Kanto International High School Social Issues Project 2007

Here are examples of projects done by students in the 1st year Study Abroad Programme. Once again, they read Oliver Twist. They focused on the theme of homelessness and then, in teams, they researched homelessness in countries on every continent. The examples displayed here are the scripts that the students wrote for the presentations that they made on 23 February. I have edited the scripts for readability. However, all the content came from the students and I did my best to maintain the tone of their writing.

Homelessness in Liberia
Lubliana Bodova
Study Abroad Class 2006-2007

Hello every one. Today as you know is our last project in the year. It’s about homelessness in the world. I researched homelessness in Liberia. Homelessness is one of the biggest human tragedies in the world. I am going to talk about homelessness and the causes of homelessness in Liberia. Secondly, I will give you some information about some agencies that are working to help the homelessness. Last but not least, I will give you some information about how to help homeless people in Liberia. I am very sure Japanese people are very charitable and generous.


The number of homelessness in Liberia is 1,000,000 people out of a total population of 3,283,000. In a year, the population grows at a rate of about 2.80%. The birth rate is 47/1000 and the mortality rate is 143/1000. Lots of people are losing homes because of the civil wars, wars fought over land and wars fought over resources.



Liberia has experienced two civil wars. Both wars lasted over a decade and Liberia still suffers from political instability. The civil wars have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed the economy, in other words - jobs. Liberians who have lost their homes are currently refugees in Sierra Leone.


In Liberia, kids as young as 5 years old learn how to handle a gun and kill. There are almost 200,000 child soldiers in Africa. Almost 90% percent of the people in Liberia are unemployed and the 9% percent that work make less than 30 U.S. dollars a month. The way we can help the homelessness in Liberia is to join a volunteer group and go to Liberia and help the people. So please remember that people in Liberia are facing pain right now and they need our help and cooperation.

Homelessness in the United States

Atsushi Tsukada
Study Abroad Class of 2009

I’m going to talk about the homeless in the United States. First I’m going to tell you about some statistics regarding the homeless people in the U.S.A. The Urban Institute study states that about 350 million people live in the United States and 1.35 million of them are homeless. Children represent 39%. Also, 299,321 veterans are homeless. Approximately 33% of homeless men are veterans. In the U.S, 52% of the homeless live in shelters.

In the U.S, there are lots of people holding a card that says “Need help”. In Texas some homeless people wipe car windows, and the driver gives them a little tip. When I was in high school in the U.S, I saw some homeless people and I gave them a small amount of money. They are very kind to me when I gave them some money.

I think, we should donate money to homeless people, especially in United States because in the U.S homeless people are increasing. I think we need to try to make a better and much cleaner world. I want a world that is safer and a fine place to live.

Homelessness in Egypt
Mika Fukushi
Study Abroad Class of 2009

Hello! Our team researched homelessness in Africa. I researched homelessness in Egypt. Today homelessness is becoming a big problem throughout the world. I want you to listen to our presentation about homelessness in Africa carefully to think about the seriousness of this big problem. I’ll tell you about homelessness in Egypt. First, I’ll tell you about the circumstances. Then, I’ll tell you about some agencies that are helping the homeless people. Last, I’ll tell you about what we can do to help the homeless.

Now, I’ll talk about the severe circumstances of the homeless in Egypt. The chart below shows the population of Egypt and the percentage of homeless kids. It’s increasing.

Click image to enlarge

They usually live in a shelter that is made of a metallic wall, or they live outside. The cause of homelessness is related to low income, poor health, mental illness and job loss.

Next, I’ll tell you about an agency that provides houses for them. The name of that agency is ELCA. They think that homelessness is being without shelter, without resources, without support, without recognition and without power to influence society. To avoid that, they provide food, shelter and care to study the social causes of homelessness.

In conclusion, I talked all about the circumstances of the homeless people, the causes and an agency that is helping them to live peacefully. I think there are many ways that we can help them to live in a warm house like we do. Even if we don’t belong to the agencies we can find many ways to help them.

Homelessness in South Africa
Yui Kishibe
Study Abroad Class of 2009

In South Africa, there is much homelessness. The true number of homeless people for only Johannesburg city is about three million two hundred thousand. However, we can't take a correct record of the homeless population because they are always moving. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the exact number of homeless people. One of the causes of homelessness is unemployment. The unemployment rate is 44%. It is a high level. There are lots of people not only homeless but also AIDS infected in South Africa. Many agencies have taken action to help them to live, and UNICEF is one of example. Through the help of these agencies homeless people can continue living in this county.

Homelessness in India
Emi Ishii
Study Abroad Class of 2009

I’ll tell you about homelessness in India. The first topic is basic information about India. The second topic is about homelessness in India. The third topic is about Aashray Adhiker Abhiyan, an agency that is trying to help the homeless in India. The final topic is about what we can do to help the homeless in India.

Now I’ll tell you about the basic information. The population is 1,095,351,995 people and it is increasing even now. The capital is New Delhi.

Next I’ll tell you about the homeless. Over 5.5% of India is homeless. They have some problems: violence, bad weather, gang offences and other problems. Some homeless people are migrant day laborers. So, they have jobs but the pay is very low. Above all else, the causes of homeless are poverty, no work and domestic problems. Lets move on to Aashray Adhiker Abhiyan (AAA).

AAA is working in India to help the homeless. They give advice to medical teams regarding health and human rights. They give special medical care, including medicine, counseling and so on. I think we can understand what homeless people’s wishes are and we can help them.

Homelessness in Korea
Jouta Watanabe
Study Abroad Class of 2009

Hello, everyone. I researched homelessness in South Korea. Homelessness is a very serious problem that affects everyone. I will tell about homelessness in South Korea. I will tell you about the causes of homelessness. After that, I will tell you about some agencies that are working to help the homeless. Finally, I will tell you what we can do to help the homeless in Korea.

Korea does not have more homeless than other countries. South Korea has only 5000 homeless people but there are some problems from the increasing population of homeless. In Korea, crimes are committed by some homeless people. Why do they do such a thing? Because they do not have work, so they are poor. Why do they become homeless? There are many reasons. First, homelessness is caused by unemployment. Second, homelessness is caused by the gap between the small income class and the large income class. These reasons, they become a homeless.

Next, I will talk about some agencies. There are many agencies in South Korea. The most active agency is Korea Homeless Christian Help Agency. That is a Christian group. But they help all homeless. They do many things. It helps homeless people to find a new job and it gives them food, and they make a magazine for the homeless.

Finally, I will tell you what we can do for the homeless. I think that to respect homeless people as individuals is the easiest way. The homeless are people the same as us. Even still, I think that some people think the homeless are different from us. If all people understand the homeless, we can help the homeless. So homelessness will disappear in the world I think.

In conclusion, the fact that the world has homeless people is a very strange thing. We can help them. If all people give a little money to help stop homelessness, homelessness will disappear. I hope that you will remember that you can help the homeless, and the homeless are the same as us. Thank you.

 

Homelessness in Australia
Ryou Shiratori
Study Abroad Class of 2009

There are 105,304 homeless people in Australia. There are several causes of homelessness in Australia. One cause is being thrown into unemployment. Many homeless people have lost their jobs. Other causes are mental illness, sexual assault, alcohol and drug use, and financial difficulty. Domestic violence is the single biggest cause. These are causes of homelessness in Australia.

The Australian Federation of Homelessness Organisations (AFHO) is an agency working in Australia to help the homeless. First it gives assistance to homeless people by teaching them living skills and financial management. Second, it counsels and advocates. Third it provides medical services. It also provides meals, outreach and early intervention programs.


There are several things that we can do in order to help the homeless. First of all, we should understand more about homelessness. “The cause is that they don’t work.” I thought so until I researched about them. Now I realize this is wrong. There are many causes of homelessness. I'm sure to understand more about homelessness will be the biggest help to them.

Homelessness in England

Kiyono Saito

Study Abroad Class of 2009

Hi people,

Homelessness is a big problem in England. The population of England is about 50,093,800 and the population of homeless people is about 944, 000; that’s 35,050 households. There are a lot of reasons why homeless people become homeless. Some examples are: poverty, medical problems, unemployment and other things like that. There are many groups helping the homeless in England. For example, The Big Issue. It’s very common throughout the world. It is from England. The Big Issue Foundation publishes The Big Issue magazine and sells it to the homeless. Homeless people then sell the magazine to members of the general public and they keep the extra money that they earn. The Big Issue Foundation, therefore, helps homeless people to control their lives and helps them move off the streets and into a home and a job. However, homelessness is a big problem still. So we should help homeless people a little bit. First you should find out more information about what homeless people really need. You might be able to give them your unneeded clothes, furniture or more other things that you don’t need.