This is the campus-based Course
Hiram
College
Interdisciplinary Course
INDT
Children of the Dump - A Study of Poverty Through the
Eyes of Children
Children of
the Dump
Summer 2011
June 9, 16, 23, 30 and July 7, 14, 22, 21—6:00-10:00 p.m.
Hinsdale
Credit Hours: 4
This is a team taught interdisciplinary
Biomedical Humanities and Management
Syllabus
Roger Cram: Adjunct faculty, Director of Special Projects and Community Service
Home: 330-569-7962, Cell: 330-569-4912 Email: cramrf@hiram.edu
Carol Donley: Professor of Biomedical Humanities and Professor of English, retired
Email: Donleycc@hiram.eduTexts: Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains
Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty
Mohammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle against World Poverty
Xeroxed handouts of stories and poetryCourse description: This team-taught interdisciplinary course examines the effects of poverty on economics and health care in poor countries. We will pay particular attention to those who are making a major difference in the well being of those living in poverty and in their health. We will also look at ways a major economist believes we can end poverty; we will examine how the Nobel laureate Yunus developed micro-lending to the poor, especially women, so they could start small businesses; we will read about the amazing work of Dr. Paul Farmer (Mountains Beyond Mountains); and we’ll discuss three short stories which give us insights from the perspectives of those in poverty.
First assignment: Read Parts I and II of Mountains Beyond Mountains and bring 3 questions to class for group discussion.
June 9 Carol: Mountains Beyond Mountains, Parts I and II. Class will discuss the readings in small groups and see a power point about Paul Farmer. PowerPoint. on backgrounds for biomedical ethics. 2-Hours
Roger: Children of the Dump – Nicaragua - PowerPoint – 1 Hour
Roger: Street Children – PowerPoint – 1 Hour
June 16 Carol: Mountains Beyond Mountains, Parts III, IV and V. Small group
discussions. PowerPoint on "Respect for Persons.” 2 - Hours
Roger: Adult heroes involving children: (Corine, Glenys, Daniels, Mabula, Claw lady, Meena
Patel, Jim Frame, Frank Huezo) PowerPoint – 1 hour
Roger: Human Trafficking of childrenJune 23 Carol: The End of Poverty, Sachs, Intro. and Chapters 1, 3, 10, 11
Small group discussions. 1-Hour
Beneficence and Justice – PowerPoint - 30 minutes
Take-home test issued in class on material covered in the first two sessions - due June 30.
Roger: Film, Emanuel’s Gift - 2 hoursJune 30 Carol: Sachs - 12, 17, 18. Small group discussions and PowerPoint on Millennium Development
Goals. 1 - Hour
Carol: Xeroxed stories: “Luis.” 1-Hour
Pizza Party
Roger: Children Heroes – PowerPoint – 1 hour
Roger: The reasons for poverty: Politics, U.S. Foreign Policy (South
Africa, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chiapas), natural disasters (earthquakes,
volcanoes, floods, hurricanes) ,economic policies (keeping peasants poor for harvesting).
1 – HourJuly 7 Roger: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm - Guest Speaker – 1-Hour - Sister Ann Victory
Carol: Xeroxed stories: “Imelda” and some poetry - small group discussions and
application of bioethics to the stories. 1/2- Hour
Take-home test issued in class on material covered in sessions three and four - due July 14.
Roger: Child Soldiers 1/2 - Hour
Film: Blood Diamond – 2-HoursJuly 14 Carol: Yunus, Banker to the Poor – Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty - intro and chapters 1-9. Small group discussions. Video in Micro-Lending (45 Minutes)
2-Hours
Roger: The movie Slum Dog Millionaire – 2 HoursJuly 21 Carol: Yunus, Banker to the Poor – Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, Chapters 13, 14 to p. 278 1-Hour
Carol: Xeroxed stories: poetry - small group discussions and
application of bioethics to the stories.
Group presentations: 20 minutes each plus 10 minutes for questions
Appetizer party - furnished by class - optional.
Take home final issued – due in two weeksGrades based on attendance 5%
Participation in class discussions 5%
First quiz: 20%
Second quiz: 20%
Group Presentation: 25%
Final Take-home exam: 25%Final Exam - Summer 2011
Some of the following questions may require some additional research in addition to the class texts and material presented. From the following six questions, answer any four of them to the best of your ability. There is not a word limit requirement, but rather the higher grades will be given to the finest work. If possible, bring your completed exam (printed on a computer printer, not hand written) to our last class, or mail them to Carol Donley PO Box 903 Hiram, Ohio 44234, no later than July 26, 2011.
(1) Molly Melching, the founder of Tostan (see handout), learned that top-down approaches to charitable outreach rarely succeeded. “Without local buy-in, a well-meaning group would build a clinic and outfit it with drugs—and then the villagers would divide the clinic’s beds among themselves, and the doctor would sell the medicines in the market. Senegal seemed like a cemetery of aid projects that weren’t working”(224). What did work was careful grassroots, bottom-up projects that took the time and effort to learn the language and culture of the community and to work with the people to address their problems. Explain Tostan’s success and then find examples from the work of Farmer, Sachs and Yunus that illustrate their use of bottom-up approaches to ending poverty.
(2) In 2000, most of the world’s countries, including the U.S., pledged to devote .7% of their GDP to the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with the goal of cutting deep poverty in half by 2015. Discuss two (2) of the MDGs that affect children living on dumps or in other conditions of severe poverty. Give specific examples of how Farmer’s, Sach’s, and Yunus’ work helps to meet these MDGs.
(3) Statistics about deep poverty help us see the huge differences between the wealthy countries and those in what Sachs calls a poverty trap. But often such information seems overwhelming and somewhat remote. What we need to make the abstract become real for us are stories, both fictional and real, that help us walk in the shoes of the poor. Using at least one Selzer story and 3 others from any of the stories from Yunus, Sachs, Farmer and the DVDs/videos, show how the stories make the material come alive and meaningful.
(4) Below is a sample payment plan if someone borrowed $300 at 10% interest for one year. A comparison is made between the discussed micro-lending model, where a consistent interest payment is charged each month, and the United States bank lending model, where the interest payment is calculated monthly based on the unpaid balance. Write a comparison between the two models including: the lending requirements for each borrower (how does one qualify for a loan), advantages and disadvantages of each lending method, interest paid (discuss any conflicts in paying interest in some cultures), equal lending opportunity for men and woman, and the lending institution's required security (collateral required, forming responsible groups of borrowers).
Micro Lending Model United States Bank's Lending Model Borrow $300 at 10% interest for one year Borrow $300 at 10% interest for one year $ 25.00 Principal paid per month = $300 / 12 months 0.008333 10% Interest annually / 12 = monthly interest % $ 30.00 Interest at 10% per year = $300*.10% Interest charged monthly on unpaid balance $ 2.50 Interest in each monthly payment = 300*10% = $26.37
Monthly Payment $30 / 12 months = $2.50 Interest per month $ 27.50 Monthly payment = principal + Interest = $25 + $2.5 Monthly Payment's Payment's Balance Monthly Payment's Payment's Balance Payment Principal Interest Payment Principal Interest $ 300.00 $ 300.00 1 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 275.00 1 $26.37 $23.87 $ 2.50 $ 276.13 2 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 250.00 2 $26.37 $24.07 $ 2.30 $ 252.05 3 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 225.00 3 $26.37 $24.27 $ 2.10 $ 227.78 4 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 200.00 4 $26.37 $24.48 $ 1.90 $ 203.30 5 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 175.00 5 $26.37 $24.68 $ 1.69 $ 178.62 6 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 150.00 6 $26.37 $24.89 $ 1.49 $ 153.73 7 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 125.00 7 $26.37 $25.09 $ 1.28 $ 128.64 8 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 100.00 8 $26.37 $25.30 $ 1.07 $ 103.34 9 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 75.00 9 $26.37 $25.51 $ 0.86 $ 77.82 10 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 50.00 10 $26.37 $25.73 $ 0.65 $ 52.10 11 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ 25.00 11 $26.37 $25.94 $ 0.43 $ 26.16 12 $ 27.50 $ 25.00 $ 2.50 $ - 12 $26.37 $26.16 $ 0.22 $ (0.00) Totals $ 330.00 $ 300.00 $ 30.00 Totals $ 316.50 $ 300.00 $ 16.50 (5) Daniel Ortega was the rebel leader of the Sandinista revolution's army in Nicaragua trying to overthrow the governing Somoza Dynasty. President Ronald Regan was running for reelection in the United States and supported the Somoza regime. Similar civil wars occurred in South Africa, Guatemala, and El Salvador. In any war, especially civil wars, the children suffer the most. Explain how civil war creates poverty and increases the number of destitute children. Discuss economics (government owed businesses), government aid programs, education, housing, health concerns and medical services, refugees, availability of food, and the cost and consequences of military operations.
(6) Several countries in the world are using child soldiers (Burma, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen). In many countries, the use of children for sex services and to reduce manufacturing costs through slave labor are prevalent. Explain the difference between slavery used today verses in Colonial times in Southern United States.