Finding Solutions to Hunger, Poverty and Inequality

Summary

Participants will research and discuss the root causes of hunger, poverty and inequality in the world and take meaningful actions to help create a more just and sustainable world. Since 1988, iEARN has asked all participants to address the question, “How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?” This question is the glue that holds our network together, and it’s a question that guides us as we develop programs and share resources with like-minded partners around the world. This year, we feel that the time has come for teachers and students to use the Finding Solutions To Hunger Teacher’s Guide as a launching pad into a wider association with the leading nonprofit hunger and poverty organizations. In addition, we invite other iEARN projects that touch upon social justice issues to join us. All teachers who elect to partner with the Finding Solutions to Hunger, Poverty and Inequality Project will be provided with the download version of the 255 page Finding Solutions To Hunger Teacher Guide free in addition to the full resources of the Kids Can Make A Difference® website and newsletters.

Description

Participants will begin the study of hunger/ food justice by examining their own eating patterns. It is suggested that students keep food diaries of the amounts and kinds of food they eat every day and research their calorie and nutrient intake. They will reflect on the importance of food in their own lives and where their food comes from. They will compare their own food diaries with students in classrooms around the world, to understand how different cultures eat different types of foods and consume different amounts of calories and nutrients.

After sharing food diaries and analyzing types and amounts of food consumed per person, students will participate in activities to help understand how food and resources are distributed globally. (A good activity for this is the World Map Activity from Heifer International; Lesson 2 – Eating the Way the World Eats from Finding Solutions to Hunger – www.kidscanmakeadifference.org; OXFAM Banquet; etc.) They will learn about the difference between famine and chronic hunger, understand the problems of obesity, and how big the hunger problem is.

The next area of study is to learn about why people are hungry. Food First, the Institute for Food and Development Policy, has an updated article “12 Myths About Hunger” based on Frances Moore Lappe’s World Hunger: 12 Myths, that can be used as background material. Also, Finding Solutions to Hunger has great lessons to use. Here, students discover the problem is not scarcity, but distribution; they will look at issues of population growth, the legacy of colonialism, foreign aid, importance of female education, corporate vs. sustainable farming, lifestyles of industrial nations, and the impact of the media.

Finally, students will become problem solvers in working to end hunger. Participants will create a service-learning project to educate their school/community about the issue of hunger and how people can effect change. They will document their project through video, digital photography or other forms and share it online. We will create an online manual containing projects, lesson ideas, and resources that others can use to teach about hunger. By having students interact with each other within the project will prove to be rewarding for both teachers and students. These connections enable students to learn about other cultures and tolerance.

Facilitators

Maria Conte, United States
Jane & Larry Levine, United States (Co-founders of Kids Can Make A Difference®)

Languages

English

Student Age Levels

5-11 (Primary), 12-14 (Middle), 15-18 (Secondary)

Expected outcomes

Participants will understand the root causes of hunger and poverty globally. They will become informed and effective global citizens, convinced of their ability to make a difference in the world. Participants will develop a service-learning project in their school/community and document this project with a video or slide show presentation to share online. Classrooms will collaborate in creating an online manual with ideas, projects and resources to be used to educate and inspire others to become involved in finding solutions to ending hunger in our world. Students will develop their own projects demonstrating what they have learned and putting that knowledge to work to help alleviate the scourge of hunger and poverty in their community and world.

Group contributions to others and/or the planet:

Participants will become inspired with compassion and hope about finding solutions to hunger poverty and inequality. They will understand that hunger is not about scarcity; it’s about distribution. By working together, they can eliminate forces that undermine self-reliance and create a more just and sustainable world with equitable sharing of resources