MUNGA on Aid: Good
or Bad
On Tuesday 20th June a
Model United Nations General Assembly was held at the
The day began with a welcome from the organiser Urszula Basini, a senior lecturer in Geography at the university; an introduction to the day by chairman Mary Holmes, a member of the World Development Movement and Kingston Peace Council; and a lively talk by Rachel Stevens of Christian Aid, who emphasised that aid must be what the receiver needs. This was followed by a group activity where the children represented different people in a cocoa trading chain. They were aghast to learn at the end that in reality, farmers received just 8% of what we spend on a bar of chocolate while the supermarket received 28%. One child commented, “But they only have to take the bars out of the boxes and put them on the shelves!”
After a break the primary
delegates chosen as spokesmen, addressed the lecture theatre on their country’s
views and position on aid. These were
very impressive speeches and revealed how much research had been done. After lunch discussions were held in groups
and, when back in country groups, each delegation was asked to form a
resolution. These were voted on after
being presented to the general assembly.
The proposal put by the Irish delegation won. It was in two parts: a) all debt to be
cancelled with no strings attached and b) each rich country should be paired
with a poor country to provide aid needed e.g.
It was a privilege to
help at this event. These children were
a credit to their schools and it gave all adults present hope that yes, we are
developing global citizens who care.
Maggie Rees