The Paper Bag Game!

Will you make enough bags to survive?

Some questions about you How many taps do you have where you live? 1… more? 3… 2… 4… How many rooms do you have where you live? Do you have to share a bedroom with anyone?

Some (more) questions about you Do you have a shed in your garden? Does anyone live in it? Where does your food come from? Do you grow any of your own food?

We are going on a journey… to India

You are living in a village near the city of Kolkata

Everything you eat, you have to grow yourself… …or buy at the local market

One year it doesn’t rain… What happens to your crops? How does that affect you? What will you do?

You move to Kolkata to look for work. But you are not alone. People from villages all around are also headed to the city.

So how will you survive? Beg? Stay with friends? Get a job? Live on the streets? Beg? Get a job? Steal?

Many people survive on the streets of Kolkata by making paper bags.

The bags are sold to shopkeepers. They put rice and spices in them for their customers.

Ten bags will earn you 1 rupee

Would you survive by making paper bags?

You will now be shown how to make a paper bag.

Easy? You’ve got 20 minutes to make as many bags as you can.

sell them to the shopkeeper When you’ve made 10 bags sell them to the shopkeeper

So...... Get making!

How did you get on? How many rupees did you earn in 20 minutes? How many would that be in an hour? How many would that be if you worked for 10 hours a day?

You need about 26 rupees a day EACH to survive. Did you earn enough?

What would happen if you became ill and couldn’t work? If you can’t work you can’t earn money to pay for medicine… food… your home… Or you needed to buy new clothes? A shirt that costs 30 rupees would mean making 300 more bags!

Are your hands dirty? Where would you wash them?

Did you know… If you were homeless in Kolkata your aim would be to move into a bustee. A bustee is the same size as a garden shed. Can you imagine your whole family living in a garden shed?

How did playing this game make you feel?

What can you do to help? Tell other people about what you’ve learnt (and get them to play the game!) Make paper bags out of wrapping paper and sell them as gift bags Learn about the Millennium Development Goals (www.developmentgoals.org)

Visit our websites: www.globalgang.org www.christianaid.org.uk/learn

What will you do?