Backgrounder

Footy and Development 

A few years ago two members of the B'laan people, an Indigenous community in the Philippines, visited Australia. The visitors talked about the impact of multinational companies on tribal life. One of their stories was about a company that wanted access to the people's land so that they could develop their mining industry. As payment for access to the land, the company built a road for the people, a road that passed many of the B'laan villages and headed directly into town. At first, the people were really happy with their road. It meant that that they could get their produce to the town markets faster and their vegetables were fresher than anyone else's. Previously the track they had used wound around all the small village areas, took a long time to get to town and was a constant problem when it rained.

However, after a while, the people began to notice something. No longer did the people of each village know what was happening in the villages around them. No longer were the people sharing their lives with each other. The elders realised what had happened. Before the road was built, the villagers took their produce to town the long way, going from village to village and resting awhile at each village. The resting times had become important meeting times when local matters were discussed and problems sorted. Trust, acceptance, tolerance and kindness in times of need were a way of life. The road threatened these community assets.

Was the road good development? Many would say yes, it helped the people to market their goods more efficiently. Others would say no. Efficiency yes, but people need more than efficiency in their lives. What do you think? What is good development?

Good development first of all puts the needs of the people first, that is, the people whose lives are going to be affected by any proposed change. The people know what their needs are, much better than any 'outsiders'. When overseas aid workers visited a very poor and depressed village in Africa a few years ago, they asked the people how they could help. It seemed that this poor group of people had nothing. Most of them felt helpless to change their lives. Perhaps a clinic would be good, as there seemed to be much sickness? Perhaps a school as the only one was a long way off? Perhaps better pumps as their water supply was not great? What about education for the farmers? What about ...and the list was long. The people in the community listened to their visitors and nodded. They knew exactly what was needed? a football field The aid workers were stunned, but agreed to help the community to build their football field.

The building of the field was a community event. It was something that everyone wanted and so everyone joined in to help. When it was completed, the pride of the people could be felt. The first football season was a great success. The village teenagers won the regional contest. The villagers gathered to decide their next project. Their depression had lifted. The community had developed a sense of power. They realised that they could make a difference to their own lives. No longer were they totally dependent on outside assistance. Their future lay in their own hands.

With a little support from aid and development agencies, village communities such as this one are more than able to make a better future for themselves.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

1. Describe the differences made to the people's lives by the two examples of development in the article.

2. Make two columns in your book, headed Advantages and Disadvantages. Using the two stories in the article, list advantages and disadvantages of the road to the life of the people in the B'laan story. Do the same with the African village story. At the end of this exercise, come up with a definition of good development. Have a look at Question 4 for some ideas.

3. Go the Caritas Australia website: www.caritas.org.au Click on 'our work' then click on 'where we work' then choose a country to find more stories of good development. Choose a country and read a few stories of development. Make a set of 'Rules for Good Development' as you have found them in these stories.

4. Project: Present the story of the B'laan people. Just type in 'B'laan' on Google to find your information.

5. Rank these statements in order of importance. Be ready to justify your ranking.

Development should challenge the systems of injustice and create a fairer world.

Development is helping poor communities to industrialise and attain a higher standard of living.

Development is ensuring that we grow enough food to feed everyone.

Development should enable people to understand how their lives are linked to others by common human experience.

Development is about understanding the cultural, political, economic and social structures so as to bring about change.

Development aims to help the poor and the needy by giving them opportunities to use their skills and talents.

Development should enable people to take charge of their own lives and be able to live according to their beliefs.

Development is about working together in partnership.

Development should lead to an appreciation of the dignity and worth of creation.

Development is educating people to a higher standard of living.

Development should bring about a commitment to solidarity, justice and equality for all peoples.

6. There are some forms of development that will not make the world a better place because they do not address justice and equality. In small groups come up with some examples of each of these:

Underdevelopment: (very little access to the world's resources)

For example, only boys go to school

Maldevelopment: (inappropriate access to the world's resources)

For example, the building of a road demands that old growth forests be torn down

Superdevelopment: (a greedy approach to the use of the world's resources)

For example, every room in the house has a television

GREAT FUN AND GOOD LEARNING AS WELL

Teachers and students: you will find the Development Challenge website of the World Bank very entertaining and informative. http://www.worldbank.org/challenge

There are 3 main areas to visit here:

Connect (where you connect with students around the world),

Innovate (where you participate in two interactive development quizzes), and

Build it (where you will be introduced to materials that will provide a guided research about development)

Here is a sample from Innovate:

Work out your answer for this question then go the website for the answer and more questions like this:

Heat, sand and lack of fuel make it hard to transport things in the desert. How did health workers deliver vaccines to people in the Sahara?

They packed the vaccines in ice and used helicopters.

They stored the vaccines in solar-powered refrigerators and carried them on camels.

They put the vaccines into refrigerated trucks and cleared the roads as they went.

TEACHERS

For many classroom activities, planned worksheets etc about development, this site is really good.

http://www.developmenteducationireland.org