Poverty – A Day in the World’s Shoes
On last Thursday, November 6th, we had an international day, called “A Day in the World’s Shoes”. It was a day when we could learn about the poverty around the world. Our school invited the committee called “crossroads”. We started the day with David, a representative from crossroads. He talked about what is going on in today’s world. Although he talked in a funny way, the problem was serious. He emphasized that we all can change the world. After his speech, we were divided into several groups and had many activities. We carried water from big basket to small baskets. This was to understand how people get their water. We also had an activity that we had to bring things that we need for survival. This helped us know what we really need for out lives. After group activities, we listened to a woman’s speech. She talked about the specific things about poverty. After her speech, we got into several groups again and went to the classrooms. In the classrooms, we learned about the refugee camps. We also watched a video about North Korean refugee camp. Then we had lunch. The lunch was rice with vegetables on the leaves. We had to eat with our hands. First, we found it dirty and bad, but it was okay later. After lunch, we had a really exciting activity. We had to make paper bags. We had to make a lot of paper bags in a little time to pay for rent, food, education, and sanitation. When we were doing this activity, we were all in a rush and did not think that people are doing this everyday to survive. When I thought about that, I felt really sad about those people. It was the end of our day in the world’s shoes. I am glad that our school is going to build a school for poor people. I really liked the activities and I could learn many things about poverty around the world.
I used to ask myself, ‘How can I help poor people?’ when I saw them begging in the streets. I thought that I had to be an adult to help. After listening to the crossroads presentation, I learned that everyone can change the world, no matter what age. From now on, I will consider this problem more seriously and find a way to help them. I’ll also let people know about the problems.
