Making+a+Difference+in+Africa

to be completed 3/19/09

=**Making a Difference in Africa** =

In a recent chapel service, one of our 8th grade students, Sterrett, discussed his service experience in Africa while he accompanied his father, a medical doctor, on a mission trip. After our service field trip to Sheltering Arms, our school counselor, Ms. Eastman, spoke to you about her service in Uganda. You have heard me mention Mr. Mathews' years in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Everywhere you hear about people who want to make a difference in Africa. Whether they are members of our own Lovett community or celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, or Bono, people want to help. There are a myriad of world organizations, private foundations, and government programs focused on providing aid to Africa. If you are one of those who wants to help, what is the best way to do so? To find an answer to this question, we are starting a project in our world geography class researching a variety of assistance programs and evaluating their effectiveness. Each student's final product will be a voice thread posted on this wiki in which he or she describes the assistance provided by a particular aid organization and determines whether the organization is truly MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN AFRICA. As part of your research, you will determine whether contributions to the organization which you have selected are a wise investment.

Before we start our research, though, it is important to understand that there is a variety of opinions not only on how best to provide aid to Africa, but whether such aid should be provided at all. Before you get started on your research, click on the link below to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and listen to what she had to say about aid to Africa at the 2007 TED conference.

As you research your organization, be sure to consider the following:

How long has the organization been in existence?

Who founded it?

Where is it headquartered?

What is its purpose? Its purpose it to help get rid of aids in africa.

Does it just provide assistance to Africa, or is it active around the world? It provides assistance to africa.

Which problem is it addressing in Africa? It is addressing aids in africa.

Does it provide assistance to just one or several countries in Africa? It provides assistance to many countries in africa.

How does the organization raise money for its efforts? People donate to the oragnization.

What is your organization's budget?

How much of the money it collects for Africa is used for overhead (expenses)?

Have the reviews of your organization's efforts been favorable or critical, i.e., what kind of a "report card" has it been getting?

How would you rate your organization's efforts? Has it done "a good job?"

Do you think donating money to your organization is worthwhile? I think donating to this organization is going to make a change in africa

**World Geography**
 * Making a Difference in Africa Project Update**
 * February 26, 2009**

As you continue working on your projects this week, be mindful of the following:

A. **Grading:** The part of the project on which you are currently working will count as a test grade for the upcoming mid-semester report card. There will be additional work done on the projects after our return from the mid-semester break, which will be included in the next grading period.

This first part of the project will be graded as follows (max 100 points):

5 points—effective use of class time; focus on project assignment

15 points—information about selected country including accurate and complete worksheet information and paragraph addressing condition of country

5 points—organization of student work space on your period wiki page

10 points—storyboard complete with image, URL, and script

15 points—bibliography

50 points—voice thread

B. **Resources:** Remember to visit the websites on Ms. Deisley’s handout, as well as any others you many find, which contain analysis of your agency’s effectiveness. Include those sources in your research.

C. **Voice thread:** Two of the images you are using do not have to be obtained through search.creativecommons.org. They are the agency logo and the map of your country.

Period 3

Caroline Kenny and Courtney Muller--SCP

image by Juan Falque

[|Doctors Without Borders]

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/

http://www.aidforafrica.org/

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

[|George Ayittey, American University professor]

[|Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at TED conference on aid to Africa]

[|Oprah's Leadership Academy]