Village Planners

In t his a c t iv it y, the participants explore the impact

of debt and debt relief in developing countries.
time required: 30 minutes
INT E n d e d fo r g r a d e s 6 - 8
Mat er ial s
N eed ed

» newsprint, one sheet for each small group of four or five, plus one extra
» markers, one for each small group of four or five, plus one extra
» a roll of masking tape

Activity Steps
1 B e gin b y n o t ing t he fo llo wing:
» Many poor countries around the world are buried in huge amounts of foreign debt.

» The payments countries make toward servicing their debts contribute to the cycle of poverty
because money is funneled away from essential investments such as health care, education,
and infrastructure.

» Debt, much of it illegitimate, has kept many countries poor. Countries often spend more on
debt repayment than on health care and education.

» But debt relief, agreed upon at the 2005 G8 Summit (an international meeting of the eight
most powerful countries in the world, where their leaders discuss current global issues), al-
lows highly indebted countries to direct money toward development that would otherwise
have been used to pay off debt. For example, in 2006, $750 million that would have been
spent paying off debt was instead used to fund education in Nigeria.

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 » Poor countries have agreed to fight corruption, and rich countries have agreed to give more
and better aid, forgive debts, and promote fair trade. The knowledge, technology, and re-
sources are available. All we need is the will to make it happen.

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» In this activity, we will explore the impact of debt relief (and the lack thereof) on poor countries.

Div id e t he l a r ge gr o up into small groups of four or five. Provide each small group
with a sheet of newsprint and a marker. Tell the groups they will be creating mock villages in a

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developing country. Just for fun, you can invite the small groups to name their villages.

A s k t he s m a l l g r o ups to each plan a village by drawing it on their newsprint. Tell them

that they have $50,000 in government funding to get their villages up and running and may
include anything from the following list, so long as they do not spend more than the $50,000. Each
item costs $5,000. Write these items on a sheet of newsprint and post it where all can see.
» clinic » elementary school

» high school » water pump

» roads » park

» medical supplies » livestock

» community center » town hall

» irrigation system » maternity ward

» fertilizers » electricity

» sewage system » technical college

» tree nursery » daycare center

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» funds for teachers and school materials

N o t e t hat the small groups will have to do some creative thinking about how and where to
spend the money they have. Invite them to thoroughly talk through their options before deciding
on items. They can then draw some visual representations of their choices on their newsprint.

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Allow ample time for them to complete this task.

W h e n a l l t h e s ma ll gr o ups have created their “villages,” invite each group to share its

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village with the rest of the participants.

N o w, e xp l a in to the small groups that their country is in deep debt, and the government has
cut funding to each village from $50,000 to $25,000 to service their loans. The groups must now
decide which features of their villages will be removed from their plans as a result of this cut in
funding. Direct them to mark an X next to each item they decide to remove. Allow time for the
small groups to discuss this dilemma and make their decisions.

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 7 I nv it e t h e s m a ll gr o ups to share where they made cutbacks and the rationale for their

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decisions.

N e xt, tell the small groups that their country has just become involved in a debt-relief program
that will free up $5,000 annually that can be used in each village. Tell the small groups that they
will now need to decide which items they will add back to their villages over the next five years and

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explain why. Direct them to mark a plus sign next to each item they decide to add.

I nv it e t h e s m a ll gr o ups to share what additions they made, and the rationale for their

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decisions.

Dis c us s a s a l a r ge gr o up what impact debt had on their villages, which services or

infrastructure they decided to cut, and what they learned about their priorities as they implemented
the debt-relief plans. Also discuss the challenges many countries face when trying to create services,

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programs, and so on with limited funds and budgets.

T o c o nc l ud e , note that the G8 leaders agreed in July 2005 to forgive 100 percent of the debt
of 18 of the world’s poorest nations, freeing up $40 billion that can now be used to address the
needs of the poor. However, the 18 countries that qualify immediately represent less than one-third
of the countries (at least 62) and only 10 percent of the debt that needs to be fully cancelled to
meet the Millennium Development Goals that were internationally agreed upon.

Copyright © 2008 by World Vision Resources, Mail Stop 321, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
wvresources@worldvision.org. All rights reserved.

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 About World Vision
W o rld V i s i o n i s a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to helping
children and their families break free from poverty. Our work is motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ. We
see a world where each child experiences “fullness of life” as described in John 10:10. And we know this can
be achieved only by addressing the problems of poverty and injustice in a holistic way. That’s how World
Vision is unique: We bring nearly sixty years of experience in three key areas needed to help children and
families thrive: emergency relief, long-term development, and advocacy. And we bring all of our skills across
many areas of expertise to each community we work in, enabling us to care for children’s physical, social,
emotional, and spiritual well-being.

W o rld V i s i o n R es o u r c e s educates Christians about global poverty, inspires them to social justice,
and equips them with innovative resources to make a difference in the world. By developing biblically-based
materials for educators and ministry leaders on the causes and consequences of global poverty, World Vision
Resources supports the organizational mandate to move the church in the United States to more fully embrace
its biblical responsibility to serve the poor.

For more information about

our resources, contact:

World Vision Resources

www.worldvision.org
wvresources@worldvision.org

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