Backgrounder
Give us this
day our daily bread
Hungry? Looking forward to lunch today?
Didn't like tea last night? Sick of meat and veg? What you really
need is a hamburger from that place down the road ...that'd stop
these terrible hunger pains
Most of us here in Australia try to eat at
least three meals a day to keep us healthy and some of us manage
to fit in a few snacks in between Yet this is not the situation
for millions of people around the world. It is said that 840
million people around the world go to sleep feeling hungry every
night. Millions more might have a little to eat, but not enough to
keep healthy. Hunger, real hunger, is awful. Real hunger makes
people sick. Real hunger kills. Every day 34,000 children under
age five die from hunger and related causes.
Why do people suffer from hunger? Basically,
because there is just not enough food. There are many causes of
food shortage. The main one is poverty. Most of the people who are
really hungry do not have enough food or money to buy food. These
people can be found in any country of the world, but they are more
likely to live in Africa or in the Asia-Pacific regions of the
world. This is because a majority of people in these countries
rely on crops for their food. If there is a flood or drought or
cyclone or another natural disaster, then the crops are ruined and
there is no food, or money to buy food.
Sometimes people do not have enough food
because their lands have been destroyed by war, or taken away from
them to make way for 'progress'. Sometimes the country is going
through an economic crisis and the people are forced to make
repayments that are not sustainable to help their government to
repay global debt. When all of these happen in the same area in a
short space of time, the result is catastrophic. A severe lack of
food, a famine, occurs.
This is exactly what is happening in
southern Africa right now. The people in this area are facing the
worst agricultural disaster in a decade. Their main crop, maize,
has failed. Millions of people are on the brink of starvation.
Many are so desperate that they are eating whatever they can find,
roots, grass, even rats. Even in a poor year, at least some maize
is normally available for a few months or weeks in markets and
homes. But this time, there is nothing. Most people have even run
out of things to sell.
This famine is spreading across many
countries in southern Africa, including Mozambique, Zambia,
Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. This is horrifying and
completely unacceptable. Every person has the fundamental human
right to enough food for a healthy life. The children, the women
and the men of southern Africa are dying of starvation. What are
the rest of us going to do?
Caritas Australia has just launched the
Southern Africa Food Crisis Appeal. Visit Caritas Australia's
website for more information. Donations can be made by ringing the
toll-free number: 1800 024 413 http://www.caritas.org.au/emergencies
Select "Africa"
FOR STUDENTS
1. FOOD AND THE WORLD
a) Make a list of the times most students eat every day.
b) Make a list of the most popular foods eaten by the students in
your class.
c) Name ten popular foods and find out if they belong
traditionally to a particular country or race of people eg pizza,
rice, etc.
d) What are 'staple' foods? What is the staple food of the
following countries: China, Morocco, Japan, Russia, Papua New
Guinea. Add others to your list.
e) What is the point of the title of the article?
2. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE FAMINE IN
SOUTHERN AFRICA?
In twos, select one of these countries in southern Africa:
Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
Now complete the following task, using the internet to complete
your answers. Use the BBC website for this task (see below) For
each of these countries you will find a clickable map, real-life
stories and photos from each country, and an outline of the causes
of the famine. You are to produce a presentation (one-page or
poster) for your class on the food shortages of southern
Africa.
a) Title your page or poster: 'Give us this day our daily
bread'.
b) Paste a map of Africa on your page/poster. Visit http://www.newafrica.com/maps
for a map of Africa.
c) Choose one of the countries mentioned in the article above and
write its name clearly on your map. Also label the surrounding
countries.
d) Now go to this website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_2027000/2027079.stm
e) Describe what is happening to the people at this time? Add your
description to your presentation.
f) Write a summary of the causes for the food shortage in this
country and add this also.
g) You may like to conclude your presentation with a brief
description of what one overseas aid and development agency is
doing.
FOR TEACHERS:
Caritas Australia: http://www.caritas.org.au/emergencies
Select "Africa"
World Food Program: http://www.wfp.org
Food and Agriculture Organisation (United Nations): http://www.fao.org
Bread for the World: http://www.bread.org
A good place for information on world hunger and related issues, a
summary of the annual Hunger Report, fact sheets, and answers to
frequently asked questions and useful onward links.
Geography World: http://www.members.aol.com/bowermanb
Contains information, ideas and quizzes on a huge range of topics ...lots
about Africa, lots of quizzes and games.
|
