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OUR DIVIDED WORLD
Look at the map of the world. it's one world but you can see it's
divided into two parts: the rich countries of the North and the poorer countries of the
South. The countries of the North have more than enough food to feed all their people,
while the people of the south go hungry
Here is a story to help us understand the way
food is shared in the world.
The Birthday Cake
The moment David had been waiting for all year had
finally arrived.: the time for his birthday cake. It was David's fourth birthday and his
mum had promised that if he behaved well she would bake him a very special birthday cake.
David didn't always find it easy to be good but lately he had made a very special effort.
David had invited his three friends to his party; Anna, Joe and Mario. His mum had agreed
that because the cake was so special she would cut it into just 4 pieces., so that they
could have one each. Before eating their cake David, Mario and Anna ran to the bathroom to
wash their hands. They couldn't believe what they saw on their return; Joe had already
eaten three of the four pieces of cake and there was only one piece left to share between
the three of them.
Do you think this was fair? What should have
happened?
Joe could be seen to represent the countries of the North. In the
countries of the North live one quarter of the world's population yet three quarters of
the world's food is eaten here. In the countries of the South live three quarters of the
world's population yet they eat only one quarter of the world's food.
In the countries of the North
 | Almost all children can go to school until they are 16 years old
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| Nearly everybody can get good health care and clean water
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For the countries of the South life can be very
different. Look at what it's like for children in Ethiopia.
This is what life can be like in some of the
countries of the South. It is in these countries of the South that more than three
quarters of the world's population have to live, and most of them live in similar
conditions.
The problem of the world is not that there is not enough to go around -
it's that we haven't learned to share what we have fairly.
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Childrens Guide,
