Analysis Of Playing Ayiti: Cost Of Life

My experience playing Ayiti: Cost of Life was mixed. It was fun and enjoyable but as time went on, it became frustrating as I kept redoing the game trying to master it.
I learnt that the game is meant to teach players about poverty in developing nations. The game emphasizes the opportunity cost that families in developing nations must bear if they want to get ahead in life. A family typically has to pick between health, education, happiness and money as the primary goal. The game shows me that you can never have it all and there will have to be a trade off when trying to achieve the goals set. It now becomes a matter of priority. For example, I had to choose who I would educate in the family and who the sole bread winner would be. The game

Happiness is crucial for enabling the family to have positivity. When there is happiness, families in the developing world are generally more optimistic. Families will work hard to achieve objectives. Being happy in the developing world is also important for maintaining good health as when families are unhappy- as we have seen in the game-, it is likely that families will fall ill and morale diminishes.
I have learned that the role of non-governmental organizations is much needed for developing states. Non-governmental organizations supposedly have a big role to play in advancement as they usually provide services and utilities that help bolster families in developing nations. For example, when one volunteers with a non-governmental organization, as emphasized in the game, they have the opportunity to get more education, develop more skills needed for a decent career and the local community benefits with utilities such as soccer field for kids, local library and local community

For example, instead of handing out aids to corrupt Haiti leaders, western countries can assist non-governmental organizations that have been thoroughly vetted, in providing schools for the children in Haiti, teaching adults skills that will help them start their own business which in turn helps the economy. Providing perishable items like free food, free shoes and all do not help. There is this Chinese proverb that states: “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” reiterates why it is never a good idea to give handouts or aids that make developing nations dependents. Yes, in the short term, Western nations might make benefit from the handing out aids (handing out aids to developing nations tend to make them subservient to your demands) but in the long run it will not solve developing nations’ problem. Instead, arming them with the means to turn their economy around would help western nations in the long run as these developing nations would eventually transform into global trading partners. Developing nations will suddenly have the capacity to trade goods and services from western nations and this will elevate the global