Cups of Tea

My service learning project work at the Monroe YMCA Teen Center finds some similarities in the book we have been reading in class. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortinson and David Oliver Relin. Trying to compare 150 rambunctious teenagers together on a Saturday night, to anything that doesn’t involve texting, music or the social “drama” of the moment seemed impossible .But what I found when I dug a little deeper was that both of these settings offered the kids …. Choices.
Greg Mortenson strived to build schools for the children of Pakistan and later Afghanistan .Schools where they would not only be sheltered from the harsh elements of extreme weather .But also, the harshness of extreme beliefs that surrounded them. It would provide a safe sanctuary where children are able to gain an education as well as an opportunity. These schools afforded them a choice in their own future. “the madrassa system targeted the impoverished students the public system had failed” (Mortenson243).The passage goes on to tell how the madrassa system gave”millions of Pakistan’s parents their only opportunity to educate their children” (Mortenson 243).Mortenson notes that not all Wahhabi are bad and that many do good work to help the poor, however “Some of them seem to exist only to teach militant jihad” (Mortenson 243).These children along with their families were able to choose a path to the future that they believed in not what others imposed onto them.
The Monroe YMCA does what many Teen centers wish to do .They provide a safe environment for kids to take pleasure in. A place where they are free to be themselves, to grow, learn, experience and just have fun. These kids like the ones mentioned in TCT benefit from having a safe haven to offer them better options .A place where they can feel secure and be safe in their surroundings. A place that provides positive role models .Where they are not easily targeted by deviants hoping to influence them into making bad choices.
Both the schools built by Greg Mortinson and his loyal assistants who shared his vision, and the YMCA in Monroe, WA staffed by dozens of dedicated volunteers. Both have bestowed upon, the children whose lives they enrich, countless opportunities for a bright future by providing them with a safe place to grow and see the opportunities in their own choices.