Muhammad Yunus gave a $90 loan to a Bangladeshi villager, which pulled her out of a cycle of poverty and into business. She used the money she borrowed from Garmeen in 2001 to buy egg-laying chickens, and parlayed her investment into a business that today sells construction materials. She's not alone. Yunus' micro-credit has spread around the globe and is said to have helped at least 100 million people take their first steps out of poverty. "Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty," the Nobel Committee said in its citation in Oslo. The 65-year-old Yunus said he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million award to create a company to make low-cost, high-nutrition food to sell to the poor at a nominal price. The rest would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor. But Grameen is not without critics, many of whom focus on the bank's high interest rates. Its business loans carry a rate of 20 percent, significantly higher than the 10-15 percent charged by commercial banks.Saturday, October 14, 2006
[2006 nobel peace prize] muhammad yunus
Muhammad Yunus gave a $90 loan to a Bangladeshi villager, which pulled her out of a cycle of poverty and into business. She used the money she borrowed from Garmeen in 2001 to buy egg-laying chickens, and parlayed her investment into a business that today sells construction materials. She's not alone. Yunus' micro-credit has spread around the globe and is said to have helped at least 100 million people take their first steps out of poverty. "Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty," the Nobel Committee said in its citation in Oslo. The 65-year-old Yunus said he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million award to create a company to make low-cost, high-nutrition food to sell to the poor at a nominal price. The rest would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor. But Grameen is not without critics, many of whom focus on the bank's high interest rates. Its business loans carry a rate of 20 percent, significantly higher than the 10-15 percent charged by commercial banks.
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What a fantastic idea, I was going to post on this, but I had no time and you beat me to it again - great minds!
ReplyDeleteIt shows what can be achieved by impoverished workers if they are given the opportunity and support. It's great being able to work on a project that you know makes a real difference to people's lives.