SUBJECTS: Geography
YEARS: 9–10
The Live Aid concert in 1985 drew attention to Ethiopia's terrible drought and famine.
When this clip was made decades later in 2008, the developing nation was still experiencing widespread hunger. See how charitable aid can impact on the lives of those in less developed countries.
Things to think about
- 1.Aid is assistance given to one country by another country or group of countries. What do you know about the different types of aid given to developing countries? Have you ever contributed to an aid program in any way? How would you like to see your donation used?
- 2.Throughout this clip from 1980 several reasons for Ethiopia's famine are identified. What are they? Rural families in developing nations tend to have large families. Can you think of reasons for this? How do famine conditions such as those identified in the clip affect these families?
- 3.Aid programs may involve sponsoring a child in a community. Aid could be given directly to the family or to the community. Which approach would you prefer? How would you rank these options: giving directly to the child's family; purchasing food for the community; providing the community with seeds and crop-growing training and livestock; building roads and bridges; improving water management; educating the sponsored child; providing a community school.
- 4.Consider how these factors contribute to famine: unpredictable rainfall; poverty (lack of money); growing cash crops like coffee; dividing landholdings between many families; land degradation (poor soils and erosion); war and conflict; a limited networks of roads, which limits distribution of food. How might some of these factors be overcome?
Date of broadcast: 25 Nov 2008
Copyright
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