What is Poverty?

Introduction

Global Poverty is a complicated problem that involves many factors. We live in a country that has a good economic status. It is hard to imagine that people do not live as well as most of us do. There are many countries where daily life is a struggle for most people. In some countries up to 80% of the population live below the poverty line.  Food, clean water and shelter are hard to come by and people will do almost anything to survive. 

 

"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice."

 Nelson Mandela 

However, overcoming global poverty is no easy task. There are many reasons why people are poor, and helping those who live in poverty is equally complicated.

There are many factors that influence the existence of and continuation of poverty. 

Just a few factors to consider:

1. Regional or international conflicts (war)

2. Drought and/or Natural Disasters (floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.)

3. Social inequalities                                         

4. Globalization

5. Hunger

6. History (including colonization and/or slavery)

7. Education

Task

Your task is divided into 2 parts. The first task is acquire the background knowledge needed to complete the second part of the task. The second part of the task is described below.

PART 1

Background investigation:

You will complete activities, read articles, and view videos to increase your knowledge of global poverty as outlined in the process section.

PART 2

 

Prezi Presentation

Imagine you have been asked to interview for a position with the World Bank that involves travel to Africa to provide aid in a poor country.

Task:

The World Bank has requested that you prepare a Prezi presentation for the interview. 

You  must be prepared to answer:

  • What is poverty?
  • Who do you consider as poor?
  • What are other definitions of poverty? Compare with how you view poverty. What do you think is the best way to measure poverty?Give examples.
  • What are reasons for people being poor?
  • How does poverty affect people's lives?
  • How does poverty affect children?
  • What means are there to fight poverty?
  • What is the World Bank and what are its guiding principles?
  • Any other issue you think is relavant.

Process

Step 1

Asnswer the question:

What do you think "poverty" means?

Step 2

Before watching the video look through the following questions for 1 minute: 

 

  1. After watching the video, what do you think poverty is?
  2. Has your definition of poverty changed after seeing the video? If so, how?
  3. How many kids die each day because of poverty?
  4. How many kids are not in school in impoverished countries? Why might this be?
  5. What are some of the problems associated with poverty and the water supply?
  6. What were some of the images of poverty that you saw?
  7. What is a startling statistic that you learned?
  8. Based on the video and what you know, what do you think some causes of poverty are?
  9. What about the video surprised you?
  10. Why is it important that we care about the global issue of poverty?

Watch the video and answer the questions given above:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwIEZDMDBo4

Complete these questions in complete sentences on your worksheets.

TASK 1

 

Step 1

Definition of Poverty:

Read this definition:

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/poverty

 How would you change your own definition?

 

Step 2

Check out these statistics:

 

http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

 

  • What is the country with the highest level of poverty?
  • What is the country with the lowest level of poverty?
  • Why do you think certain countries have more poverty than others? Explain

 

TASK 2

 

Prezi Presentation Step 1 

You are going to prepare a Prezi in groups. But first each of you have to make your own research on the given topic.

Student 1

  • What is poverty?
  • Who do you consider as poor?
  • What are other definitions of poverty? Compare with how you view poverty. What do you think is the best way to measure poverty? Give examples

http://borgenproject.org/what-is-poverty/

 

Student 1

Causes of Poverty

Read this article:

http://www.eschooltoday.com/poverty-in-the-world/causes-of-poverty.html

  • What are reasons for people being poor?
  • How does poverty affect people's lives?

 

Student 2

How does poverty affect children?

Child Labour article:

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=5422

 

Student 2

What means are there to fight poverty?

5 Ways to Fight Poverty

http://outreach-international.org/5-ways-to-fight-poverty/

 

Student 1 & 2

Research the World Bank

(You will need to find out what the World Bank does and what it's guiding principles are)

World Bank:

 http://www.worldbank.org/

http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview

  • What is the World Bank and what are its guiding principles?
  • Any other issue you think is relevant?

 

Step 2

Now in groups plan the slides for Prezi:

1) You should only have one main idea with a few supporting facts per slide

 

2) You will need to plan what graphics are necessary. The images and graphics you choose should be of good quality.

 

3) Your slides should follow a logical order. (For example, you should not be discussing one of the guiding principles of the World Bank on one slide, then how children are affected by poverty on the next slide, only to go back to the World Bank guiding principles on the third slide). Keep like things together-it should be easy to follow.

 

4) The font on all slides should be large enough to be read at a distance.

 

5) There should be good contrast between the font and the background on each slide. (For example, you should not have white writing on a grey background).

 

Step 3

Create Prezi

 

Step 4

Consult with teacher before you proceed with a finished product. You may need help editing your written work, or you may need advice about the quality of your project. 

 

Step 5

Hand in and present your project.