Crisis Calculations - Haiti Teachers: When the massive earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January, 2010, it destroyed cities, leaving people without shelter and food. In disasters like these, hunger is the first major emergency, and food is urgently needed. Within 24 hours, the World Food Programme started to deliver truckloads of food to the victims. The quake, Haiti s worst in two centuries, registered a 7.2 on the Richter scale, and it compromised resources like water and electricity. Two million people now need food, and following the initial distribution of ready-to-eat food, like WFP s High-Energy Biscuits, WFP distributed rations of rice, beans, and oil. Staying informed about current events and social issues is an educational necessity. Teach and learn about the hunger crisis in Haiti by promoting students interest in current events and integrating them into the curriculum. Crisis Calculations Haiti incorporates arithmetic into the information about the earthquake and its aftermath. How do the students get involved? Tell your class about Students Helping Haiti (http://www.wfp.org/students-help-haiti) and encourage them to reach out to those in need through the fundraising program. Share these videos with your students (http://www.wfp.org/crisis/haiti) and discuss what happened in Haiti and the challenges faced by the survivors and those trying to assist them. Extension work Ask your students to research stories about the current situation in Haiti and have them make a presentation based on their findings. Why not have your class present their work to the whole school? Tell your students about food-force, the game that lets them take part in a virtual emergency operation (food-force.com). Stay informed For the latest on our operations in Haiti, see: http://www.wfp.org/crisis/haiti High-Energy Biscuits what are they? http://www.wfp.org/stories/high-energy-biscuits-food-emergencies Add a banner to your site: http://www.wfp.org/how-to-help/community/link-us#haitistudents 1
Crisis Calculations - Haiti Subject: Math Developed by the WFP Youth Outreach Team Overview Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages. This activity is part of a math-themed series: Crisis Calculations. The activities are designed to be covered in the wake of a food crisis. The end result will be an understanding of hunger issues in a particular country, as well as an understanding that hunger is a global issue which affects countries in all areas of the planet. In addition students will gain an understanding of the current situation in Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 12 January, 2010. Through calculations and comparing data, students will gain an understanding of the gravity of hunger and poverty around the world, the strategies being employed to combat the effects of these problems, and the efforts being made to create sustainable solutions. Aims & Objectives To inform students of the current situation in Haiti To teach about calculating data and the relationships among numerical information To raise awareness of hunger issues and reinforce the point that hunger is a global problem To educate students on the impact of natural disasters and how to deal with food emergencies Preparation and materials Make copies of the Crisis Calculations activity sheets (3 total) Instructions 1. Pass out activity sheets. 2. Using information in the introduction, ask students to complete the worksheet. 2
Answer Key: 1. At the rate of 250,000 people per week, it would take 56 days to reach 2 million people. 2. At the rate of 100,000 people per day, it would take 17.5 days to reach 2 million people. 3. Each school would need to raise $10,714.29. 4. Students Helping Haiti would account for 5.38% of the total funds. 5. No, each school would need to raise $4,054. 6. The answer varies depending on how many students are in the school. 3
Name: Read the following paragraph, then answer the questions below. Show your work on the worksheet or a separate sheet of paper. On 12 January, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, leaving millions of people without food and shelter. The quake, which measured a 7.2 on the Richter scale, was the country s worst in two centuries. After disasters like this, hunger is the first emergency, and World Food Programme mobilised a food-emergency operation within 24 hours of the earthquake. In a six-month time period, WFP aims to feed 2 million survivors and prevent the devastating conditions from worsening. Before the earthquake, Haiti was a food-insecure nation, with 1.9 million needing food assistance to stave off hunger. Now, with many resources destroyed, Haitians need more support, and WFP must raise $279 million to carry out the operation. WFP is currently aiming to deliver 5-day rations to 100,000 people a day, and the goal is to have a total of 34 humanitarian hubs in affected areas. To accomplish these goals, WFP is reaching out all over the world, including students. 1. One week after the quake, WFP delivered nearly 1.5 million rations to about a quarter of a million people. At this rate, how long would it take to reach 2 million victims in need of food? 2. As of 21 January, WFP reached 250,000 people. With the goal to deliver 5-day rations to 100,000 people a day, how many more days after the 21st will it take to reach the goal of feeding 2 million people? 3. As of 21 January, 14 schools joined Students Helping Haiti. If the programme had a goal of raising $150,000, how much does each school have to raise for Students Helping Haiti to reach its goal? (Round to the nearest cent.)
4. What percentage of the overall fundraising goal would Students Helping Haiti funds account for if the campaign reaches the goal in #3? (Round to the nearest hundreth.) 5. If 37 schools join Students Helping Haiti and each raises $4017, will the programme meet its hypothetical goal? If not, what would each school need to raise? (Round to the nearest dollar.) 6. How many students are in your school? How much would each student have to raise to meet the goal in answer #5? (Round to the nearest dollar.) Want to know what it feels like to manage an emergency food assistance operation? Play Food Force and direct the fight against world hunger! Visit food-force.com to download and start playing.