PA G E 1 O F 8

In thIs actIvIty participants will gain perspective as to where they stand on the “ladder of economic development” in relation to the rest of the world’s population. They will also gain a greater understanding of the economic trap in which the extremely poor are caught.

t i m E r E q u i r E d : 3 0 m i n u t E s | i n t E n d E d F O r G r A d E s 9 - 1 2

Ma

te

ria

ls

Ne

ed

ed » Masking Tape

» Seven copies of Resource 1, “Labels and Tokens”

» Bibles, one for each participant

Climbing the Ladder of Economic Development

Preparation Needed» Using masking tape, create a “ladder” on the floor, with six lines (two feet apart) as the “rungs.”

» To make the activity more effective, select seven volunteers before the meeting. Tape onto each volunteer one of the roles from Resource 1, “Labels and Tokens.” Each volunteer will represent a person from a different situation/nation. Ask them to do some research into their nation or situation and present this additional information during the activity when they read their role aloud.

PA G E 2 O F 8

Activity StepsInvIte each of the seven volunteers to come to the front of the room one at a time, asking them to share who they are and the situation that is on their “label card” (which you can tape to their back after they read it). If they have done any research of their own, they can share it with the group now.

DIscuss wIth the larger group where they think this individual would stand on the ladder. Have the person take their spot on the ladder, until all seven members are placed.

fInally, gIve each volunteer their situational token (one at a time). Ask each person to read their token aloud and then have the group discuss how this situation will affect the person’s movement up or down the ladder of economic development. Tape the token onto the volunteer’s label card once they’ve read it.

IntroDuce the concept of economic development using the following key points:

» Economic development occurs when the well-being of people in a community or country increases.

» One example is when people living at the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day, lacking enough food and clean water to survive, start making enough money to not only survive but thrive. This improves the quality of life for their family and community.

» Imagine that economic development is a ladder, with the higher rungs representing steps up the path to economic well-being. Now think about the fact that roughly 1 billion people around the world—one of every six people—cannot even make it onto the first rung to start climbing. They are caught in the poverty trap—too poor, too ill, too hungry to climb, they are fighting just to survive. They are struggling against absolute poverty, unable to secure even the basics of life.

» A few rungs up the ladder is the upper end of the low-income world, where 1.5 billion are surviving but struggling to make ends meet. They suffer from chronic financial hardship, lack basic amenities, and are vulnerable to many diseases.

» The next few rungs are occupied by about 2.5 billion people in the middle-income world. Their income may be a few thousand dollars a year. Many of them live in cities and are able to secure some comfortable amenities. Their children go to school, have access to medicine, and enjoy adequate nutrition.

» Still higher up the ladder are the remaining 1 billion in the high-income world. The majority of these people live in North America and Europe, with an increasing number living in middle-income countries such as China, Brazil, and Mexico.

23

1

4

PA G E 3 O F 8

» More than half of the world is experiencing economic progress. But the greatest tragedy is that one-sixth of humanity does not even have a foot on the ladder of economic development. Even though life-saving solutions exist—like medicine, drought-resistant seeds, bed nets for protection from malaria, and more—these people lack the money to obtain them. (Note: Statistics based on The End of Poverty, Jeffrey D.

Sachs, 2005, Penguin Books.)

ask your group to reflect on what they remember about the story of Sodom andGomorrah. You may need or wish to refresh their memories by reading Genesis 19:1-17.

now have the group read Ezekiel 16:49-50 and reflect on the following questions:

» What strikes you as you hear Sodom’s sin described in Ezekiel?

» How would you summarize Sodom’s sin as expressed in Ezekiel?

» Do you think our world is doing enough to address global poverty?

» What more could we do? What more could I do?

IntroDuce the Millennium Development Goals and briefly discuss why each one is important. Be sure to include the following information in your discussion:

» At the Millennium Summit held in New York in September 2000, leaders from 189 nations gathered to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of development targets with a deadline of 2015.

» These goals are called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They are summarized as follows: (Visit www.un.org/millenniumgoals for more information.)

•Goal1:EradicateExtremePovertyandHunger

•Goal2:AchieveUniversalPrimaryEducation

•Goal3:PromoteGenderEqualityandEmpowerWomen

•Goal4:ReduceChildMortality

•Goal5:ImproveMaternalHealth

•Goal6:CombatHIVandAIDS,Malaria,andOtherDiseases

•Goal7:EnsureEnvironmentalSustainability

•Goal8:DevelopaGlobalPartnershipforDevelopment

56

7

PA G E 4 O F 8

8

9

reaD together Isaiah 58:6-7. Then discuss the following questions:

» What is God looking for from his people?

» Discuss examples of what living out verses 6 and 7 could look like locally and globally.

concluDe your tIme together in prayer.

Copyright©2011WorldVision,Inc.,P.O.Box9716,MailStop321,FederalWay,WA98063-9716,

wvresources@worldvision.org. All rights reserved.

PA G E 5 O F 8

resource 1

Labels and Tokens

shanghaI, chInaI am a young professional adult in Shanghai, China. I hold a university degree and now have a high-income job in the city. I work at a technological export business. My country is still home to many poor people, but in the last few decades, we have been improving our country’s economic standing by increasing our exports. In 1980, we exported $20 billion worth of goods. In 2004, that number was up to $400 billion. Many of the things you buy every day are made in China. This has given us opportunity for foreign investment, improved ports for global shipments, and more.

calIfornIa, unIteD statesI work at UCLA doing research and development for a technological company. My company pays for me to travel around the world, sharing our scientific knowledge with people in major cities in Asia and Europe. I also enjoy personal travel to beach resorts. I grew up in the Bronx in New York. I saw poverty, but not like what some other countries experience. I received a student loan to attend college, and although I am working to pay back this debt, I am also able to enjoy many of the finer things in life.

hyDeraBaD, InDIaI am an IT (information technology) worker. A developing country is an attractive place for high-technology enterprises to set up. By coming to India, these companies save money, but also introduce our growing economy to sophisticated technology and advanced management processes. Having these companies in our country has helped us learn from their processes and helped many of us move up the economic ladder. I grew up in a village outside Hyderabad. In 1950, the population of India was 350 million, and now it’s over 1 billion. Many people in rural areas are still living in extreme poverty, but I was able to move to the city and get an education. I support my family members who still live in the village. My dad sells rice near his home.

Dhaka, BanglaDeshAlong with hundreds of other women, I work in a clothing factory in Dhaka. I grew up in the countryside and never learned to read or write. Our village was poor, with no access to clean water, and diseases were rampant. My family wanted me to marry young and have many children, but I did not want to raise my children in such conditions. As a young woman, I saw this job as an opportunity to travel to the city to work, gain skills, and make a decent income. If I can save enough money, I would like to go back to my village one day and start a sewing co-op.

—continued

PA G E 6 O F 8

kaBala, sIerra leone, afrIcaI am a young father of four. After more than a decade of civil war in the 1990s, my country is still slowly recovering. The rebel soldiers forced our entire village out so they could claim the diamonds in the nearby mountains. My whole village lived in a camp for internally displaced people for some time. I am unable to work right now because my arm was cut off during the war. Together, the people of my area are trying to rebuild our burned villages and farmland. Only two out of every five children in our area go to school, and the average lifespan is only 55 years because of the poverty we face.

agBovIlle, Ivory coast, afrIcaI am 10 years old. My father is a farmer who barely grows enough food for us to survive. I have seven siblings. I do not go to school. Instead I work at a cocoa plantation. My country is the biggest exporter of cocoa in the world. Hundreds of thousands of workers in the cocoa fields are at risk of machete injuries and pesticide poisoning. Children my age and younger are sometimes kidnapped and sold into slavery to fuel the world’s taste for chocolate.

DomInIcan repuBlIcI am from Haiti, a neighbor to the Dominican Republic. I left my country for the promise of a better life. I traveled by bus to work and live at a sugarcane plantation in the DR. The company I work for took my papers away, so now I am basically a slave. I get a very low wage, there is no clean water, no school for my children, and no access to healthcare. No one has ever told us about basic human rights.

PA G E 7 O F 8

Situational TokensNote: The following are all fictional situations created for the purpose of this simulation.

shanghaI: The Yellow River is drying up. Climate change is taking effect. There is not enough water for the people in Shanghai. Water is severely polluted as a result of chemical runoff from the many factories.

calIfornIa: This worker decides he wants to use his science-based technologies in developing countries and displacement camps to help people out of the poverty trap. His ideas include such things as drought-resistant seeds, nitrogen-producing plants to replace nitrogen in depleted soils, fertilizer that produces triple crop yields, and rocks that absorb CO2.

InDIa: This young man is offered the opportunity to work at at a major technology company in the United States. He decides to use his new income to help his family who are still in India to get an education. He also decides to contribute part of his earnings to the GlobalFundtoFightMalaria.

BanglaDesh: A microfinance organization begins offering loans to women to start their own small business. This worker starts her own sewing business in her home village and begins employing other women.

sIerra leone: AsinmanyAfricancountries,HIVinfectionisaconstantthreat.Asisterand brother-in-law of this young father have contracted the virus. They have three young children and no way to access the medical care they need to treat the disease.

Ivory coast: The cocoa company decides to incorporate fair wages and fair conditions for the workers in their cocoa plantations and factories. Laws are put into effect to ban child labor.

D.r.: The DR is asking all foreigners who don’t have identification papers to leave the country. Where will this worker go with no money, no land, no education, and no social assistance?

Permissiontoreproduceisgranted.©2011WorldVision,Inc.

PA G E 8 O F 8

About World VisionworlD vIsIon is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World VisionservesalongsidethepoorandoppressedasademonstrationofGod’s unconditional love for all people. We see a world where each child experiences “fullness of life” as described in John 10:10. And we know this can be achieved only by addressing the problems of poverty andinjusticeinaholisticway.That’showWorldVisionisunique:We bring 60 years of experience in three key areas needed to help children and families thrive: emergency relief, long-term development, and advocacy. And we bring all of our skills across many areas of expertise to each community we work in, enabling us to care for children’s physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

PartneringwithWorldVisionprovidestangiblewaystohonorGod and put faith into action. By working, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of children and families who are struggling to overcome poverty. To find out more about how you can help, visit www.worldvision.org.

About World Vision ResourcesenDIng gloBal poverty and injustice begins with education: understanding the magnitude and causes of poverty, its impact on human dignity, and our connection to those in need around the world.

WorldVisionResourcesisthepublishingministryofWorldVision.WorldVisionResourceseducatesChristiansaboutglobalpoverty,inspires them to respond, and equips them with innovative resources to make a difference in the world.

For more information about our resources, contact:

WorldVisionResourcesMail Stop 321P.O.Box9716

FederalWay,WA98063-9716Fax:253-815-3340

wvresources@worldvision.orgwww.worldvisionresources.com