Discuss a global ethical dilemma such as “Women and the Well.”

 17. Discuss a global ethical dilemma such as “Women and the Well.” 

Present the following story to your students: 

A group of western travelers visit a rural developing community in the Congo. After seeing that the Congolese women walk hours to and from a well each day to collect water, the western travelers install a water well in the center of the Congolese village, without consulting the community, to save the women hours of walking each day. 

However, these good intentions backfire. The time the Congolese women spent walking to and from the well was largely the only time the women spent out of their homes and in community with other women. When the women lacked a reason to leave their homes or socialize with their friends, rates of depression, anxiety and domestic abuse skyrocketed in the community. 

You can use this story as a catalyst to discuss the complexity of civic and global foreign aid, as well as the merit of asset-based community development (ABCD). Here is a great link to learn about ABCD, and here is a great study set to solidify student understanding of ABCD. 

Last, challenge students to create two different action plans implementing ABCD: one to implement positive change in their home communities, and one to implement positive change in a specific community other than their own. 

此篇短文摘自 Social studies lesson plans: 17 Ideas to expand your students worldview 的第17 個 Idea。