Ayiti - The Cost of Life - Reflection

Playing Ayiti – The Cost of Life was quite an experience. It is similar to the other simulation we have tried, Third World Farmer, but unlike the other game, this game focuses on the family’s happiness. It’s definitely more difficult to play, but in my opinion, I find it more effective than Third World Farmer. The game is also frustrating to play because even if you have managed to finish the game, the family will probably only have an ok future, since going to school is expensive. Focusing on their well being can be troublesome as well because even if the family is healthy, if their happiness is very low, they can get fired from their jobs and that will lead to death. There are also many obstacles in the game, such as bandits and the hurricane season.
Similar to Third World Farmer, the game Ayiti – The Cost of Life was made to raise privileged people’s awareness on life in LEDCs. It is a very moving game, made to show people that there are innocent, miserable people living in poverty because of disparity, corruption and injustice. I would describe the simulation as a game that isn’t meant to be played. It’s meant to be heard. Leaving them with an answer like that will hopefully push them to try the game themselves and help the rest of the world. However, if I were to explain the entire game, I would probably just focus on telling them about the family, the obstacles (nature, bandits, disease), the main missions (Health, Happiness, Education and Money) and how the situation is similar to the actual people who live in Haiti/Ayiti.
I chose to focus on Happiness because it may help the family work harder and recover faster if they stay positive. It might also help them learn enthusiastically if they were optimistic and happiness is one of the only gifts a family trapped in poverty can have.
Although my main objective was Happiness, I made sure to watch their health while I was playing. I decided to avoid sending the children to school, since it was too expensive and instead, I sent Yves (the youngest child) to volunteer at the UNICEF. Also, I tried to keep the parents working longer than the children because the parents won’t be happy if the children are sick.
There are many strategies one can use in every game. For this one, I made sure that someone was working in the UNICEF because they keep you happy and somewhat healthy and it is a much cheaper substitution for school. I never made any of the parents work as a Rum Distiller because it greatly decreased their health and when each of the family members had 6 health points, I made two of the children go to the clinic and made the rest of them work so that in the next season, the two children and a parent would work and the other parent and child would go to the clinic. Then, the parent that had been working for a long time would go to the hospital while everyone else worked. Also, the toys, bed, home remedy, school uniform and the most expensive items (Home Computer & New House) were bound to make the family suffer because bandits would come steal money if you saved too much and the toys, bed etc. were useless. I made sure to buy the bike, shoes and livestock as soon as possible and the indoor plumbing when I could afford it. The livestock will earn a bit of money. The game will offer to make a stall from working with the UNICEF. Buying the stall was my best decision because it earned a lot of money and didn’t take out too much health.
Parents would want to send their children to school for education, so that when they are older, they can find better jobs and help the family rise out of poverty.
I wasn’t able to keep the children in school because it was too expensive, but I was still able to get them proper education. By working with UNICEF, the entire family gained new knowledge and buying the school books also helped improve their intelligence.
The biggest obstacle I faced while I was trying to keep the children in school was that the school budget was more than bother parent’s salaries.
Compared to the type of community I have been raised in, the life of those in Ayiti must be in despair. Going to a cheap school is too expensive for them while I am attending in an international school. Staying in an appropriate hospital has been proved nearly impossible since they aren’t financially prepared for the bill. Bandits in their life can ruin the life of the entire family while I can simply replace whatever was stolen from me.
Education on some countries is very difficult to achieve, especially for girls, because there might not be any decent schools and even if there were proper teachers, an LEDC might not be able to afford a school building, including text books, school supplies, white boards or desks.
Jobs with better pay would make it easier for the children to go to school. If the game started with educated parents, then the mother can work as a secretary and the father can work as either a professor or a mechanic’s assistant. If you want to make even more money, but only educate the two younger children, you can make the eldest son work as the mechanic’s assistant instead and the father work in the stall.