Grameen functions in a practical, matter of fact way. It is this consistency and understanding across all levels of the organization that are the key to the success of Grameen programs. Grameen staff are required to work in the field at the grassroots level before moving into administration to ensure that they can relate to the problems faced by local villagers and addressed by field officers and branch managers.

Grameen believes in the vision of a poverty free world. As Mr. Hassan* my Grameen preceptor during my field experience explained the nuances of Grameen, he felt it was best to use the analogy of a seasoning to represent a borrower’s credit experience.

“Credit is like salt. Too much is like poison. Too little is not good, there is no flavor. Our responsibility is to ensure we are giving enough credit and measuring a person’s capability to do well with that credit. We simply are facilitators. Credit is based on trust. We have trust that the poor will repay their loans just as any other person would.”

The experience of a borrower is not limited by a monetary transaction. In addition to providing loans, NGOs working in microcredit address issues of health and sanitation, the importance of education, leadership skills, cultivation techniques for agricultural crops and negotiation skills necessary to mediate community disputes. In this sense,with careful monitoring and transparent accounting, the microcredit approach may be used as vehicle for a more holistic approach to address multiple problems related to a life in poverty.

In the case of Grameen, there are health clinics established in some villages and there is an educational scholarship fund that has been established to facilitate higher education for children of Grameen borrowers. It is hoped that a combination of these strategies will seriously diminish global poverty.