AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUMGEOGRAPHY2013

Dr.SusanBliss

YEAR10UNIT2 / GEOGRAPHIESOFHUMANWELLBEING
ContentDescriptor
  • theroleofnon-governmentorganisations’initiativesinimprovinghumanwellbeinginAustraliaandothercountries
Elaborations:GeographicalKnowledgeandUnderstandings
  • 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.