I just finished "Banker To the Poor," an autobiography by Muhammad Yunus. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work with the Grameen Bank, which gives credit to the poor without any collateral in an effort to eradicate poverty (beginning in Bangladesh and spreading throughout the world). It is an amazing story of determination, caring for each other, and working for the good of the world. The obstacles placed in Yunus' way were amazing, even more so seeing how he overcame them. This idea of micro-lending seems to be a good, if not great tool, for bringing all people out of poverty. Yunus himself admits in his book that "micro-credit cannot solve society's every problem. But it can help to support those who would otherwise fall through the cracks..." (230). He also challenges our natural inclination when dealing with the poor:
"When we want to help the poor, we usually offer them charity. Most
often we use charity to avoid recognizing the problem and finding a solution for
it. Charity becomes a way to shrug off our responsibility.
"Charity is no solution to poverty. Charity only perpetuates poverty
by taking the initiative away from the poor. Charity allows us to go ahead
with our own lives without worrying about those of the poor. It appeases
our conscience.
"But the real issue is creating a level playing field for everybody, giving
every human being a fair chance" (237).
And Yunus submits that we do this through lending money to those with no collateral instead of trusting in government welfare or a socialist economy. Though very simplistic, I can't find a fault in his logic or results- especially when there is about a 98% repayment rate (his bank is not being taken advantage of). I'm impressed and want to learn more.
Extra Credit: I haven't had a chance to delve into the following websites yet, but these are two on microfinance I came across recently as I was waiting for this book to arrive:
1 comment:
wow...
that's great stuff!
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