(Resource Pack 63) KEY STAGE 3

A game for the G2o summit leaders to play, if they dare!

Use the Oxfam village set out i.e. wooden houses, trees etc., as the focus for discussion.

(For full script, see my free assembly book ‘But It’s Only Nine o’ Clock In The Morning)

This is a village which represents the world. Each house…a group of countries…

See set out:- A&B) 2 hovels, C) Militant /religious D) once powerful E) very wealthy F) wealthy G) beautiful H) house hit recently by tsunami I) crowded out

A) Here we have a hovel, the people in this house are very poor. The mother has died of Aids, and the father is dying. The two little boys who live here must somehow look after themselves, but they’re so young they don’t know how to do that.

B) This house is also a hovel. The family in it consists of two adults and four children. The father sells tomatoes for a living, it helps to keep his family alive, but just recently big businesses have moved into the area from abroad, heavily subsidised by their own governments. The businessmen hope to make big profits in the area, because they can afford to sell their tomatoes at half the price. The farmer in the village cannot afford to do this, he will soon be out of business.

C) These houses belong to a very religious people, they will not put up with anyone who breaks God’s rules. Punishments are severe for anyone who does wrong or disagrees with them, and for anyone who mocks them. They have wealth and power, and can be very violent, one or two adults would even give their lives for their cause, especially if it means they can wipe out their enemies at the same time.

D) These houses belong to a people who are powerful and mighty, but not as much as they once were. There is now a lot of corruption, some of the people living here make a living out of kidnapping, extortion and dodgy trade agreements. They have many old weapons not in use anymore stashed away in the cellar; but some are still lethal; if a few of them go missing who will know there are no checks made.

E) This house is the wealthiest of all. Many people think it must be a pleasure to live here, because really anything goes. Many live as they please. There is always food of every sort in the kitchen, much of it gets wasted; the cupboards are bulging, but much of the food is quick and convenient, sugary and fatty, making many of the people lethargic and overweight. In the back garden, there are some very heavily fortified huts. In them is gold in plenty; enough weaponry to destroy the entire village, ten thousand times over, and of course even more food reserves. The people who live here are a very creative people, they make films, though some are very violent and explicit. Some of the family copy the behaviour they see.But they do have expensive science and space programmes. They make new discoveries in medicine and technology. They like to keep others in the village in order. Some are very religious who spend their lives in doing good to others, but some are quite mad and give themselves over to killing and breaking every rule going. In most cases the people who live here all have guns because it gives them a sense of security.

F) This house is closest to the wealthy house. They have a FRIENDSHIP agreement with them. They too like to keep law and order in the village, so they work together well. They go to war together, hand in hand. The people here are very similar in many ways to the wealthy ones.

They don’t use guns so much here, but many people here like their drink and like to get drunk often.

They go overboard in their love of sport. They are good givers in emergency situations. Mostly they believe in God, but most of the family don’t like to go to church to worship him. Many of their daughters have families out of wedlock and struggle to bring their children up sometimes without a father. Some of the family break a lot of rules, they hurt and abuse others, especially the young and the very old. Some of the family who live here are poor and find it hard to get meaningful work. Some have more than enough, especially the famous ones.Their gardens are rich and green, they have been blessed with enough food, farm animals thrive, the harvests are good, though floods and gales sometimes afflict their lives.

G) This house is beautiful, an ideal place to live, but you have to be the right sort of person to be allowed to live there…white, intelligent, of benefit to the community. They never have very much trouble here, they are at peace. It is a big house, and the family is not large, there is plenty of space and conflicts are few.

H) This house got flooded out quite recently, and many of the family were killed, but they received some help from around the village, and the survivors are busy rebuilding their lives, but they are very afraid it may happen again. They are also afraid that the wealthy people won’t come here for holidays now, after all this is their main source of income.

I) This house is crowded out, so many live here, they’ve had to introduce ‘one child per family rule’ to ensure they have a future uncluttered by too many people.

THE QUESTIONS BELOW ARE ONLY SUGGESTIONS:

I wonder…Who are the happiest people in this village?

Who feel the most insecure?

Who might be the angriest and why?

If you lived here which house would you prefer to live in and why?

What does this HOUSE think of this HOUSE….?

Which groups are likely to clash?

What kind of trouble can you foresee in the future?

How do the poor people feel?

How you would solve all the problems in this village if you were the house in charge or the village chief?

PRIORITISE: MAKE A LIST OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS; WHICH WOULD YOU TACKLE FIRST

AND WHY?

What would you be saying to each house, for the benefit of all, how would you persuade them to take your advice.