The Paper Bag Game Response

I thought that the Paper Bag Game was very fun because we got to make something with our own hands instead of online like 3rd world farmer. I enjoyed working with my team and learning about the negative and positive things we could have done during the game. The game made me think about how it must be so hard for people to live like that in real life. It made their situation very real and understandable to me.

Kidan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cf83V86AsE
I thought the part of the video where Kidan says:
"my dream? A doctor. I'd like to be a doctor."

Sudan

• What's going on in Sudan?

The country of Sudan is in turmoil. It all started with a substance that is treated like liquid gold. Yep, that's right, oil. If you split Sudan into North and South, mostly you'd find Muslims in the North and Christians/Tribal People in the South. But the precious oil was found in the South of Sudan by the southern people. So, who should have the oil? The southerners, obviously. But in the North, people got angry. Oil has a lot of wealth to be made, and the northerners wanted it all to themselves. Basically, they stole oil from the southerners who didn't think that was fair, and fought back. And so, a war started. Recently though, the South has come up  with a solution. If they gain independence and become they're own country, then greedy hands can't take their property. And that's what's trying to be done just this week. Sudan is having a massive vote soon to decide if they become free, separate countries, or if they stay together.

• Why should you care?

The whole problem is unjust and rooted in selfishness. If the South does not get their independence, they will continue to be stolen from. As fellow nations, we have to do what we can to carry out justice, and make sure that things go fairly.

• What can you do?

There's not much you can do if you're not a citizen of Sudan, but they do need their cries to be heard and spread. They need help so that their votes will count and everything will be fair in the process. That's where world leader can do their part. So we need to spread the cry and get the attention of people who have important roles in the world.

Ayiti- The cost of life

Haiti

Part A

Many human rights are denied to the people of Haiti. Haitians have little control over the future of themselves or their country. Even before the earthquake, corrupt people with more control (and money) would abuse their power, selfishly treating those less fortunate unfairly. When the earthquake hit, the outside world and media started to pay attention to the suffering country. They knew there was no way that the Haitians could get out of Mother Nature's cruel mess alone. They needed aid, support and care. And that's what countries should do for each other; we all share this world together after all. So aid started coming in from neighboring countries and the news was spread- Haiti's in trouble (watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI) and if we don't help them, who will? The support allowed people to rebuild their lives, rebuild their jobs, rebuild their families, and rebuild their nation. Slowly and surely, they will become more and more in control of their rights, choices, and capabilities. Of course, the rebuilding isn't very easy. The organizations that are helping face many obstacles when trying to clean up. One problem that gets in the way for them is garbage. With all that rubble, how are garbage trucks supposed to get through to the garbage. Won't it all stack up? Absolutely. That's what's happening.

What now? How are people supposed to help clean up when their surrounded in piles of rubbish? Problems like this are not easily solved. But slowly, things will get better. How was this country so effected by the earthquake? You may be wondering, why don't they just shake it off? Well it's not that simple. For a more wealthy and secure country like, say, Germany, that may have been possible. But Haiti started out in poverty. After years of suffering from corrupt leaders, the punch of the earthquake wiped them off their feet. When trying to earn the country a little money, the government pushed people to wipe out their natural forests for lumber. That wasn't such a bright idea, evidently. With only 2% rainforest left to hold the land together, it crumbled when the disaster struck. So how can this country get over such a big blow? How in the world will they get back on their feet? Many things could happen, and everyone has an idea of what might save the nation. For one, supplies being sent and clearing has to happen before anything else. Then rebuilding and jobs. I see this as a chance to start fresh. Thinking long term, eco-friendly rebuilding would save money and the environment (solar panels ect...). Then reforesting needs to happen. We need to learn from our mistakes and fix that problem. A nation built on dry, crumbly land won't be good. Once all that is done, I believe that Haiti can start again and grow as a country, and thrive.

Part B

http://ayiti.newzcrew.org/ayitiunicef/ When I played Ayiti: The Cost of Life I felt kind of sad and frustrated. That's because I know that life is really like that or worse for some people. I was frustrated because it was so hard to win the game and stay alive. Then I was horrified by the thought of how it must feel for real human beings- not just avatars. If I were to describe the game to a friend, this is what I'd say:

           "The game is not just a silly or destructive game like WOW or COD, it's a game that makes you think about the big picture. When you have to care for a 3rd world family, you find how difficult their life is. It's really humbling. You decide what jobs they take, how much education they get, what kind of things they buy, and what they do when they get sick."

Before you start the game, you choose your primary objective: what you want to fulfill when playing. It sets a goal and purpose in your mind for while you're playing. I chose health. I chose it because you can't have education, happiness, or money if you're dead. That was my point of view. I used a couple different strategies during the game. At the beginning, when all the family members were in good health and with 300 money, I sent the girl to protestant school and made everyone work hard to earn a lot of starting money. That gave me around 500 money. So right off, I bought a home remedy set to keep the family in good health, toys for happiness, books for education family-wide, shoes for easy work, and a bicycle for more job choices. Each turn, I reloaded on home remedy sets and books. Every so often, I would send one family member for some education or to rest at home for a season. If I had plenty of money, I would send a family member to the clinic for a season to reload on health. Schooling is very important in the game. The main reason is that it opens up new job choices that can make your family more money and do good for the community. It was difficult to keep the children in school, though, because sometimes we were running short on money or we needed them to help with work. They also couldn't study if they were sick. That's why I did the "studying at home" thing with the books and supplies. Although some parts of Malaysia are poor, most are not in total poverty. It's a little hard to relate to the game because I've never been in that kind of situation before in real life. Getting education is definitely a challenge for LEDC's as demonstrated in the game. Sometimes, people just can't afford to send their kids to school, although it will help them in the future, they just can't see that far ahead. Education is vital for those countries, though because people need to get jobs better than farming. Every country needs it's carpenter, mechanics,secretaries, and construction workers. Women need education especially, because that is the only way for them to earn the respect of the powerful men in the communities. Otherwise, they're seen as lowly workers. If LEDC's made education cheaper and more accessible, their citizens would be so much more well off. They could lower the costs of good schools, get better teachers for the teachers, and make it easier for working kids to study and read at home.The UNMDG's are at work in Haiti. Let's take a look at the progress in the Caribbean so far.  

GOAL 1 | Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger:

Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.

GOAL 2 | Achieve universal primary education

Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.

GOAL 3 | Promote gender equality and empower women

Progress sufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist

GOAL 4 | Reduce child mortality

Progress sufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.

GOAL 5 | Improve maternal health

Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.

GOAL 6 | Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Progress sufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist

GOAL 7 | Ensure environmental sustainability

Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist

GOAL 8 | Develop a global partnership for development

Already met the target or very close to meeting the target.

Sources:
http://cdn.wn.com/pd/27/5d/f89ffa7883d50a46c4b53a564e85_grande.jpg
http://msf.ca/blogs/photos/2009/01/08/floods-in-gonaives-haiti/

3rd World Farmer

From the class blog post I learnt:

• There's a way out of the cycle of poverty
• That green arrow out is help from outside; gifts like a goat, or support for education
• A hungry person doesn't often think about long term goals
• Neighbors that are less fortunate then their neighbor often will be driven to steal from the

1. Farmers are faced with challenges like

• Trying to build long term goals when your trying to keep your family alive
• The cost of medicine
• Disasters

2. ''
3. Farming provides food for poor people who don't farm. Farming doesn't earn a lot of money, but it is often done during the time of school, so it gets in the way of education.
4. I think an SLR linked to the game is live ethically because we need to help the 3rd world farmers by giving them things (like oxfam unwrapped).
5. Same as first subject
6. It will effect my thinking when I travel, when I'm faced with a lot of unexpected money, and other things.




Picture from:  http://lfort.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/indias-rise-as-a-great-power/

AIDS day reflection

What are your reactions?
I think what we are doing is really great. It way a lot of work, but I'd love to make it bigger. We need to educate people who can help on how to help. I thought the bake sale was great because everyone likes dessert at lunch! The activities worked well because they were spread out throughout the school, and not all crowded in one place. We also had a big variety of things to do.


What did our actions mean to you / other students at ISKL / the world around us?
It feels great to know that we're helping people. It's SO important that we fix the problems in the world and make it all good.


What were your highlights from yesterday?
I really enjoyed painting people's nails cause they came in really eager to know more and show their support. The world could use a lot more of people like that.


What will you remember about the day?
I'll remember the clanging of coins when we counted the money after the event. It was a fabulous sound after watching the movies about people with AIDS. To know that we will be helping orphans of AIDS is great.


What do you think GI students should do for World AIDS Day next year?
I think they should focus on a bigger audience. If we could make a small change in KL rather than a big change in ISKL, it could grow into a lot more than small activities, a bake sale and an assembly. It would be a lot of work, but just imagine the satisfaction of such an achievement.


What did you learn after taking part in an action project like this?
I learned how much work goes into a project like this. It doesn't seem like much to be the audience when you don't see the behind-the-scenes work.

African American HIV/AIDS Education & Prevention Instructor Class

Anonymous User

06/12 to 08/12/2010

• Country: US
• City: Tuscaloosa, AL
• Venue: West Alabama Chapter American Red Cross 1100 Veterans Memorial Pkwy Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

African American HIV/AIDS Education & Prevention Instructor Class
Cost: $200.00 | Length: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM - 3 days | 

This course is designed to train individuals to share facts about HIV and AIDS accurately, non-judgmentally, and sensitively with people with member of African American communities, particularly youth 12 and above, in culturally specific ways to enhance their decision-making skills and support an increase in self-protective behaviors and develop the skills they need to prevent HIV infection. Prerequisites for the course include: Must be 17 years of age at the completion of the course; Fundamentals of Instructor Training certificate issued within the past 12 months or be an authorized American Red Cross Instructor for another course and must possess a current HIV/AIDS Starter Facts Certificate (Candidates can challenge the Starter Facts course by passing the HIV/AIDS Facts Test) http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/World-AIDS-Day/WAD-2010-Events-Calendar/African-American-HIV-AIDS-Education-Prevention-Instructor-Class

I was really impressed with this event because it educates people. As good as fundraising and all that is, it is only a temporary fix. What the world really needs is educated people. Then, everyone can know what their part is and do just that with ease and understanding. Teaching people how to do something on their own is the best thing you can do for them, no matter how many times you do it for them again and again.

http://www.google.com.my/imglanding?q=aids&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1280&bih=669&tbs=isch:1&tbnid=9p_VdF7huAjEAM:&imgrefurl=http://humanitarian.worldconcern.org/2008/12/01/humanitarian-world-aids-day/&imgurl=http://humanitarian.worldconcern.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/world-aids-day-crosses1.jpg&zoom=1&w=700&h=469&iact=hc&ei=pending&oei=aiD2TMSHIcerrAeO4anZBg&esq=10&page=9&tbnh=163&tbnw=218&start=144&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:144

It sickens me how many people die of AIDS. And yet still more, it disgusts  me how many of those deaths are caused from ignorance. If we could find a way to teach people how to save themselves and others; make everyone more aware of what's happening around us- the world could truly "come together as one" (We are the World) against AIDS, and other issues such as poverty and the like. We need to educate the world so that we can help others.

Ideas: What should we do on AIDS Day?

1.   A no-stuff auction. Someone will stand up with a microphone and call out for a starting price. Say it's 3RM. They'll ask who can top it and on and on until we get the highest amount of money. It's easy to do and all the proceeds can go to AIDS.
2. A contest of who can create the best AIDS poster. To enter you have to pay 5RM. It will make the school aware if we post them up and all the proceeds can go to AIDS.
3. Ask everyone to give money so that the school can sponsor an AIDS orphan.

Those are my ideas!