GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU HIGHLIGHTS
Track 1
Week 2: Qualitative Exploration of Poverty
THIS TRACK TRACK 1 Goal: Learn about the many facets of poverty. Investigate how poverty is intimately related to health and GlobeMed’s work.
THIS WEEK QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF POVERTY Goals: Develop a better understanding of how the poor understand and experience poverty.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND SMALL GROUP FACILITATORS You should use your small group facilitators to help lead this week’s discussion. Make sure the appropriate people are contacted and prepared to lead! BRING IN YOUR PARTNER This is a great week to emphasize the voice of your partner organization. Make sure you contact them with enough time for them to send you information!
Overview Building off of last weeks exploration of poverty through definitions and quantifications, this week we will explore the human experience of living in poverty. Needless to say, these resources and activities will not allow us to truly understand the realities of the poor - that is impossible without actually living in poverty. Yet, by listening to the stories of those living in poverty and attempting to develop a deeper understanding of their struggles, we can better empathize with the plight of billions, including our partner communities.
Framing the Session: Voices of the Poor Estimated time: 10 minutes Rarely do discussions about global health and poverty include the stories and opinions of the poor. Despite an increasing international focus on providing aid, “those whose rights are trampled [are] those rarely invited to summarize their convictions” (Paul Farmer). For this reason, the World Bank, Multidimensional Poverty Index, and other organizations have compiled stories, case studies, and quotes from people living in poverty around the world. Look through the resources and build content for your chapter around a theme or case study. We recommend presenting this information in small groups. Resources ✦ Voices of the Poor Summary ✦ The Voices of the Poor website provides excellent resources, and we encourage you to take some time to really explore it. ✦ The Dying for Change report contains experiences from the poor tied to specific health problems and deficiencies. See what people around the world say about the problems faced by your parter community. ✦ The Multidimensional Poverty Index provides a fantastic series of case studies. ✦ Contact your partners to find narratives and case studies from their community!
CONTACT US
Rachel Markon & Neal Emery, co-Directors of ghU globalhealthU@globemed.org
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GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU Activity: Simulations of “Living in Poverty” Estimated time: 10 minutes If we as GlobeMedders believe in living in solidarity with those in poverty, it is important that we attempt to see life from their perspectives - or, as we at GlobeMed like to say, develop an empathetic imagination. By attempting to put ourselves in a position of poverty, we begin to see the tremendous restrictions poverty places on one’s personal agency. That being said, it is also important to approach this activity with an understanding that so long as we are in a position of wealth, it is impossible to fully understand the realities of poverty. Below, we have provided some simulation exercises that place chapter members in the role of living in poverty and challenge them to fight for their survival. They are formed from the real life experiences of those living in poverty, both abroad and domestically. You can use one of the samples provided, but also feel free to use information from globalhealthU, your partner organization, and external resources to create your own simulation activity. Resources ✦ Choices Activity ✦ In groups, have chapter members go through the Choices Activity (accessible on insidedot). ✦ If possible, it would be great to customize this activity to include information about your partner organization. ✦ Play “Spent” ✦ In groups, have chapter members play the interactive online game, Spent: www.playspent.org
Discussion Estimated time: 10 minutes With the remaining time, discuss peoples’ reactions to Voices of the Poor and the activity . Possible Discussion Questions ✦ What surprised you? How did the narratives differ from your previous views of life in poverty? What did you find challenging in the activity? ✦ Think about the role of narrative in global health. How can stories be used as effective metrics and measurement? What can stories provide that quantitative data cannot? How can we being to preserve the stories from our partners? ✦ Ask each small group to share which choice they ended on if you did the Choices activity, or how much money they were left with if you did the Spent activity. Where did groups differ in their decisions? Why did your group make the choices that it did? ✦ Which choice was the most difficult to reach consensus on as a small group? Why? Which choices were the most distressing and why? ✦ What emotions did you experience during this activity? What about the activity made you feel this way? ✦ In both activities, you had no-one to turn to. At what point could someone have intervened (the community, a grassroots organization, the government, an advocate, etc.)? ✦ Now that we did this activity, what are the pragmatic implications? How do we take the lessons we learned from this exercise and apply them to our work in GlobeMed?
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