Humanist Family Resources

girlglobeWelcome to the Humanist Family Resource page! 

This constantly evolving page brings resources to humanist parents wishing to help their children develop compassionate engagement with the world around them.

In addition to general resources for encouraging generosity and mutual responsibility, this page will include books, online activities, and other resources related to the Foundation's causes at a given time.

The drought and famine in the Horn of Africa is a major focus of our work for the rest of 2011, so we're launching this page with resources to help kids learn about the region, the cultures, and the issues involved in that crisis, from geography to climate to a description of famine itself. We'll also explore what the world is doing to help those in desperate need, and to plan for a future in which famine is relegated to the history books.

We are deeply grateful to blog editor (and mom) Kelly Wright, elementary educator (and mom) Becca McGowan, and our tireless intern Simon Jungé for thoughtful and ongoing work on this project.

  

      Horn of Africa Crisis

Books

buttermanThe Butter Man by Elizabeth Alalou

As Nora waits for dinner to finish cooking, her grandfather tells the story of a drought from his childhood in Morocco, during which his family had little food. Each day he would sit and wait for the butter man to come, hoping for a little butter to dip his bread into. Nora sits down to a Moroccan meal with new gratitude. Age 4+

 

lilaLila and the Secret of Rain by David Conway

For months the sun has burned bown on Lila's Kenyan village. Without rain, the well will run dry and the crops will fail. When Lila's grandfather tells her the secret of rain, she goes to tell the sky the saddest thing she has ever heard. Age 4+

 

treesofkenyaPlanting the Trees of Kenya by Claire Nivola

One of four books telling the life story of Wangari Maathai, the scientist and Nobel Laureate who led efforts to reforest Kenya and founded the Green Belt Movement.

 

kapitiBringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

A rhythmic, rhyming retelling of a Nandi myth about rainmaking.

33 lesson plans for Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain

 

  

News and information 

BBC News: What is a famine? 

CONTEXT: An earlier food crisis, Sudan 2010 (PBS reporting from Doctors Without Borders field hospital)

East Africa: Food Insecurity Continent's Worst in 20 Years (AllAfrica)

Somalia: Massive School Dropouts As Famine Continues (AllAfrica)

AUDIO: Desperation Grips Children in Horn of Africa (NPR 8/30)

VIDEO: Treating malnourished children in Dadaab Camp (IRC 8/26)
     

Activities

 

View photo essay: Drought Threatens Horn of Africa (PBS) 

pbsimageActivity:  Ask your child to talk about a new caption for each image that has a hopeful ending, as if this image were taken a year ago and the famine has ended. 

  • Discuss what factors would contribute to the circumstances in the image being reversed (another hospital was built, the family emigrated to a safer village, the child was able to access nutritious foods)
  • What is likely to change in this community with the improved circumstance?

 Lesson Plans from Natl Geographic Xpeditions

ircCreate your own neighborhood fundraiser for IRC

Whether it's a buffet dinner, pizza party, talent show or garage sale, the International Rescue Committee shows you how!

  

Interactive

 

africaAfrica Geo-Genius:

Race against the clock to drag country names to a map of the continent

Natl Geographic Kids:

Kenya Facts and Pictures

Africa Facts Quiz

Guardian UK:

Interactive map of famine region

Somali famine refugees tell their stories - interactive 

Brilliant new interactive map charts effect of drought and conflict, as well as world response

 

 

 

 
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