Home

4 One Hen

Katie Smith Milway
United States
Katie Smith Milway,  United States

Katie Smith Milway’s first book, One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, received international acclaim for enlisting children in the cause of microfinance. She is a partner at the Bridgespan Group, a consultant to non-profits and philanthropists. Her latest book, The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough, provides children with the opportunity to become part of the movement to grow “good gardens” and foster food security. Read more

Close
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Waterfront Theatre
$17 / $8.50 for student groups

Based on her experiences living in West Africa, Katie Smith Milway writes movingly and knowledgeably about how ordinary people, in this case a young boy named Kojo, can make a big difference to their community. From grinding poverty, Kojo eventually saves enough to buy one hen and goes on to build up a poultry farm, hire workers, pay taxes and transform his village. Based on a real person, Kwabena Darko, One Hen shows the power of helping through community-development programs and how change can happen, one person at a time.

Suitable for grades 4 to 6

This event is generously supported by the Rix Family Foundation.


Bookmark and Share

View the study guide for this event.

One Hen

Based on her experiences living in West Africa, Katie Smith Milway writes movingly and knowledgeably about how ordinary people―in this case, a young boy named Kojo―can make a big difference to their community. From grinding poverty, Kojo eventually saves enough to buy one hen. She in turn supplies enough eggs for him to buy more hens which, with the help of a microloan, supply enough to build up a poultry farm, hire workers, pay taxes and transform his village. Based on a real person, Kwabena Darko, One Hen shows the power of helping through community-development programs and how change can happen, one person at a time.

Curriculum Connection:
• financial literacy
• personal initiative
• global awareness
• using writing to effect change
• ability to write from another point of view

Activities:
1. Select a section of the book to focus on, read it and discuss it as a group e.g. the start of the book about Kojo’s life and home: whom Kojo lives with, what he spends his day doing, what he does with the coins his mother lends him, how he feels to have lost his Dad and to have left school  OR  Kojo’s life when he returns to school - about his school, what he learns, about his uniform, how he feels.

2. Have students write a letter to Kojo asking him about his life and telling him about their life. OR write a diary entry from Kojo’s point of view, exploring events in his life and explaining how he feels.

3. Come together as a group and discuss what they have done, how difficult it was to imagine how Kojo feels; students could read out their letters/diary entries.

For more lesson plans go to: www.onehen.org.

Close