The Birth Lottery

8/6/2019 The Birth Lottery

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IN THIS ACTIVITY, the participants understandactors contributing to the health and well-being o

children.

TIME REQUIRED: 60-MINUTES | INTENDED FOR GRADES 9-12

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ATERIALS

NEEDED Copy o Resource 1, Leader Activity Script

Copies o Resource 2, Role-Play Cards, printed and cut out, (I you have more than 25

students, you will need two sets o cards.)

Masking tape

Newsprint Markers

Blank sheets o paper

PreparationMARK A STARTING LINE across the middle o the room with the masking tape. The line must

be long enough or all participants to stand in a single line. Take 10 steps orward rom the start

line and create a second masking-tape line, labeling it Healthy at 5. Take nine steps back romthe start line and create a third line, labeling it Sick at 5.

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Activity Steps

DIVIDE THE STUDENTS into pairs and provide each pair with a blank sheet o paper anda marker. Ask the pairs to brainstorm the most important things a child needs to be healthy.

Have them list these as the ingredients o a healthy child. Ask them to assign points to each

ingredient based on its importance (the greater the importance, the more points). The list o

points should add up to 100.

JOIN PAIRS INTO GROUPS OF FOUR. Provide each group with a sheet o newsprint and ask

them to reach a consensus on the ve most important ingredients.

ONCE THE GROUPS HAVE COMPLETED THIS TASK, invite each group to share their

ndings with the whole class. When all o the groups have presented, invite the entire class to voteon the top ve most important ingredients.

LEAD THE STUDENTS in a discussion using the ollowing questions:

Was it easy or dicult to prioritize the ingredients?

How was consensus achieved?

OUTLINE THE RULES o the Survive to 5 game with the ollowing comments:

You are about to play a game o survival. You are a child under the age o 5 in a country

somewhere in the world.

You might be lucky. You might live in a country where there is good healthcare or children

you get to go to school, and your parents are employed.

You might not be so lucky. In your country, there may be many diseases that threaten your

health, or you might be an orphan who has to work instead o going to school.

Your goal in this game is to survive to your th birthday.

Each o you will get a country identity card. Read it careully and keep it secret. Based

on what is written on your card, in this game you will take steps toward good health andsurvival, or steps that lead you backward to illness and possibly death.

Lets begin.

GIVE EACH PARTICIPANT a role-play card and invite them to read their cards to themselves

silently. Then ask them to line up along the start line acing toward the Healthy at 5 line.

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USING THE LEADERS ACTIVITY SCRIPT, read aloud the inormation or the rst category

(birth weight) and the corresponding instruction. Create and hold up a visible sign so the

participants will know which act on their role-play cards corresponds with birth weight. Based

on what is written on their cards, the participants will respond with a step orward or a step back.Repeat this process or all other categories, ollowing them in the order listed.

AT THE END OF THE GAME, EXPLAIN THAT:

Those o you who reached the Healthy at 5 line survived to 5 years old. Those who did

not are closer to illness and death.

Those o you in the middle survived your rst ve years, but may have health problems as

you grow older.

Those o you at the Sick at 5 line are at greatest risk o dying.

ASK PARTICIPANTS TO READ ALOUD their countries and role-play names. Then lead a

discussion using the ollowing questions:

What surprised you most during this activity?

What was the biggest challenge to your health?

How do you eel about children who were healthier than you, or those who died beore age 5?

How would you help children who were less healthy than you? What would you say to

them? What do they need?

CONCLUDE BY INVITING PARTICIPANTS to join you in prayer. Pray that all countries will

work toward the common good o children. Pray or a day when the worlds resources are shared

in such a way that no child goes without ood, shelter, medical care, or education.

During the preparation o this resource, all citations, acts, gures, Internet URLs, and other cited inormation

were veried or accuracy. World Vision Resources has made every attempt to reerence current and valid

sources, but we cannot guarantee the content o any source and we are not responsible or any changes that

may have occurred since our verication. I you nd an error in it, or have a question or concern about, any o

the inormation or sources listed within, please contact World Vision Resources.

Copyright 2010 World Vision, Inc., Mail Stop 321, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716,

[email protected]. All rights reserved.

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RESOURCE 1

Leader Activity ScriptBIRTH WEIGHT

In many poor countries, pregnant women dont get sucient ood or healthcare to deliver babies

o healthy weight. A child born underweight will struggle to develop strong bones and muscles

and will have trouble reaching a proper weight. The childs immune system will be too weak to

ght o disease and the child may have learning diculties later in lie.

Take one step forward if you were born at a healthy weight;

Take one step back if that wasnt your fate.

HEALTHCAREWhen you are young you get shots, or vaccinations, to protect you against preventable diseases

like measles and polio. However, in some countries, healthcare is not easily available, and many

people are too poor to see a doctor. I a amily lives in a remote area, a mother may not be able

to get her child to a medical clinic. Children who dont get their shots can get sick and die rom

preventable diseases.

Take one step forward if youve had your shots;

Take one step back if you have not.

FOOD

Food and proper nutrition is one o the most important actors in staying healthy. Good qualityood helps children grow strong. In the United States, we have an abundance o high-quality

ood. But in many other countries, children eat only one or two meals a day. Some children may

go or days without eating because ood is hard to nd and expensive to buy.

Take one step forward if you get three meals a day;

Take one step back if you eat less and are too hungry to play.

WATER AND SANITATION

The United States is blessed with resh, dependable water sources and good public sewer

systems. However, large numbers o people around the world do not have access to sae, clean

water. Because they dont have proper toilets, sewers, or water treatment systems, the water

they drink contains dangerous parasites and bacteria that cause disease and diarrhea in young

children. When children have untreated, chronic diarrhea, they cannot keep enough nutrients or

fuids in their bodies. Thats why diarrhea is a leading cause o death in children under 5.

Take one step forward if you drink clean water from a tap;

Take one step back if this is what you lack.

Take one step forward if theres a toilet in your home;

Take one step back if you are forced to roam.


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EDUCATION

In the United States, school is accessible or all children, no matter who they are or how much

money their amily has. But or many children around the world, school is not an option. I their

parents dont have money to pay school costs, children may have to work or stay home to dochores. Girls are oten kept at home to look ater their brothers and sisters while their mothers

go to work. Children who attend school are more likely to be healthy and able to get better jobs

in the uture so that one day they can take care o their own amilies. Children in school are also

saer than those who work or live on the streets.

Take one step forward if your days are spent in school;

Take one step back if this is not the rule.

MALARIA

Malaria is a serious and sometimes deadly disease carried by certain types o mosquitoes. It is

a leading cause o death worldwide. Although we have many mosquitoes in the United States,none o them carry the malaria parasite. Mosquito bed nets treated with special chemicals are

cheap to make and very eective in preventing mosquito bites. Yet in many countries where

malaria is a problem, many children under the age o 5 do not sleep under a treated bed net.

Take one step forward if you have a mosquito net;

Take one step back if this is something you didnt get.

HIV AND AIDS

The human immunodeciency virus, or HIV, causes AIDS, a atal disease o the immune system

that aects more than 33 million people worldwide. The prevalance o AIDS in the United States

is very low, but in some countries it is as high as one in every our adults. Although there is no

cure or AIDS, lie-saving drugs exist that can control it. But in poor countries, the drugs are

either too expensive or not available at all. Many children have been orphaned because one or

both o their parents died as a result o AIDS, and many children have also been inected with

HIV.

Take one step forward if your parents are alive;

Take one step back if one or both have died.

EMPLOYMENT

Parents who work can pay the costs o raising healthy children. They can buy nutritious ood,pay medical ees, and pay or school costs. Children o unemployed parents may get poor-quality

nutrition and may not get the healthcare they need. These children are also more likely to work

instead o going to school, and may be exposed to unsae and unhealthy working conditions,

such as scavenging in garbage dumps.

Take one step forward if one or both parents work for your daily bread;

Take one step back if you or your siblings work instead.

Permission to reproduce is granted. 2010 World Vision, Inc.


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USA /// (ANDREW/JULIA)

I was born with a healthy birth-weight.

I received all my shots when I was young. I eat three meals a day.

I have a water tap and toilet in my home.

I am able to attend school.

I live in an area without malaria and dont need

a mosquito net.

No one in my amily has HIV or AIDS.

Both my parents have jobs.

CANADA /// (STEVEN/CAROLINE)

I was born with a healthy birth-weight. I received all my shots when I was young.

I eat three meals a day.




a mosquito net.



HAITI /// (EMMANUEL/JOHANNE)

I was born underweight. I did not receive any shots when I was young.

I get only one meal a day.

I have a water tap near my home but do not

have a toilet.

I am not able to attend school.

I have a mosquito net.

My ather died because o AIDS.

My mother does not have a job and my siblings work.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC /// (MARCIEL/ANA)

I was born underweight.

I received all my shots when I was young.




I do not have a mosquito net.

Neither o my parents has HIV or AIDS.

Only my ather has a job.


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EL S ALVADOR /// (ANTONIO/CLAUDIA)


I received all my shots when I was young. I eat two meals a day.




a mosquito net.


Only my mother has a job.

NICARAGUA /// (ERNESTO/TALIA)


I eat two meals a day.






BRAZIL /// (AUGUSTO/MARIA)



I only have one meal a day.




My mother died because o AIDS.


PERU /// (ANDRES/CECILIA) I was born with a healthy birth-weight.


I eat two meals a day.


I am able to go to school.


a mosquito net.


Only my mother has a job.


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MEXICO /// (ALEJANDRO/GABRIELA)






a mosquito net.



UNITED KINGDOM /// (DANIEL/EMMA)






a mosquito net.



FRANCE /// (THOMAS/MATHILDE)







a mosquito net.



UKRAINE /// (IVAN/KATERINA) I was born with a healthy birth-weight.






a mosquito net.


Only my mother has a job


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UGANDA /// (WILLY/ESEERI)


I did not receive any shots when I was young. I get only one meal a day.

I have a water tap nearby but no toilet in my

home.



My mother died as a result o AIDS.


MALAWI /// (CHIKUMBU/SALIZA)

I was born underweight. I received all my shots when I was young.






My older siblings work to support my amily.

SOUTH AFRICA /// (MAMELLO/PULENG)







Both my parents died because o AIDS.

I have to work because my parents died.

AFGHANISTAN /// (ASSEF/SORAYA) I was born underweight.


I rarely eat because my parents cannot aord ood.

I do not have a water tap or toilet in my home.




I have to work because my parents do not have

jobs.

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CHINA /// (LI/YING)


I received all my shots when I was young. I get only one meal a day.

I live near a water tap but dont have a toilet in

my home.




I have to work since my ather doesnt have a job.

INDIA /// (VIKRAM/PRIYANKA)

I was born underweight. I did not receive any shots when I was young.

I get one meal every other day.

I live near a water tap but do not have a toilet

in my home.




I have to work since my ather doesnt have a job.

SRI LANKA /// (KASUN/DILINI)




I have a water tap but no toilet in my home.





JAPAN /// (HIROSHI/YOKO) I was born with a healthy birth-weight.






a mosquito net.




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AUSTRALIA /// (JACK/ISABELLA)






a mosquito net.



Permission to reproduce is granted. 2010 World Vision, Inc.


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About World Vision

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