The documentary about the Central Asia Institute titled Building Peace was an inspiring film that described how the founder Greg Mortenson started the school and explained his goals in building it. The founder believes that in order to combat terrorism and hatred, the people of these communities must be educated, particularly the girls. The film introduced the idea of educating females, and how Mortenson was able to achieve this. The importance of education was focused on throughout the film, and the narrator at one point explained how significant education is for girls, at least up until the fifth grade level. The documentary raises awareness of the lack of schools for girls in the middle east and the failure of the culture to identify the need for females to be educated.
The film was enlightening in the fact that as Americans, we become so engrossed in our daily lives that we tend to forget about the people struggling just to survive in so many non-industrialized countries. Here in America, students tend to take education for granted. Growing up, I often pretended to be sick so I wouldn't have to go to shool, and then started ditching in high school. The children in the film clearly had the desire to attend classes, even though the elements were against them. I found Mortenson's selflessness inspiring because he did something that so many people are unwilling to do, regardless of the cost. Mortenson recognized the children's devotion to receiving an education and felt that they deserved better access to the tools necessary for learning. He is now making a colossal impact on their futures.
