Taking on World Hunger
By Staff -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2008
Imagine what it would be like if your students could actually learn new vocabulary words and help feed the world. That's the concept behind a new World Food Programme (WFP)-affiliated Web site called FreeRice.com.
The site offers students (and philanthropic adults) a game that asks users to match the right synonyms to a list of vocabulary words—10,000 in all, representing 50 levels of difficulty. For every right answer, the Web site's corporate sponsors donate 20 grains of rice to WFP aid projects in developing nations like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The mission of the WFP, a United Nations agency, is to reduce hunger worldwide. In 2006, the agency fed 87.8 million people in 78 countries.
FreeRice shares that goal. And its concept of linking aid with education is taking off in schools. Since the site's launch, FreeRice has donated more than four billion grains. And John Breen, the Bloomington, IN, computer programmer who created the site's technology, says its sponsors include big names like Toshiba, Google, and Fujitsu.
“There are 25,000 people dying every day of hunger, and the majority—four-fifths—are children,” adds Breen.
Students who log on to the site encounter “Level 10” words like “streamer” and “inducement.” If they get those meanings right, they're promoted to a higher level. “Level 50” offers words like cenacle (a small dining room). Students who fail at Level 10, on the other hand, get demoted to lower levels.
The FreeRice site also offers links to valuable resources about world hunger for young learners, such as WFP's Food for Education program, which feeds children in developing countries while they're at school and gives their families extra food rations.
