Introduction
India is a vibrant country with a diverse culture and rich traditions. With the second largest population in the world (almost 1.4 billion to date), India has its fair share of global issues.
Try to imagine that today you meet Akash a child in India and you realize he is living alone in a rail yard.
- What would his life be like?
- How would his life be different than life in the United States?
You are a member of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) working to provide Akash and others like him with assistance to improve their daily lives.
Today we are going to discover what it is really like to be homeless in India and what your NGO can do to help.
Task
Your task over the next few weeks is to partner with three of your peers to form Non-Governmental Organization. As an NGO create an action plan to improve the lives of India's homeless population focusing on the needs of homeless teens like Akash.
An action plan is used by NGOs to plan and implement services for those need.
Process
Here are the steps you should follow for completing your action plan.
Your action plan should include three parts:
- background information on the problem
- possible partners
- potential solutions
Do not forget to include an introduction and a conclusion.
Your group's goal is to help the homeless children of India.
This graphic organizer can be utilized to structure your research. You will need to either create a graphic organizer or use one in the paper center.
Be sure to incorporate visuals like graphs, charts, maps or photographs in your action plan to help express your information to your audience in a clear way.
Remember collaboration will key to completing your action plan. Be prepared to present your findings to the class on India.
Step 1: Go to the link here to read a news article about India homeless problem. This article will be helpful with background information and potential solutions to the homeless crisis in India.
Step 2: Go to the link here which will provide you with a worldwide directory of Non-Governmental Organizations, NGO. Review the information you find on this site. Be sure to click on the South-Central Asialink on the map. You will use this information in determining possible partners.
Step 3: Use a white sheet of paper to plan your action plan. Your action plan will need to include all three components: background, partners, and solutions.
Step: 4: Divide up the work among the members of your group. Your group can determine how the roles are divided but each member of the group must participate in the final product.
- Editor: creates the introduction/conclusion and be the proofreader.
- Problem Researcher: student does the background research on the problem.
- NGO Researcher: student investigates the potential partners.
- Solution Provider: student researches the possible solutions.
All members should contribute to all sections but the person assigned each section has the final say in how that section is presented.
Step 5: Go to the link here to investigate worldwide homeless statistics and information. Use this information for your background knowledge section.
Step 6: Go to the link here to investigate what Delhi is like. Remember this is a travel company site so the information here will be showing you the best side of Delhi and not the homeless.
Step 7: Watch the video here. This is an interview with a homeless boy from India. This video will help build your potential solutions.
Step 8: Create your action plan. Do not forget to use the information from your graphic organizer if you chose to fill it out. You will need to use additional resources from our classroom library or outside sources for this part of your project. You might want to interview a family member to get more ideas. If you are having trouble, speak with me! Remember to cite any additional sources you utilize.
Evaluation
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Problem | Describes the problem and clearly understands what the problem is Cites facts/statistics Cites relevant documents or reports Describes how many people the problem impacts and why it continues to be a problem |
Describes the problem and clearly understands what the problem is |
Some description of the problem, but unclear if the problem is understood | No description of the problem was given. |
| Possible Partners | 3 or more possible partners were described and an explanation was given for choosing these partners | 2 possible partners was given. Existing NGOs or government programs were described | 1 possible partners was given information was vague | No possible partners were given |
| Solutions | 2 or more potential solutions were given with a description and rationale for why these solutions are valuable options | 2 potential solutions were given without a description of the solution and why it is valuable | 1 potential solution was given | No potential solutions were given opinions were given with no supporting evidence |
| Introduction/Conclusions, Editing & Graphics | A well thought out and a detailed introduction and conclusion were given. | An introduction & conclusion were given but were very general and did not include specifics. | No introduction or conclusion is given. |
Conclusion
Over the last couple of weeks, your NGO has investigated the problem of India's homeless population and come up with some potential solutions. You have reached out to other NGOs and organizations that are possible partners in your efforts to assist India's homeless population. An action plan was created to help organize and focus the efforts of your NGO. Be prepared to present to the class on India Presentation Day.
What do you think worked the best? Could areas of the action plan be improved upon in the future?
Addition links to check out:
NPR story on what life is like for India's homeless teens. link You can also listen to the story.
An Aljazeera article on life in India's slums. link
Borgen Magazine article Slumdogs: Child Homelessness in India. link
Credits
Adapted from Life on the Streets in Delhi by Trish Cramer, Western Illinois University
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