Andrea,


> 1)	this was a need the village elders saw

> 2)	the national government wasn't building

schools.<<

Schools are seen as important, and only when the
village elders say it is important that schools
'happen'. Unfortunately in a lot of places like the
NWFP, schools are seen as an edict from the capital
and hence not a matter of choice. Teachers are sent
from anywhere in Pakistan and do not speak Pashtu, nor
the local dialects and in general, the Pathans are the
butt of many national jokes. So teachers bring with
them that baggage. Hence, the reason our schools work
is that we work with a fantastic, well established
local partner, with a strong reputation in the region,
hire and train local women as  teachers and
healthworkers and train illiterate villagers to manage
the school. 

The national government does not have a large budget
for education. Schools exist but not one per village
which is what they need, given the remoteness of the
region. I don't think any of us would want our
children clambering dangerous mountains in all sorts
of weather to go to school. The issues are quite
complex, because in some ways it suits the government
to not bother building schools and keeping the regions
wild and untamed. The clannish nature of this region
also makes it inaccessible and it is a physically hard
region to visit and in some places, extremely
orthodox. 


> 3)	Mortenson showed up with the necessary

> skills--cultural adaptation,  

> easy adoption of languages, ability to raise money,

> early life  

> experiences which had prepared 	the way for this

> type of action.<<


Mortenson showed up with a willingness and commitment
and he took the time to win the trust of the village.
That counts for a lot with the Pathans.
Regards,
Ujwala



> 

> 

> Andrea

> 

> On Apr 29, 2008, at 9:47 AM, Katherine wrote:

> 

> > So you ladies don't think there is ANYTHING

> revolutionary about going  

> > back

> > and opening a school?  That's pretty radical in my

> mind.  It's out of  

> > the

> > ordinary.  It's EXTRAORDINARY in fact.

> >

> > Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

> > www.luxuriouschoices.net

> > ----- Original Message -----

> > From: "Andrea Wilder" <andreawilder at comcast.net>

> > To: "The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy

> Discussion List"

> > <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>

> > Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:51 AM

> > Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 2124] Re: Mastery

> >

> >

> >> Ujwala--

> >>

> >> Yes, he was extremely lucky.  As I recall, the

> porter who rescued him

> >> had knowledge of western ways, so Mortenson was

> somewhat understood,  

> >> as

> >> a person and as an acceptable member of his

> western group--he was not

> >> an oddball.  There were  other factors specific

> to Mortenson that

> >> enabled him to do what he did--beyond luck, and

> having to do with his

> >> background.

> >>

> >>  He was also captured and (briefly) imprisoned

> when he did NOT follow

> >> the rules.  He got out of imprisonment when he

> DID follow the rules.

> >>

> >> Read the book.

> >>

> >> Andrea

> >>

> >> On Apr 29, 2008, at 2:29 AM, Ujwala Samant wrote:

> >>

> >>> Andrea,

> >>>

> >>> That's the book I am struggling to read, to get

> into.

> >>> I give him full marks for adapting, that must

> have

> >>> been extremely hard; given the mountains, the

> culture

> >>> and the language. I also think he was extremely

> lucky

> >>> to have found the welcome he received, given

> those

> >>> areas.

> >>>

> >>> Cheers

> >>> Ujwala

> >>>

> >>>

> >>> --- Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>

> wrote:

> >>>

> >>>> Ujwala--

> >>>>

> >>>> Greg Mortenson of "Three Cups of Tea" succeeded

> >>>> because he was able to

> >>>> learn the rules, I think his story is pretty

> >>>> dramatic;  shows what can

> >>>> be accomplished when some one has the diligence

> and

> >>>> desire to learn how

> >>>> to behave properly in order to get a job done.

> >>>>

> >>>> Andrea

> >>>>

> >>>>

> >>>> On Apr 28, 2008, at 6:18 PM, Ujwala Samant

> wrote:

> >>>>

> >>>>> Just noted a typo my post. It should read, "We

> >>>> call

> >>>>> people by their first names." Or, "It's normal

> to

> >>>> call

> >>>>> people by their first names."

> >>>>> Ujwala

> >>>>> --- Daniel Rizik-Baer <drizikbaer at gmail.com>

> >>>> wrote:

> >>>>>

> >>>>>> Ujwala-

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> "> I think everyone knows the hidden rules,

> they

> >>>> are

> >>>>>>> just not in plain site.

> >>>>>>> Knowing that they are there is a big step

> >>>> towards

> >>>>>>> understanding.<<

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> I think there is a huge leap of faith in the

> >>>> first

> >>>>>> statement. Rules are learned, through

> >>>> observation,

> >>>>>> education and interaction. How many of our

> >>>> learners

> >>>>>> have positive, direct, educational

> interaction

> >>>> upon

> >>>>>> arrival? "We don't ask someone their age or

> >>>> income."

> >>>>>> comes to mind. "We don't call everyone by

> their

> >>>>>> first

> >>>>>> name." When asked "How're you doing?" it is

> not

> >>>> an

> >>>>>> invitation to discuss your state of mind or

> >>>> being. I

> >>>>>> could go on..... I think there are things to

> be

> >>>>>> learned through interaction, and some through

> >>>>>> teaching."

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> What I meant is much closer to what you

> >>>> described.

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> What I mean is that people know the hidden

> rules,

> >>>>>> and yet do not know that

> >>>>>> they know them, Things as simple as which

> hand to

> >>>>>> shake hands with, or many

> >>>>>> other things that are cultural that may seem

> >>>>>> "natural," but in fact are

> >>>>>> socially constructed.

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> So just as you said, rules are learned- but

> >>>> people

> >>>>>> learn them without really

> >>>>>> realizing they are being socialized into a

> >>>>>> particular culture.

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> This is why I think it is so important for

> our

> >>>> youth

> >>>>>> to have the opportunity

> >>>>>> for world travel- to see how other cultures

> >>>> express

> >>>>>> their humaness, to see

> >>>>>> the simliarties and differences in how people

> >>>> live

> >>>>>> their lives may help our

> >>>>>> youth to open their minds to see how their

> lives

> >>>> are

> >>>>>> socially constucted at

> >>>>>> home.

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> Like Katherine said:

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> "We don't ask someone their age or income."

> >>>>>> comes to mind. "We don't call everyone by

> their

> >>>>>> first

> >>>>>> name." When asked "How're you doing?" it is

> not

> >>>> an

> >>>>>> invitation to discuss your state of mind or

> >>>> being.

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>> *I mean, if someone asks how you are, why

> should

> >>>> you

> >>>>>> hide how you are

> >>>>>> feeling?

> >>>>>> If I ask, don't I really want to know?  If I

> >>>> don't,

> >>>>>> then I shouldn't bother

> >>>>>> asking!*

> 

=== message truncated ===



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