In New Zealand, most people have a job and earn money that they can buy food, clothing and shelter with. Even if you don't have work, the government pays you enough to live on so that you won't go hungry.
In a typical village in the Congo people live from day to day. Very few people have a paid job, and the government does not give out any money to live on. It is not too difficult to build a simple house out of mud or dirt bricks, but how do you find clothing and food? What would you do if you needed food and clothes but had no money?
In the village, almost everyone has a garden. Each family grows their own food and most try to grow more food than they need so that they can sell some to others who have money. Most families in the village also have a goat or some chickens. Some villages also have pigs. The goats and chickens roam around the village and eat whatever they can. People can tell who owns the animals by various bits of string or cloth tied to the animal, or by the colour or patterns on the animal. Most people only get to eat meat once or twice a month. The rest of the time they eat only vegetables.
In a typical village in the Congo people live from day to day. Very few people have a paid job, and the government does not give out any money to live on. It is not too difficult to build a simple house out of mud or dirt bricks, but how do you find clothing and food? What would you do if you needed food and clothes but had no money?
In the village, almost everyone has a garden. Each family grows their own food and most try to grow more food than they need so that they can sell some to others who have money. Most families in the village also have a goat or some chickens. Some villages also have pigs. The goats and chickens roam around the village and eat whatever they can. People can tell who owns the animals by various bits of string or cloth tied to the animal, or by the colour or patterns on the animal. Most people only get to eat meat once or twice a month. The rest of the time they eat only vegetables.
A garden near a stream
Bananas nearly ready to pick
There are LOTS of goats in most villages
There is no electricity in the village, so there is no way to freeze food or keep it cold to stop it going rotten. That means food must be either dried to use later, or used fresh.
If the village is near a lake, people go fishing in very small boats that they make themselves. The boats are made out of hollowed logs. A lot of the fish that is caught is sold to others who have money, and some is dried in the sun so that it can keep a bit longer.
If the village is near a lake, people go fishing in very small boats that they make themselves. The boats are made out of hollowed logs. A lot of the fish that is caught is sold to others who have money, and some is dried in the sun so that it can keep a bit longer.
Fishing boats on the river
Bowls of small fish for sale
Dried fish for sale (they smell really bad!!)
So how do people buy clothes? They usually sell any spare food they have so that they can buy other things. People who grow extra vegetables sell them to people that have extra fish to sell, or other people who sell bricks or who sell sugar cane, or grass thatching used to make a roof.
What happens if the weather is bad or if you get sick and cannot plant your garden or go fishing? That’s when things get really tough. Many people go hungry if they get sick because they cannot spend time in their garden or go fishing. Sometimes people only eat once a day when this happens, and sometimes they eat nothing at all. If the weather is bad then no one in the village can grow food and they all go hungry.
What happens if the weather is bad or if you get sick and cannot plant your garden or go fishing? That’s when things get really tough. Many people go hungry if they get sick because they cannot spend time in their garden or go fishing. Sometimes people only eat once a day when this happens, and sometimes they eat nothing at all. If the weather is bad then no one in the village can grow food and they all go hungry.
Kabwe is a 10 year old girl who weighs just 11 kg
because she does not have enough food
because she does not have enough food
Some organisations that help feed these large homeless groups until they can go home again are World Vision, Oxfam, and Unesco.
Aren’t you glad you live in New Zealand where you have clothes and food? Even people who are very poor in New Zealand do not need to starve or go without any clothes.
Aren’t you glad you live in New Zealand where you have clothes and food? Even people who are very poor in New Zealand do not need to starve or go without any clothes.
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