Poverty & Hunger Awareness Simulation Character Roles. Global Grab Bag. Oxfam America by Emily Curran

HIGH-INCOME

My name is John.

My name is Ranjani.

My parents emigrated from Italy and raised my brothers and me in a tenement in Chicago. I worked my way through college and law school, taking on a variety of odd jobs, and then started my own law practice. I am now able not only to live in a fine home and travel extensively, but I’ve also been able to “give back” by paying for college for high school graduates with exceptional promise who come from disadvantaged backgrounds

I am a 40-year-old woman living in India with my husband and two children. I am a doctor and my husband is a businessman. We live in a very large house with many servants. My children attend one of India’s best private schools. They study very hard and hope to attain entrance into universities in the United States.

HIGH-INCOME

My name is Shang.

I am Simcha.

I am a 35-year-old Chinese woman living in the United States. Ever since I was a young girl I have always wanted to come to America where there is political freedom and economic opportunity. In China I was fortunate enough to learn English fairly well, and when I came to the United States I got a job as a clerk in a bank. In my spare time I volunteer with a nonprofit organization that helps Chinese immigrants get settled here.

I own my own postcard business, selling to tourists who come to see the ancient city of Jerusalem. I stand on the sidewalk and sell my cards from 9 a.m. until midnight, when the last sightseers return to their hotels. When the economy in the United States and Europe is weak, tourism declines and I don’t sell as much. I have had some difficult years, but I have always done well enough to feed myself. I am fortunate to own my own business.

HIGH-INCOME

My name is Korasi.

My name is Claude.

Although I was a successful auto mechanic in Slovenia, I am not able to practice that profession in France. Since I came here three years ago, I have been working as a chef in an Italian restaurant. I commute over an hour each way to work from my small room in the suburbs, where rent is more affordable. I have a minimal amount of furniture and a small kitchen, but it is a good life for me, as a single man.

I live in Botswana, heading the Ministry of Finance. For a few years, I worked at the World Bank in Washington, DC, but I came back home to put my skills to use to improve my country’s economy. I don’t make as much as I did when I was working at the World Bank, but compared to many of my fellow citizens, I lead a very good and prosperous life.

HIGH-INCOME I am José. I am from Mexico. I have gone to private schools all my life and both my parents are professionals. When I was in high school, my class did volunteer work in the shantytowns surrounding my city. Now I am in college studying economics. I often think back on my volunteer time. When I finish school, I want to find a way to help people in the shantytowns.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My name is Dully.

I am Jorge.

I live with my family in India. Before my mother joined a women’s group, we had no money to buy medicine when my brothers and I would get sick. My mother and her friends talked about problems with their husbands—they wouldn't help out at home, they would spend all their money on themselves, and sometimes they would beat them. But the women were very brave, and they formed the women’s group to raise and sell fish. They earn their own income and the village men's group cooperates with them. Sometimes, my father even helps cook dinner.

I come from the highlands of Guatemala where there is still a lot of violence even though the civil war has officially ended. When the military suspected that communists lived in my village, they burned many homes, including mine. I fled to the city, but living conditions there were terrible. I slept in huts made of cardboard and rusted car doors or anything I could find. A few years ago, six of my neighbors and I received a loan to start a small carpentry workshop which has been very successful. Today we have more than 30 employees, and we are self-sufficient.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My name is Lourdes.

I am Bareded Bekele.

I live in Brazil in a town just outside of Sao Paulo and I have five young children. My husband left me when I became pregnant with my fifth child, leaving me to raise the children and take care of the house by myself. I took a job in a textile factory where I work long hours. I make just enough money to feed my children, but I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like.

I am a farmer and I live in southern Ethiopia with my family. I never had an ox until I received a loan of 330 birr ($160) from a local group funded by Oxfam America. Before, it took 7-8 days to prepare my land for planting using hand tools. Now, when I team up with a neighbor who also has an ox, I can cultivate the same amount of land in 4-5 hours. This year I will plant more land; I expect to grow enough food to feed my family and have a surplus so I can pay the first installment on my loan.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My Christian name is Lawrence.

My name is Romeo.

I live in Hong Kong in a public housing project with my parents and eight brothers and sisters. We live in a 12’ X 12’ room, and we have a refrigerator and a hot plate on a small adjoining balcony. I am very fortunate to have received a scholarship to study law. I look forward to the day when I am earning a good salary and can move into an apartment of my own.

I left Guatemala when I was 13 to find farm work. Two years later I moved to the United States because I heard there was more opportunity there. But working in the fields of Florida is very difficult. I have to pick 125 buckets of tomatoes, or nearly two tons, to make $50 a day. My shelter is very expensive and I have no healthcare or benefits others in the United States have.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My name is Mercedes.

My name is Teresa.

I am 20 years old and I live with my parents and siblings in a small town outside of Quito, Ecuador. My father is a street vendor who sells a variety of things, including jewelry and clothing, to tourists. I help my father and sometimes I go off on my own to sell in another town. When lots of tourists come, we make good money, but when tourism is low, life is very difficult.

I live in Mozambique. Despite legal challenges and a 17-year civil war, I now own my first piece of land. I was able to do this with the help of the General Union of Cooperatives, an Oxfam America project partner.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My name is Siu.

My name is Sophea.

I am 50 years old. I live in Vietnam where I have been a fisherman my whole life. I have always worked very hard. I get up before the sun rises, load my small boat and set off as daylight breaks. I am usually able to catch large amounts of fish to sell to villagers at the local fish market. I make just enough money to support my small family.

I am 21 years old. I left Saigon to live with a sponsor in North America, but my dreams of a new life quickly turned into a nightmare as I realized that my sponsor had no intention of taking me in. Alone in a strange country, I got caught up with the wrong crowd. I began selling drugs because I needed money. I was arrested and sent to jail for six months. I learned English in prison and when I got out I went to a local shelter for counseling. I now have a full-time job, but I still have to sleep in a night shelter. Someday, I hope to have my own apartment.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My name is Juan.

My name is Francisco.

I live in the Dominican Republic. I own a small sugar plantation that has been in my family for many years. Sugar farming is back-breaking work, but luckily I have hired hands. We are better off than many of my fellow countrymen.

I am a 40-year-old man from Mexico. I own a small business selling flowers. I went to school through fifth grade and then dropped out because my family could not afford it. One of my childhood friends who was able to go to college joined the flower industry and began to grow his own flowers. He helped me start my business and I help him sell his flowers. Although we help each other out, life is difficult because our companies are small and there is a lot of competition out there.

MIDDLE-INCOME

My name is Andreis.

My name is Susan.

I am a farmer in Elandskloof, South Africa. Previously apartheid laws forced everyone in my community to leave their homes. With the help of the Surplus Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Project, we were able to reclaim our land and start rebuilding our community. We are dealing with many difficult challenges, but we look forward to a better future.

My family and I live in Campbell County, Tennessee. I never had the opportunity to attend high school and until recently was unable to read, get my license or apply for a job with any real future. Through the Mountain Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Exchange, an Oxfam funded organization, I received education and job training. I now work as a home health aid, earning enough to support my family and for the first time I feel I have a new future.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Ismatullah.

I am Sana,

I am 16-years old and work as a shopkeeper in the village of Qadis in Afghanistan. Prospects for my three-month old kiosk doesn't look good. Of the 300 shops that used to be open in the town, only twenty are still in business. It is hard to see how Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to sell the packs of pasta and bars of Raana soap.

a 40-year-old Bangladeshi woman. In this rural area, conservative religious laws and cultural prejudices limit opportunities for women. A few years ago, I joined a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s group. They helped us start small businesses, like rice-husking, brick making, raising dairy cows. They also worked with our community to promote women's rights. Now my children are much healthier and my husband helps me out at home.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Zabaar Gul.

I am Liang.

I live in a cave in war-torn Afghanistan with my two sons and two daughters. Like over 100 families, I left our village and failed field and have made my home in a cave near the Oxfam food distribution center. I left my Kuzak village a year ago as we had nothing to eat, but life in the caves has been just as bleak. My husband left to earn money in Iran. He broke his arm and is now stuck there, unable to work and unable to return. My son Naseer now heads the family but he has been sick for two years and aches from head to foot. He coughs blood and doesn't have the strength to leave the cave to find firewood. I am worried that he might have TB. His angular body looks much older than 13. My seven-year-old daughter, Zebba goes to a near-by village to beg.

I live in northern Vietnam where the average income in the countryside is less than $200 per year. I have no land, so I work as a day laborer and I earn a small income. We have barely enough to eat and I am able to provide only a rudimentary education for my son. I need my daughter to help me out at home.

I am not sure how long we can last without food.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Jean.

I am Pancho,

I belong to an Oxfam-funded peasant organization that works with poor farmers in Haiti. I am learning how to take care of the soil so it doesn't get washed away and learning how to grow better crops. It is not easy because we have very poor soil and few tools to work with, and fertilizer is too expensive. But I am grateful to be getting some help. Perhaps things will be better for my children.

a young Filipino fisherman from a long line of fisherman. My family has always made a decent living in the fishing business, but my income has gone down as the fish stock has been overexploited. My family now gets barely enough to eat.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Ravi.

My name is Deng.

I belong to an indigenous group in Gujarat, in western India. Like most people in this area, I work for the government, as a picker. I am guaranteed protected status by the government but the reality is that these laws are not being enforced and discrimination is rampant. Last year, I attended a rally to press the government for higher wages and benefits. We were successful and my wages were doubled.

I live in Vietnam on a very small farm. During times of drought I must survive on loans from local moneylenders who charge 30 to 40 percent interest per month.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Enrique,

My name is Ngongo.

a 40-year-old man. When the civil war ended in my home country, Guatemala, I returned with nearly 130 other families after living in Mexican refugee camps for many years. We received very little government assistance, but we got some help from an Oxfamfunded group to buy some cows so our children could have milk. It has been difficult, but we are determined to make a new start.

I am a 30-year-old Senegalese woman. I have been seeking a divorce from my husband who beats me. Laws and customs discriminate against women in my country, so it is very hard to find work to support a family. I am getting help from APROFES, a local group supported by Oxfam America, which gives women credit to start small businesses and promotes fair treatment of women.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Luisa.

I am Maria.

I live in Cashiriari, Peru. I am a member of the Machiguenga people who have hunted and fished around the Urubamba River for thousands of years. The land around my community is being exploited by an oil company, which has cut down trees and polluted the water. I live off of the river and the forest, and I cannot survive if they are destroyed.

I live in Zimbabwe, where it is very arid. I can remember many years when the rains did not come and our crops withered and died. Recently, a local group received a grant from Oxfam America to build a dam on the river so we will have clean water year-round. I look forward to the day when I can have confidence that our crops will grow and my family will eat well.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Julia.

I am Michelle,

My family and I live in Nicaragua, where I am part of the 70 percent of the population that is unable to meet basic human needs. I make only $430 per year, and my land, which I use to raise cattle and grow crops, now lays idle due to government policies which have decreased small farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; access to resources necessary to work the land. My family now is barely surviving.

a 50-year-old Haitian woman. My livelihood depends on sheep and goat rearing, which provides just enough for my family to survive. There are no jobs here, so my husband must seek work elsewhere; he is away most of the time. Even so, he makes very little money and my children and I miss him.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Chang.

I am Julio,

I am a 50-year-old Cambodian man. I have had to move many times because of the civil war that has been going on in my country for years and years. I live on property that I have no official title to. The land around my house is riddled with land mines that prevent me from farming it.

a small farmer in El Salvador. For many years I grew coffee and sold it to a wealthy middleman who paid me low prices and then sold it for a handsome profit. Recently I joined a cooperative. The cooperative buys our beans at fair prices, processes them and sells them to buyers in the United States and Europe. By working together, we are not being exploited and we are doing much better.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Anna Pedro.

My name is Apurba.

I live in Mozambique. My village has suffered from both man-made and natural disasters: the recently ended civil war in my country and a cholera epidemic that has killed many people. My neighbors and I joined together to deal with the cholera problem by building a fence around a new well drilled by the new Mozambican provincial water service.

Being a girl in Bangladesh means that I cannot go to school; only my brother is allowed to go to school. I must stay at home and cook and help my mother take care of my brother. If my mother or I go out of the house, we cannot go without my father or my brother. I would give anything to be able to go to school.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Elizabeth.

My name is Farida.

Years ago, my father grew corn, yams and mung beans on our land in the Philippines. I always thought that one day my children would do the same. Now our land is a part of a large sugar plantation, and we cut cane for 35 cents a day. My young son works in the field, but he is very weak because he doesn't get enough to eat. I just pray he'll survive.

Our forests in India have nearly disappeared, and our people have become nomadic, wandering the earth in search of water. Our men are always on the lookout for jobs, which are scarce. Sometimes they must travel far to find them. The Oxfam America program here really helped us by building reservoirs that keep the rain water, so we can stay. We are now growing vegetables. You can't imagine what that means to us women, and to our community.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Lutfar.

I am Miguel

I live on the coast of Bangladesh with my family. We often have floods and sometimes we have cyclones. One year thousands of people were killed by a tidal wave. After that, Oxfam America funded the construction of a cyclone shelter built by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. The next time a cyclone hits, we have a safe place to go. For now, we use the cyclone shelter as a school and a community gathering place.

from the Dominican Republic. I am a sugar farmer working on a small plantation. Every day I work for 11 hours. I make very little money but the work is steady. My dream is to someday own my own farm, but I never seem to be able to save any money for my future.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Pierre.

My name is Fauzia.

I used to have rows of trees bordering my rented hillside plot in Haiti. Even when the land was parched, the trees helped stop the rains from washing away the topsoil. It is the dry season now; nothing will grow and my family has no food. Some of our neighbors have been trying to survive on “cookies” of sugar mixed with sandy soil. I'll have to cut the last trees from my land to make charcoal which I can sell for the price of a few day’s food and save a bit to cook with. I don't know what I’ll do for food after that.

I live in Bangladesh. I work very hard in the fields, sometimes for as many as 14 hours a day and then I have to cook dinner for my husband and my son. I joined a revolving loan group and received a small loan to buy a cow. Now I have milk for my son and I sell the rest. It’s only a little, but my son in healthier and soon I will be able to take out another loan.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Cipriano.

My name is Ramon.

I live in the Peruvian Andes where the climate is very harsh. At an altitude of 14,000 feet, the air is thin, the sun is strong and the wind is very powerful. I have five llamas and I grow potatoes on a terraced, hillside plot. My llamas are much healthier now because I got help from the Chuyma Aru Association, an Oxfam America partner. They gave me better tools to dig irrigation channels to water the pasture for my llamas. They also taught me traditional ways to make fabric from the llamas' wool and to sew my own clothes.

I live in the highlands of Bolivia. For years, we indigenous people were made to feel inferior to other people in Bolivia, but now, thanks to groups like ISALP, an Oxfam America partner, we are reviving our traditional culture and building pride in our heritage. ISALP is also helping us build irrigation channels so we can grow more food and our llamas and alpacas, which we rely on for food and wool, will be healthier.

LO W- I N C O M E

I am Rebecca.

My name is Miguel.

Originally, my husband and children and I lived in Sudan. We grew our own food and everyone in our village had enough to eat. When the civil war forced us to flee to Ethiopia, we lived in a refugee camp. Our youngest baby died along the way. The camp fell apart when the Ethiopian government collapsed, so we went back to Sudan. Somehow we were able to avoid the bombs and survive by eating wild plants. Finally we came across a camp for displaced people. Life is not easy here, but it is safe. I pray for the day when the war is over so we can return home and live in peace.

I am a farmworker in Florida. I typically work 14 hours in the fields with only a half-hour break for below minimum wage. I live in company-owned housing, paying for a place to live that does not even have a stove or a bed. I am organizing with other farmworkers to try to improve work conditions and increase my meager salary but I fear losing my job since my employer does not want farmworkers to unionize.

LO W- I N C O M E

My name is Adis.

My name is Roberto.

I live in the Rift Valley in Ethiopia. My husband died and I have seven children to care for. Because of the drought in this area it is very difficult to get water and food. My children are constantly ill. Recently I sold my last three goats. I hope things get better because I have nothing left to sell.

I am a 40-year-old Colombian man and I came to America because of the political oppression in my native country. When I came, I spoke very little English, and I had lost all of my important papers when I was forced to flee on foot. Someone on the street told me to come to Boston because of the great economic opportunities. Through a local shelter, I have been able to receive food, medical care and ESL (English as a Second Language) courses; all of these have helped me regain my strength and the will to live after years of living in poverty. I still do not have work, but every day I know Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m getting closer.