AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUMGEOGRAPHY2013
Dr.SusanBliss
YEAR10UNIT2 / GEOGRAPHIESOFHUMANWELLBEINGContentDescriptor
- theroleofnon-governmentorganisations’initiativesinimprovinghumanwellbeinginAustraliaandothercountries
- examininganational,stateorcommunityprogramtoreduceregionalinequalitiesinwellbeinginacountry
- discussingtheobjectivesandoutcomesofannon-governmentoverseasaidprograminaspecificcountryorregionwithinacountry
GeographicalInquiryandSkills
Plananinquiry:
- developgeographicallysignificantquestionssuchas:
- Whatismicrocredit?
- HoweffectiveismicrocredittoreducepovertyinMalawi?
- Whatgovernmentandnon-governmentorganisationsareinvolvedinmicrocreditinMalawi?
- HowdidmicrocreditcontributetoattainingMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDG)inMalawi?
- WhatismeantbyunbankedpeopleinMalawi?
- WhataretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofmicrocreditinMalawi?(e.g.corruption)
- HowdoesmicrocreditimprovethewellbeingofpoorwomenandfamilieslivinginMalawi?
- collect,select,recordandorganiserelevantdataandgeographicalinformation,usingethicalprotocols,fromarangeofappropriateprimaryandsecondarysourcessuchas:
- interviewpeopleinvolvedwiththeMicroLoanFoundationofAustralia
- useimagesandempathystoriesfromthewebsitetodiscusshowmicrocreditimprovesthewellbeingofpoorwomen
- determinewhetherresourcesarebiasedorstereotypical
- constructalogicalargument,supportedbyevidence
- presentfindingsusingWeb2.0toolssuchasaPrezi
- reflectonfindings
- proposearesponsesuchasorganisingaschoolfundraisingactivity
AchievementStandards
Students:
- explainchangesthatresultfromtheseinterconnectionsandtheirconsequences(interconnectionsbetweenmicrocreditandreductioninpoverty)
- evaluatealternativeviewsonageographicalchallengeandalternativestrategiestoaddressthischallengeusingsocialandeconomiccriteria.Proposeandjustifya
response
SuggestedICT
- MicroLoanFoundationofAustralia
- InternationalYearofMicrocredit
- GlobalEducation–Microcredit
- Globalmicroscopeonthemicrofinancebusinessenvironment2010
- HDI Malawi
Teachingplan
Malawihasseveralgovernmentandnon-governmentorganisations(NGOs)providingfinancialservicestopoorpeople.
Steps / Activities
WhereisMalawi? /
- Drawamapincludinglatitude,longitudeandscale
- CalculatedistancefromAustralia
- UseGoogleEarthtodeterminethemainagriculturallanduses
Whatarethepovertyindicators? /
- UsewebsitessuchasUnitedNationsandGapfindertofindGDP,GDPpercapita,HumanDevelopmentIndex(HDI)andMultiplePovertyIndexforMalawi
- UseindicatorstodiscusswhyMalawiisoneofthepoorestcountriesintheworld
- FindordrawamapshowingspatialdistributionofpovertyinMalawi(compareruralandurbanareas)
- UsescatterplotsofdatatoinvestigatetherelationshipbetweenpovertyandGDPpercapitainMalawi
Whatnon-governmentorganisations(NGO)areinvolvedinmicrocreditinMalawi? /
- ListNGOsinvolvedinmicrocreditinMalawi
- UsewebsitestofindtheMalawiMicrofinanceNetwork(MAMN)-itsobjectivesandresources
- ResearchtheMicroLoanFoundationofAustraliaandhowitcontributedtoimprovedwellbeingforwomeninMalawi–suchasLydiathedoughnutqueenandEsthereGloriathebestbeansinMulanje
HoweffectiveismicrocreditinMalawians? /
- DebateforandagainsttheeffectivenessofmicrocreditinMalawi.Presentdebateintwocolumnsandsummarisetheconclusions
- Presentagraphshowingreductioninpovertyovertime(refertoHDI)
- Listfactorsimpedingpovertyreductioncapacityofmicrocredit
Howcanmicrocredit /
- Constructandinterpretchoroplethmapstoshowpatterns
improvethehumanwellbeingofMalawianssuchasaccesstoadequatewater,education,healthservicesandfood? / ofhumanwellbeinginMalawi–compareruralandurban
- ReadstoriesfromtheMicroLoanFoundationofAustraliawebsiteanddiscusshowmicrocreditimprovedthelivesofsomeMalawians
- RefertotheMicroLoanFoundationwebsiteandreadtheimpactofmicrocreditonMalawi’spoorpopulation.Explainhowithelpspoorruralwomensetupbusinessestogenerateincometofeedandlookaftertheirfamilies
- Refertothequote‘BeforeIstartedwithMicroLoan,myfamilyhadonlyonemealadayandthechildrenwereoftenhungry.NowIcanaffordit,theyusuallyeatthreemealsaday.’Discusshowmicrocreditcontributestoimprovedhealthandfoodsecurity
HowcanindividualsandgroupssupporttheMicroLoanFoundationofAustralia? /
- DevelopaschoolplaninvolvingstudentsinfundraisingactivitiesforMicroLoanFoundationofAustralia
Discusshowgivinga'handup'ratherthana'hand-out'encourageseconomicgrowthinMalawiaswellasimprovehumanwellbeing.PresentfindingsusingWeb2.0tools
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
MICROCREDIT:REDUCINGSPATIALINEQUALITY
Inresponsetoincreasingdemandtoeradicateglobalpoverty,theUNdesignated2005astheInternationalYearofMicrocredit.Theaimwastoexpandcredittothe‘poorestofthepoor’byprovidingsmallloanstostartabusiness.Inmostcountriescredittopoorpeoplewasonlyavailableonthe‘five-six’lendingscheme.Forexampleifapersonborrowed$500theywerethenforcedtorepay$600after40days.Asaresultofthehighrateofinterestpeoplegrewdeeperintodebt.
GrameenBank:women
Bangladesh,thehomeofmodernmicrocredit,startedwhenMuhammadYunus,provideda
$27loantoasmallgroupofwomenin1976.Thewomenrepaidtheloan,developedabusinessandcommencedasavingsaccount.TheGrameenmicrocreditmodelexpandedgloballywithover75millionpoorpeopleobtainingmicroloans.Over$40billionhasbeenleantwithsuccessfulrepaymentratesbetween95%and98%.
In1990smicrofinancetargetedwomenastheyconstitutedthemajorityof1.3billionpeoplelivingonlessthan$1aday.WiththeaidofmicroloansmillionsofwomenbecameshopkeepersinSEAsia,soldjewelleryinAfghanistanandragsewingbusinessesinPhilippines.Todaywomenmakeup75%ofmicrocreditrecipientsandmoneyreceivedempoweredmanytolifttheirfamiliesoutofpoverty.
PresentlytheGrameenBankemploys22,000peoplewith8.36millionborrowersofwhich97%arewomen.YunuswasforcedtoresignfromtheBankafteritwasaccusedofcharginghighinterestratesandcausingsuicidesamongindebtedborrowers.
Malawiadevelopingcountry
MalawiisalandlockedcountrylocatedinSEAfrica.Thecountryisoneoftheworld’spoorestcountrieswith75%ofthepopulationlivingonlessthan$1.25aday.Agricultureaccountsfor35%ofGDP.Themaincropistobaccoconstituting54%ofexports.TheHDIislowwhenconsideringlifeexpectancyof55years,meanyearsofschoolingis4.2years,andGDPpercapitais$774ayear.ThereareonemillionpeoplelivingwithHIV/AIDS-theleadingcauseofdeath.
Approximately55%ofMalawiansareexcludedfromaccessingcreditfromfinancialservices.Thisproblemledtothegrowthofgovernmentandnon-governmentmicro-financialinstitutionswhichcontributedtoincreasesinagriculturalproductivity,employmentandhouseholdincomes.
Sustainableprograms
Poorpeopledeserveaccesstocreditjustastheydeserveaccesstocleanwater,sanitationandeducation.ProperlyimplementedmicrofinanceprojectshavethepotentialtohelpattaintheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalssuchaspovertyalleviation,genderequalityandempowermentofwomen.Todayarangeofmicrofinancialorganisationslendstopoorpeoplesuchas:
- TheAustralianGovernmentthroughAusAIDintegratesmicrofinanceintoitsoverseasdevelopmentprogramsandsupportsorganisationssuchasBangladeshRehabilitationAssistanceCommittee(BRAC)
- CreditandSavingsfortheHardcorePoorinAsia(CASHPOOR)promotesmicrocreditinunservedregions.
- TheWorldBankConsultativeGrouptoAssistthePoorest(CGAP)deliversfinancialservicestotheverypooronasustainablebasis.
BesidesmicrofinancialorganisationsprojectssuchasSafeSaveprovidescredittopeoplelivinginslumsinDhaka.,Bangladesh.FreedomfromHungercombinesmicrocreditwitheducation.ThesewomenarevulnerabletoHIV/AIDsbecausetheylackempowermenttotakeactiononchoicesconcerningtheirhealth.Theprogramresultedinimprovedhealthandnutritionforborrower’schildren.
Therealsoremainmillionsofwomenwholackaccesstosustainablefinancialservices.ForexampleinAfrica,womenaccountfor60%ofrurallabourforceandcontributeto80%tofoodproduction,yetreceive10%ofcreditprovidedtofarmers.SeededbyGrameenBank,Kivaanon-profitorganisation,promotespeople-to-peoplelending.Referredtoascrowdfunding,theinternetconnectspeopledirectlytothepoor,creatingastrongersenseofconnection.Additionallyitlinkssmallinvestorswithsmallbusinessownerslookingformoney,tostartabusiness.
In2012theGovernmentofAndhraPradeshinIndiapassedalawtoshutdownprivatesectormicrofinancetoprotectthepoor.Insteaditharmedthepoorbystarvingthemofaccesstocreditandbasicfinancialservices.
Geofacts
In2012therewere21registeredMalawiFinancialInstitutions(MFI)
MalawiMicrofinanceNetwork(MAMN)istheumbrellaorganisationformostMFI’sinMalawi
1.Impactsofmicrocreditonhumanwellbeing
Photograph
Increasedemployment
Strengthenedpolitical,socialandeconomicdevelopment ofthepoor
Increasedagriculturalproductivityandfoodsecurity
Increasedgenderequity–womenprovidedwithloans
Reducedpoverty
Integratedmicrocreditwithotherdevelopmentprojectse.g.MicrocreditwitheducationandHIV/AIDSprograms
Empoweredwomen-socially,economically,politically
Increasedsmallenterprises
Providedmoneytoobtainbasichumanrightssuchasadequateshelter,cleanwater,education,andhealthservices
Increasedmicrofinancepracticesamongallstakeholders:governments,nongovernmentorganisations,centralbanksandmicrofinanceservices
2.MicrocreditimproveshumanwellbeinginAfrica
Rwanda:AportionofDushyigikirane/MgnzGroup's
$1,525loanhelpsamembertopurchasechemicalfertilizersandpayforthecostoflabour.
Kenya:Aloan of $375helpsJoycetobuyvegetablessuchastomatoes,greenpeppers,carrots,andonions.
3.Whyarepeopleunbanked?Spatialvariations
Knowledgeandunderstanding
1.WhatwastheaimoftheInternationalYearofMicrocredit?
2.Howdidmicrocreditimprovethewellbeingofwomen?
3.ExplainhowmicrocreditcontributestoattainingtheMDG
4.Discusshowdifferentorganisationslendtopoorpeople
5.ExplainwhyMalawiisclassifiedasadevelopingcountry
Inquiryandskills
6.Referto1Discusshowmicrocreditimprovedthewellbeingofsomepoorpeople
7.Referto2Howhasmicrocreditimprovedthewellbeingofpeopleindifferentcountries?
8.Referto3
a.Whatismeantbyunbankedpeople?
b.Whoareunbankedpeople?
9.DiscusshowmicrofinancialinstitutionssuchasMicroLoanFoundationofAustraliaaimtoimprovethewellbeingofpoorwomenandtheirfamilies
10.Debateforandagainstmicrocreditassomeadvocateitdoesnotreachthepoorestofthepoorandcorruptionexistswithininstitutions.