- One Hen
-
One Hen Inc Type Non-governmental organization Founded 2009 Location 
Boston, Massachusetts, USAMotto Learn, play and make a difference Website onehen.org One Hen, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in January 2009 that grew out of the 2008 children’s book on microfinance One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference and the educator movement it inspired. One Hen’s mission is to help children become global citizens that succeed in school and beyond and marry that success to helping others. One Hen’s family of enrichment books and web-based resources teaches elementary school children about world issues where they can make a difference. One Hen materials cultivate values of financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back. Its website offers students a chance to learn through participating in interactive activities that simulate real loans to real micro-entrepreneurs from One Hen, Inc. field partner Opportunity International,[1][2] a pioneer in offering small business loans, savings, insurance and training in basic business practices to women and men living in chronic poverty.[3] Other partners include Imago Dei Fund, Jenzabar Foundation, Sapient, Bain & Company, and Babson College.
One Hen has won numerous awards, including the Massachusetts Book Award and Computerworld's 21st Century Achievement Award for its website.[4]
Contents
Description
One Hen’s family of enrichment books, web-based, and classroom resources for K-12 classrooms, is designed to fit multiple curriculum formats and learning opportunities across standard subjects: social studies, language arts, math and service learning. Each enrichment program includes a book, website and teaching modules, integrated into classroom teaching or run as stand alone after-school, club or summer enrichment curriculum. Kojo's Market; Microfinance for Kids, the first enrichment program of One Hen, introduces children to the principles of microfinance and entrepreneurship.
One Hen is unique from other enrichment providers because it brings pertinent world issues into the classroom (microfinance, sustainable agriculture, poverty alleviation) and provides multiple curriculum formats that can be utilized with students. One Hen’s niche in the spectrum of educational offerings rests in combining the teaching of social issues with entrepreneurship and youth philanthropy to instill values of global citizenship.A second One Hen program, Maria Luz's Garden; How Kids Can Fight World Hunger, is set to launch in Fall 2010. It will replicate Kojo’s Market resources to introduce children to the concept of food security and what they can do about the global food crisis.
One Hen’s outreach focus is children in grades K-8, with an emphasis on grades 4–6. Schools and organizations in the US, UK, Canada and Ghana are implementing One Hen programs. In the US, areas of concentration in 2009 are Boston, New York City and Charlotte, North Carolina. Bradley olss=
History
Katie Smith Milway wrote a children’s book based on the story of Dr. Kwabena Darko. She founded One Hen, Inc., a nonprofit organization instilling “can do” and “compassion” in kids using interactive media. Since the launch of the book and website in the spring of 2008, students in over 40 cities of North America and 100 countries have accessed curriculum and activities posted on its website. “In January 2009 One Hen formalized it’s [sic] all volunteer team into a nonprofit organization.” [5]
The intended impact of One Hen is to inspire kids to become truly global citizens who always marry their own success to giving back. One Hen focuses on teaching the values of financial responsibility, personal initiative, youth philanthropy, and global awareness.
One Hen pursues its theory of change by equipping educators with stories and interactive media that allow kids to learn, play and make a difference.[6]
Book
Based on a true story, the children’s book One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference tells the inspirational tale of Kojo, a boy from Ghana burdened with the responsibility of helping his mother collect and sell firewood to survive after his father suddenly dies. But Kojo’s life gets lucky when he gets a small loan to buy a hen. Kojo eventually builds a flock of 25 hens and earns enough money to feed and educate himself. The book is designed to be read on two different levels with rainbow text on each spread for read alouds to preschoolers and for early readers; as well as full text bars for ages 7 and up. [7]
Website
The One Hen website, created pro bono[citation needed] by Sapient Interactive, uses games to draw kids into the act of microfinance. Children earn "beads" for completing games such as navigating a maze; completing a quiz on the book; catching virtual fish and decorating African beads. Children are asked if they would like to donate their beads to an entrepreneur on the site's virtual market and trigger a real loan to an African entrepreneur. Stories of actual entrepreneurs flip forward on the site as the kids invest their beads, so they can see the effect a small loan has on the life of a poor entrepreneur. Teachers and librarians create, post and share curriculum and activities to use to teach math, social studies, reading, world resources and more through the lens of social enterprise, comprising financial literacy, youth philanthropy and global citizenship.[8] There is also a video of the life of the real Kojo, Ghanaian poultry farmer Kwabena Darko, on the site and a photo/video library with profiles of micro entrepreneurs from around the world, donated by Accion International, Opportunity International and Grameen Foundation.[9]
"Bead" loans
One Hen’s virtual marketplace on its website is where children earn beads while playing interactive games and then “loan” the beads to virtual African micro entrepreneurs. These virtual loans are then funded into real loans to actual African entrepreneurs through partnerships with nonprofit Opportunity International, a leading global micro-finance institution.
Curriculum overview
One Hen’s resources are designed to fit multiple curriculum formats and learning opportunities. Each enrichment program comprises a book, a website, and teaching modules that can be integrated into classroom teaching or run as stand alone after-school, club or summer enrichment curriculum. Kojo's Market; Microfinance for Kids, the first enrichment program of One Hen Global Kids introduces children to the principles of microfinance and entrepreneurship through the following resources.
- Kojo’s Market Teaching Modules: the following modules offer one hour, one day and full unit course materials for K-8.
- One Hen: Kojo’s Lesson – a one hour introduction to microfinance including a reading, interactive activity and quiz
- One Hen: Kojo’s Classroom – starts with Introduction to Kojo’s Lesson followed by integration of class activities and lesson plans found online under the Teacher and Librarian tab Teacher integrates downloadable enrichment activities into their daily Math, English, and Social Studies curriculum to expand on the key lessons of microfinance and giving back
- One Hen: Kojo’s Academy – a 16 session microfinance enrichment unit with teachers guide and accompanying student resource workbooks, which can be scheduled into the school year or conducted as a stand-alone after school or summer program or club
Recognition
Votes of confidence have come in the exciting form of book and website awards as well as notes from pioneers in poverty alleviation including Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. To date the One Hen book and website have been recognized with over 15 awards across multiple publishing and interactive media organizations.[10]
2010
2009
- Best Books for Children List, Bank Street College [13]
- The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) finalists Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction [14]
- US Children's Africana Book award awarded by a consortium of African American colleges [15]
- 9th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards: Children's/Young Adult Literature Award[16]
- Computerworld Honors: 21st Century Achievement Award[17]
- US Board of Books for Young People's "2009 Outstanding International Book List"[18]
- International Readers Association: Global Society Award[19][20]
- US Board of Books for Young People's 2009 Outstanding International Book List[18]
- Nominee, Forest of Reading Silver Burch Award (Ontario Librarians Association)[21]
- Society of School Librarians International, K-6 Social Studies Honor Book[22]
2008
- Skipping Stones Honor Award[23]
- Best Bets for Children and Teens (Ontario Librarians Association)[24]
- Rutgers University Econ for Kids – Top five books by concepts – Money/Banking [25]
- BNET Best Business Book Winner[26][27]
References
- ^ Texas Librarian (May 1, 2009). "Profile on One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway". TexasLibrarian.com. http://www.texaslibrarian.com/genres/picture-books/one-hen-how-one-small-loan-made-a-big-difference-by-katie-smith-milway/.
- ^ Maggin, Alice; Bass, Sadie (1 May 2009). "Turning Virtual Lessons Into Life Loans". World News (ABC News). http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/story?id=7480860&page=1. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Hampson, Sarah (November 19, 2008). "See Dick microfinance". Globe Life (Globe and Mail): pp. 1. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/see-dick-microfinance/article1191619/. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "9th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards". Massachusetts Center for the Book. May 14, 2007. http://www.massbook.org/massbooks2009.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ "About One Hen". onehen.org. Archived from the original on June 2008. http://onehen.org/about. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Mapps, Roscoe (April 27, 2009). "Opportunity International and One Hen". One.org: pp. 1. http://www.one.org/blog/2009/04/27/opportunity-international-and-one-hen/. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Brown, B (April 6, 2009). "Wellesley and the One Hen". The Swellesley Report: pp. 1. http://theswellesleyreport.com/2009/04/wellesley-and-the-one-hen/. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Michael (April 5, 2009). "The Chicken Comes First". The Boston Globe (Boston Globe Sunday Magazine): pp. 1. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/04/05/the_chicken_comes_first/. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ Henderson, Lisa Leslie (November 19, 2008). "One Hen: Many Opportunities". Wellesley Weston Online: pp. 1. http://www.wellesleywestonmagazine.com/winter08/dept_business.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "Outstanding Achievement Award". Interactive Media Awards. http://www.interactivemediaawards.com/winners/certificate.asp?param=58132&cat=1. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ http://www.accessola.com/forest2010/GoldenOak/
- ^ http://childrenscrownaward.org
- ^ http://www.bnkst.edu/bookcom/
- ^ http://www.bookcentre.ca
- ^ http://www.AfricaAccessReview.org
- ^ http://www.massbook.org/massbooks2009.html
- ^ http://www.cwhonors.org/archives/2009/index.html
- ^ a b http://www.usbby.org/outstanding_international_books_list.html
- ^ http://www.massbook.org/MassBook9/PressRelease-Massbooks9-6-22-09.pdf
- ^ http://opportunity.onehen.org
- ^ http://accessola.com/forest2009/
- ^ http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/jamesmadison?q=Society+of+School+Librarians+International
- ^ http://www.skippingstones.org/honorawards2008.html
- ^ http://www.kidscanpress.com/Canada/CreatorDetails.aspx?cid=200
- ^ http://econkids.rutgers.edu/
- ^ http://blogs.bnet.com/business-books/?p=367&loomia_si=t0:a16:g12:r1:c0.401536:b19694971&tag=loomia
- ^ SHALOO, SHARON, ed (June 22,). [www.massbook.org/MassBook9/PressRelease-Massbooks9-6-22-09.pdf "A COMMONWEALTH OF BOOKS, READING & LIBRARIES"]. The 9th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards Announced. pp. 2. www.massbook.org/MassBook9/PressRelease-Massbooks9-6-22-09.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-09
External links
News coverage
- Profile of Katie Smith Milway, ABC News, 1 May 2009
- "Small loans, big difference", The Boston Herald
- "The Chicken Comes First", Boston Globe Magazine 5 April 2009
- Article, The Globe and Mail, 22 July 2009
- New York Times Parenting blog
- "Grant to help implement ‘One Hen’ microfinance education program in Boston, Ghana", MicrofinanceFocus.com, 1 December 2009
- Garritano, Carmela J., ed. Africa Access Newsletter, 18 December 2009
- "Wellesley children's author Kate Smith Milway to be honored for 'One Hen' book", Wellesley Townsman, 30 October 2009
- Shellenbarger, Sue. "Having a Healthy Midlife Crisis", The Wall Street Journal, 24 December 2009
Categories:- Educational organizations based in the United States
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