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6A Wednesday, June 8, 2011 Indian Valley Record
Middle school students share Global Village
Amelia Beck
Senior
Plumas Charter School
Special to Feather Publishing
"Experience is not what hap-
pens to a man. It is what a
man does with what happened
to him. "--Aldous Huxley
Beginning last fall, my mom
and I came up with an idea. We
wanted to share an opportunity
and the experience that we had
gone through at Heifer Interna-
tional's Global Village program
four years ago. We soon decid-
ed that the sixth-, seventh- and
eighth-graders at Indian Valley
Academy were a perfect group
to partake in this adventure.
The program is designed to
help kids understand the real-
ity that many people in our
world face daily: poverty. Its
purpose is taking facts to
another level as well as to
increase appreciation, empathy
and personal understanding.
Throughout February and
March, my mom, Carinne
Cook, and I presented the mid-
d]e school students facts and
photographs of living and
working conditions in six dif-
ferent countries: Haiti, Pales-
tine, Cambodia, Mexico,
Ethiopia and the Appalachian
Mountains in our own country.
The goal of this was to intro-
duce poverty and world hunger
with facts and statistics.
The students learned that
over 3 billion people live on
less than $2.50 a day and that
20 percent of the population
in developed nations con-
sumes 86 percent of the
world's goods. The facts,
however, aren't enough. You
can tell someone a statistic
such as 80 percent of humani-
ty lives on less than $10 a day
or that poverty kills almost
50,000 people every day.
Their response will be,
"Wow, how lucky we are!"
They will then continue on
with the rest of their lives,
never truly understanding
that they were right. Indeed,
how lucky we are.
In today's global economy, it
is very important to under-
stand the point of view, per-
spective and priorities in other
cultures. This is why we felt
the kids of IVA needed more
than just to know about pover-
ty. They needed to live it to tru-
ly learn it.
On April 27 the students of
IVA arrived in Genesee not
knowing much about exactly
what to expect. They pulled
cards at random, telling them
which country they would
represent and live in for the
next few days. One person in
each "family" was deemed
pregnant; represented by a
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i
water balloon taped inside
their shirt. The groups were
also assigned one adult who
was given the role of either a
toddler or an elder that the
kids would be responsible for.
Some groups were less for-
tunate than others. Haiti's
shelter consisted of two tarps,
cardboard and twine. Pales-
tine lived in a tent, Cambodia
inhabited a house on stilts
which was reached by a diffi-
cur trail. Appalachians were
considered the luckiest by the
kids; they had a roof, a door
and even a barbecue!
After the families settled in-
to their homes is when reality
started to hit them. Each group
was given a small assortment
of food. Some had a cup of rice
and a potato, others had an
onion, a few zucchini and a
couple tablespoons of oil, salt
or pepper. It was very interest-
ing to watch the way the kids
started to think outside of the
box together and work their
way toward better communica-
tion skills and creativity. They
visited the other countries and
bartered for food. The meals
they came up with that night
were mostly rice with a side of
potatoes. The Haitians got real-
ly inventive and created pine
needle tea!
The "pregnant" kids "gave
birth" to their water balloon
babies and were told they had
to take care of them over the
course of the field trip. It is
during all of this that they
were feeling hunger pains
which crept up on them. We
started to hear complaints
and stomachs growling; the
students of IVA began to feel
what the majority of earth's
population feels every day.
The next morning, the kids
woke up from a restless night.
The main subject of conversa-
tion was food, hunger and
how painfully cold it was the
bacon and eggs! On the menu
was a cup of oatmeal and half
an apple. Some of the kids re-
fused to eat the oatmeal and
gave it to someone else in
rheir group! After breakfast,
countries were assigned real
hard working jobs to earn
money so they could buy food
for the night's meal.
It was surprising how the
kids, who were put together
in groups that normally don't
hang out together, got along
so well. They treated each oth-
er with such kindness and re-
spect. For the time being, they
were a family.
At the end of the day, their
hard work paid off and they
were given money according to
what the countries they were
in would normally make in a
day. Palestine: $5 each, but
with 75 percent unemploy-
ment, only two Palestinians
were paid. Haitians, Mexicans
and Cambodians made $1 per
worker for all of their hard
work and effort. Appalachians,
who would normally make $22
a day on average, were only
paid $2 each due to economic
hard times. The Ethiopian fam-
ily suffered from a civil war
and was forced to flee from
their shelter without sleeping
bags. Ethiopians were not paid.
Instead, they were forced to ask
the other countries for refuge.
When it was time to purchase
food at market, most of the kids
rushed into conclusions with-
out consulting the rest of their
group. It Was surprising, seeing
how up until then, they had
been so group- and family-ori-
ented. They had reached a
point of hunger that none of
them had ever felt before. After
market, it started raining. It
was pouring before anyone had
their dinner fully cooked.
The Appalachians kindly
welcomed the Ethiopian fami-
ly nto their home and fed 12
their food together, resulting
in much tastier food in larger
portions. After dinner, a ma-
jority of the kids went to bed
soaking wet, cold and still
miserably hungry.
The next morning was the
last at Global Village. Every-
one had an enthusiastic smile
on their face as they ate the
largest breakfast they'd seen
in days. After the students had
their fill, it was time to de-
brief. It was incredible hear-
ing the changed point of view
they all shared. They dis-
cussed what was most chal-
lenging to them, what they
liked, what they disliked. We
noticed that three out of six
water balloon babies "died,"
which is accurate to the 50
percent infant mortality rate
in most third-world countries.
Global Village provided Indi-
an Valley Academy a life alter-
ing and unforgettable opportu-
nity. It proves that personaliz-
ing an issue can bring so much
more understanding into life
and the way others live. At such
an impressionable age, every
middle school student should go
on a Global Village field trip. It
opens up the mind, shows how
much we consume, how much
we waste. It makes us realize
how much we take for granted.
Gratitude, empathy, responsi-
bility, respect, communication
skills, creativity and many
more virtues are taught in just
a few days. The experience in-
ternalizes the facts by walking
in the footsteps of the millions
of human beings trapped in
poverty today.
At the end of the day, IVA stu-
dents went home, took a much-
needed shower and slept in their
warm beds after a delicious
meal. There's the difference be-
tween Global Village and the re-
al world: when you live in
poverty, you live in poverty.
It's not a field trip for
night before. How hopeful people with $10. Palestine and 80 percent of the world; it's
they were for a breakfast of Cambodia decided to cook theirlife.
Boys, girls invited to j0!n
free summer fun activities
Plumas County students en- and allow girls to think through 283-6570, will list activity dates
tering the seventh or eighth their behaviors andchoices. The and times or allow callers to
grade in the fall are eligible facilitator is Lindsey Gordon. leave a message. For more in'
for summer fun through Girls For boys, The Council rec- formation visit girlscircle.com
Circle or The Council, span- ognizes boys' strengths, chal- or boyscouncil.com.
sored by the Plumas County lenges stereotypes and has in- Free indoor and outdoor ac-
Probation Department. creased boys' engagement in tivities this summer include a
Girls Circle aims to create a school. Rusty Robinson will ropes course, swimming, hik-
healthy, structured environ- facilitate The Council. ing, sports and games. Partici-
ment for girls; improve their Effective the week of June pants must have a signed
body image and self-efficacy; 13, the department hotline, parentalpermission slip.
Calculus textbooks reviewed
Following review by a
committee of mathematics
teachers, Plumas Unified
School District and Plumas
County Office of Education
are recommending the adop-
tion of the following text-
books and ancillary materials
for use in calculus classes:
Calculus: Graphical, Numerical,
Algebraic, Third Edition,
Pearson/Prentice Hall,
copyright 2007.
The material will be on display
at the District Office, 80 Church
St. in Quincy, June 3- 21.
Any questions regarding
this adoption may be ad-
dressed to Tori Willits, direc-
tor of Curriculum Services, at
283-6500, ext. 227 or
twillits@pcoe .k12 .ca .us.
We are pleased to welcome R. Douglas Collins, MD
Now, patients suffering from: headaches, dizziness, back
and neck pain, as well as post-stroke and neuromuscular
problems, can be treated locally! Dr. Collins is the only
Neurologist practicing in Plumas County.
Dr. Collins is Board Certified in both Neurology and
Internal Medicine.
To make an appointment with Dr. Collins,
please call the Portola Clinic: 832-6600.
For more information, visit www.ephc.org