Living Grameen:
A personal account
During March 2003,
I had the unique opportunity to participate in the International Dialogue
Program held annually by the Grameen Bank in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Ananda Foundation has awarded grants to finance microcredit projects.
As Executive Director, I wanted to experience first hand how a successful
microcredit program operates so that I could better appreciate the work
of the NGOs we support and grasp an understanding of what poverty means
to populations who are at the bottom of the social hiearchical ladder--the
landless poor. Microcredit is a strategy that has evolved over
time to help give the poor back their lives by giving them the tools to
become self-employed (through loans and training). Microcredit loans involve
giving small loans to women to start their own business.
The Grameen program
brings together individuals from around to the world who are interested
replicating Grameen type projects. Individuals are taught the principles
behind microcredit, microfinance, and social entrepreneuship for poor
landless women. The course is highlighted by an experience in the field
seeing Grameen in action. There are visits to bank branches, interviews
with bank managers, case studies with borrowers, and documentation of
a branch's history.
Participants are introduced
to the levels and stages during the process by which Grameen operates.
The following excerpts are from my personal journal. I wanted to share
them with you because I feel they illustrate a revolutionary strategy
used in poverty alleviation. Grameen replication projects are currently
employed in over eighty countries of the world including the United States.
I hope you enjoy reading
these thoughts and become inspired in some way to help alleviate global
poverty.
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