3d: Helping out

1 Warm-up

Discuss

Do you know of any charities or organisations that help people?

Yes, I do some of them are UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

How do they help?

They raise money to help people who need it, and offer support in various ways.

Would you like to be a volunteer for a charity? Why/Why not?

Yes, I would. I think it's important to help people in need. When you give, it feels like you are given something back, and that you did something to make the world a better place.

B. Read again and answer the questions.

1. When was the OIC created?

In 1969.

2. Why do people in Somalia and Kenya need help?

Because they suffer from lack of food and water and serious illnesses.

3. What happened in 2012?

The OIC decided to ask the international community for help on the problem of Somalia.

4. What other organisations has the OIC worked with?

The United Nations and the Muslim NGOs.

5. Who is Doug Willis?

A volunteer doctor.

6. Where has Dr Doug Willis seen civil wars?

In some countries in Africa.

7. Why can’t Dr Doug Willis and his colleagues help all the people who are in need?

Because there are too many patients.

Comprehension questions:

1. Where is the OIC based?

In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

2. How does it help?

It offers the Islamic community help, through fundraising events, donations, charities and humanitarian programmes.

3. How did the OIC help Somalia?

They raised money to give food to 300 families every month and brought doctors and nurses to treat patients in a hospital in Mogadishu.

4. Where has Dr Doug Willis spent many years?

In Africa.

5. What patients do they treat there?

Patients with very serious illnesses or injuries.

6. What amazes him?

How strong people are and how they can go around with smiles on their faces despite the circumstances.

Post-reading

If you were a doctor, would you become a volunteer in Africa?

Yes, I would.

Apart from treating ill people and being exposed to the dangers of wars what else do you think these volunteers have to face?

The stress and anxiety of dealing with human lives.

3 Vocabulary

A. Match the words 1-6 from the text with the dictionary entries a-f.

1. donation c
2. educate e
3. tough f
4. treat a
5. patient d
6. extremely b

B. Look up the words below in a dictionary.

border(C)= the geographical line that separates two countries.

injury noun (C)= damage to the body.

illness noun(C)= the state of being unwell.

raise verb= to gather money, usually for a specific purpose, e.g. charity.

volunteer noun(C)= a person who performs or offers to perform a service without payment.

war noun (C)= a state of open, armed conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties

4 Listen

A. What do you think that people do on ‘Helping Africa Day’? Listen to a TV reporter and check your answers.

They raise money to help people in Africa.

B. Listen again and complete the sentences.

1. Geoff is holding a portrait .

2. The school has raised about 12,500 pounds.

3. Steve Wilkins is trying to break the record for raising the most money in a day.

4. The school has made a (huge) cake in the shape of Africa.

5. Someone special is going to cut the cake.

5 Pronunciation

B. Listen and circle the words which contain gh as /f/.

6 Speak and Write.

A. Discuss how you could make the world a better place. Use the topics and the ideas given.

A: If countries worked together, there would be peace.

B: And also if they stopped wars, and started discussing their differences, this would be a better world.

A: I agree. Instead of fighting, we could respect other countries.

B: What about the environment? What could we do?

A: We could do a lot of things. If we used bikes instead of cars, Planted more trees and stopped pollution, we could make a great difference.

B: Maybe the governments could also take some measures, to move, for example, some factories away from the cities.

A: OK, what about health? How could we improve that?

B: I guess through the use of technology. Also, if we were informed, we could avoid some illnesses or know how to deal with them.

A: I agree. And the poor people in Africa?

B: If we raised money, we could support charity organisations. We could also volunteer or send medicine.

B. Write a few sentences about how you could make the world a better place.

The world could be a better place if each of us did a little something. We don't have to go to Africa to help poor people ourselves, but we could help charity organisations, raise money or send medicine. Also as far as peace is concerned, it's important to take action. If countries worked together, if they respected each other and discussed their differences, the world would be friendlier and peaceful.

The environment is also at risk. If we planted trees, used our cars less and stopped pollution, the Earth could breath again. Finally, human life is valuable.

If we were more informed about health problems, we could avoid getting sick and we'd know how to deal with illnesses.