|
In this information age, students of all ages encounter harrowing statistics about poverty, hunger, deaths from preventable disease and the ravaging effects of war, natural disasters and HIV/AIDS.
From the grade school classroom to the global village experience, teachers, students and adults can learn about the issues and learn to make a difference with the help of Heifer International. The nonprofit, headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., provides educational programs to help all ages understand the root causes of hunger and poverty in the world, and the sustainable solutions to help the poor become self-reliant for food and income.
Heifer is an ideal partner for schools that want to add practical lessons to social studies. Teachers will find curriculum-based programs for students such as “Read to Feed” for elementary children and “Get It!” for middle schools. Read to Feed gives children incentive to read books to raise funds for their reading efforts and make a donation of Heifer animals. The middle school program “Get It!” helps students research and write reports about the global issues connected to consumption of coffee, bananas and flowers from Latin America and the lives of those who grow the goods.
In addition, hands-on learning at any of Heifer’s three learning centers in Arkansas, California and Massachusetts allows students to experience a “global village” that simulates the living conditions and resource problems of over three quarters of the world’s population.
During the overnight stay in this “living classroom” students are divided into groups and sent to stay in housing typical of what poor people would have in different parts of the world. One group might be assigned a small shed that could be found in the Appalachian Mountains, another a structure of wire and hay meant to simulate what a poverty-level family in Mexico might live in. Others go to a raised Cambodian-style hut.
The exercise takes on the air of a TV reality show as students are allotted supplies in amounts based on their living space and are instructed to barter for items they lack, such as firewood. Some groups don't want to trade, and others may feel forced to steal what they need in order to survive. This vivid lesson is just the start of the learning experience.
Adults who want to understand solutions to hunger and poverty often sign up for Heifer University, an in-depth program to inspire volunteers, held at Heifer’s learning centers. Or they may choose to participate in an educational Study Tour, visiting projects in countries around the world to meet the proud families Heifer has helped.
Getting an education about the reality of hunger and poverty is not fun. But seeing the results of good solutions and committing to help opens the heart and mind to envision a world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet. In the words of Heifer’s African program director, “Te ne gona,” which means, “It is achievable.”
For more information, visit www.heifered.org. Heifer International has helped 38 million people since 1944 move from poverty to self-reliance through gifts of livestock and small farm initiatives. - ARA |
|
|
|
