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Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty | |||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: PublicAffairs Catalog: Book Release date: 2003-10-14 Media: Paperback Number of pages: 312 Ean: 9781586481988 Book Isbn: 1586481983  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthor:
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Written on November 2, 2007 Summary: Its a great book!! It is a good read, and a powerful reflection of some of the faults of our modern day financial system. The depicted ideas are begining to spread in the corporate world. And the most significantly felt i think, would be Ebay's recent move into the Microfinance industry. Hopefully, this is just the start!!  Written on October 31, 2007 Summary: Microcredit: Economics with a Soul Mohammed Yunus, the primary author of this book was catapulted into world fame after the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.This book by him was written in 1998, a good many years before the Nobel recognition. By that time, his project plan had matured significantly and served as a pilot case for small loans in several other countries, distributed over all the continents of the world. In this book, Mohammed Yunus talks of his life in the context of the microcredit programme in an intimate, no-holds-barred autobiography. He begins with his childhood as one of twelve siblings in small town Chittagong before independence, goes on to his life as a Fulbright student in the USA, at the end of which, he lobbied actively for the independence of his home country from the clutches of the then West Pakistan. He then recounts his return to Bangladesh and taking up a professorship at the University of Chittagong. Somehow the academic status and lifestyle did not satisfy the young professor. He wanted to reach out to a wider clientele, to put his knowledge to practice in helping others improve their standard of living. So he started going out to the nearby village settlements and interact with the people on a one-to-one basis in order to find out what they needed and ho he could help them.How this seemingly small step led to the establishment of micro-credit and the Grameen bank as a viable means of global financial interaction is the subject of this book. The journey was not easy. The author was confronted with an incredible amount of resistance at every stage.The author, however, was no fool and his first steps wer cautious and discreet in the extreme. The first spurt of activity was triggered by the famine of 1974, when he took on the daunting task of helping farmers grow a higher yielding variety of rice. This was done, without the benefit of any agronomical background. The above illustrates the lengths the author went to abandon traditional learning methods, taught in University environs. By late 1975, he was "conceptualizing many CURDP programmes including a mass literacy project. I encouraged my students to go down with me into the village and see how day-to-day life could be improved. They could choose a topic and write a research paper for a course credit." As one reads ahead, one notices what the mere will to initiate can accomplish. The first hurdle itself was gargantuan.Establishing a line of communication with the woman in the most poverty ridden families was itself a forbidding task. Much suspicion and mistrust at different levels had to be overcome. There was the natural reticence of the village women dictated by the purdah. To get the women to talk of their lives was in itself a huge step forward. Then came the menfolk who sensed that the initiated changes in their women's self assertiveness, were compromising their own standing in the family. There was also threats from the religious sector, who were finally impelled to give way under relentless pressure from the village community. All in all, this series of small steps leading to big ones, leading to bigger, even gigantic leaps is reminiscent of the lines, 'Little drops of water, little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean and the distant land.' In later sections of the book, the author discusses how the microcredit scheme have worked in different countries. In particular, he elaborates on how microdredit cannot work in developed countries where social welfare is predominant. He attributes the failure to the connection between state sponsored benefit and state required guarantees, showing how these can severely limit the choice available to the citizen living on welfare. The author is also against the mega funding agencies such as the World Bank. He has refused help from them on more than one occasion, preferring to stick to his own independent assets, even so under pressure from his own country's government. All in all, this book is a riveting read and would grace any bookshelf by its presence. Warmly recommended. Written on October 5, 2007 Summary: Turning Inspiration into Action Not wanting to repeat the accolades mentioned in the reviews posted I would like to instead share how reading this book and meeting Yunus was a catalyst to some actions I took both on a personal and professional level. The intent is not self promotion or to showcase my efforts. Instead, I am providing ideas and addressing those of you who may find, as I did, that after finishing the last page you are left with a desire to do something. The dilemma was what could I do ......I am not a bank or live in a developing country. I did give copies of the book to friends, colleagues and family but I wanted to do something more concrete. Well, with micro finance "on my radar" I took some actions both on a personal and professional level that I hope are making a difference and are in some ways increasing the visibility and awareness of micro financing. First a little background and comments on the book.....I had the great honor of meeting Muhammad Yunus shortly after he received the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 at an event in Paris sponsored by Planet Finance. Yunus is truly an inspirational person, charismatic in a subtle way, who has touched the lives of many. His enthusiasm is contagious. The book Banker to the Poor is a fascinating read.... humorous, touching and informational as it traces the evolution of the micro finance model from concept (starting with Yunus lending the equivalent of $27 to stool makers) to what it is today with over 7.2 million clients. What resonates with me is the idea of lending versus aid dumps from the World Bank, UN, NGO's and charity organizations. I don't want to discount the millions given as direct charity to the needy but the concept of micro finance creates a sense of pride and responsibility not to mention innovation and creativity. Micro finance can also generate incremental improvement versus charity or outright donations which, in many cases dries up, is short term and results in dependence instead of empowerment. Some actions I took: * I became aware of KIVA (www.kiva.org) an organization that facilitates micro loans (as little as $25) from individuals like you and I to a specific entrepreneur in a developing world empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. These individuals are in fact showcased on the site where you can see a picture and read about the entrepreneur you have chosen. KIVA is founded by an impressive team of "Social Entrepreneurs". Using technology, KIVA brings the lenders and borrowers together and provides an online community for lenders who are also showcased on the site. Involving my daughter (10) in the decision process we are lending to an entrepreneur in Samoa, so she can buy timber to improve her greenhouse for her flower business. * As President of my alumni association (Thunderbird) I organized an event around Micro Financing with the Managing Director of Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency, as a guest speaker. * At a university in Paris I run a project based course involving teams of MBA students. Proposing a project related to micro finance the students were enthusiastic and completed a study on micro finance in Europe. * Professionally, I work with individuals in career transition and entrepreneurs in helping them to identify their unique strengths and values and message their brand appropriately both online and offline. Fundamentally, I find that people have a social conscious and want to do something concrete. To this end I suggest lending to a KIVA entrepreneur as a way to concretely incorporate a social conscious into their brand. * As part of my involvement in a Global Telesummit entitled a Brand You World www.personalbrandingsummit.com I am involved in raising $100,000 in loans for KIVA entrepreneurs in the developing world. Incidentally, Kiva was featured on Oprah and is mentioned in Clinton's book "Giving". Having shared how I was inspired by reading this book I would be more then interested in hearing how it inspired you and what actions you took. Bernadette Bernadette Martin www.visibilitybranding.com Written on August 12, 2007 Summary: Enlightening work Muhammad Yunus believed that every human being had a basic right to credit. He believed in the human spirit and peoples' hard work and honesty when given a chance to sustain themselves above poverty. His accomplishments have proven his theory over and over in several countries to millions of people. Micro-lending will surely be a part of the future success in Africa, Asia, and South America. A modified form of Mr. Yunus' model has worked in the USA, unfortunately, we as Americans aren't schooled nor molded to be basic entrepreneurs. We must change our school systems from teaching how to become good employees to how to become entrepreneurs as well. Mr. Yunus' model includes 5 person groups to help each other and support each other when one gets behind in loan repayments and/or family crisis. This is a very important requirement to micro-lending and must not be excluded when trying to duplicate the success of the Grameen Bank. Thank goodness we have people in our world like Muhammad Yunus to teach us how to treat other human beings. Written on August 8, 2007 Summary: Poverty should be extinct! This book is a testament to the good one can do to millions of people! Poverty belongs in museums! One day, thanks to humanitarians like Muhammad Yunus, poverty will be something of the past and totally extinct, and the next generation will wonder how poverty was ever allowed to exist within our midst. Indeed that will be a glorious day! Professor Yunus recounts his early life living in India, Bangladesh, and then in the United States. He was born in 1940 in British-ruled India. He was one of fourteen children born to devout Muslim parents. His mother was often ill, but despite this, his father never left her. Yunus later obtained a scholarship to study in the States, earned a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, and later became a professor. He once commented to his students, "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall? Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me." As a young man he was very involved in the independence of Bangladesh when hundreds of thousands died, and many more after Bangladesh declared itself independent. The country was devastated, and stripped of its natural resources. Professor Yunus quickly left the US and headed to Bangladesh in order to help create a government, and thus get international help and support. He was very concerned about the poor, and decided to help them. He was surprised why banks did not lend them money. Also the majority of the poor couldn't write or read, so they couldn't even fill out the forms required by banks in order to obtain a loan. Grameen Bank (The name means the "bank of the village") was thus started in 1976 as an experimental project to combat rural poverty by providing credit to the very poor. Professor Yunus loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two stool makers living in a tiny village. These women only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's small loan helped them break the cycle of poverty for good. Throughout the book you'll read of many such success stories. Professor Yunus faced a lot of obstacles in creating his bank. He was accused by the Muslim clergy (Mullahs) of wanting to destroy Islamic traditions, and of promoting Christian values in Bangladesh. Some of his staff were even threatened. This was due to the fact that the bank encourages women to take loans and work, something of a taboo and highly unacceptable to Muslim women living in Bangladesh. In fact, many women were beaten by their husbands for the mere mention of money, let alone taking a loan. Women were also not encouraged to receive an education or work. Professor Yunus says, "All her life she has been told that she is no good, that she brings only misery to her family, and that they cannot afford to pay her dowry. Many times she hears her mother or her father tell her she should have been killed at birth, aborted, or starved. But today, for the first time in her life, an institution has trusted her with a great sum of money. She promises that she will never let down the institution or herself. She will struggle to make sure that every penny is paid back (65)." In 1983 Grameen Bank (GB) was officially established. It is unique in that it has reversed conventional banking practices by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust. It promotes credit as a human right. Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty by issuing them with microcredits (very small amounts, like $7, something a conventional bank would never do). It is offered for creating self-employment for income-generating activities and housing, as opposed to consumption. It is particularly targeted towards poor women. It provides service at the door-step of the poor based on the principle that the people should not go to the bank; the bank should go to the people. This principal is helpful in a Muslim society where women are not allowed to leave their homes without the approval of their husband, and are not allowed to speak with men. In order to obtain loans a borrower must join a group of borrowers, with each borrower recommending another. If one member of the group defaults on payment of his loan, then the whole group is denied further loans! However, to encourage destitute members to join, he/she does not have to belong to a group, no saving is necessary, no weekly repayment is necessary, his/her loan terms are decided by him/her, in consultation with his/her mentor. A member is considered to have moved out of poverty if her family fulfills the following criteria: 1. The family lives in a house worth at least Tk. 25,000 (twenty five thousand) or a house with a tin roof, and each member of the family is able to sleep on bed instead of on the floor. 2. Family members drink pure water. 3. All children in the family over six years of age go to school or have finished primary school. 4. Minimum weekly loan installment of the borrower is Tk. 200 or more. 5. Family uses sanitary latrine. 6. Family has adequate clothing for everyday use and for winter, and mosquito-nets. 7. Family has sources of additional income, such as a vegetable garden, so that they are able to fall back on these sources of income when they need additional money. 8. The borrower maintains an average annual balance of Tk. 5,000 in his/her savings accounts. 9. Family has three square meals a day throughout the year. No member of the family goes hungry any time of the year. 10. If any member of the family falls ill, family can afford to take all necessary steps to seek adequate healthcare. Professor Yunus distrusted dealing with the World Bank. According to professor Yunus, the world bank, with its headquarters away from Bangladesh, does not see poverty, but relies on theories. He also was wary of how they took full control of a country's financial needs. There were a number of major natural disasters in Bangladesh. The 1998 flood was the worst of all. Half of the country was under flood-water for ten long weeks. Grameen borrowers lost most of their possessions including their houses because of the flood. Soon borrowers started to feel the burden of accumulated loans. They found the new installment sizes exceeded their capacity to repay. Grameen Bank repayment started to show quick decline. This was a good opportunity to design a new Grameen methodology, incorporating all the lessons learnt. As a result, Grameen Bank II was created. The bank believes that the poor always pay back their loans, unlike the very rich. On some occasions they may take longer time to pay back than it was originally stipulated. Many things can go wrong for a poor person during the loan period. According to professor Yunus, since the borrower is paying additional interest for the extra time, where is the problem? Grameen Bank has introduced higher education loans for all students who can enter into the higher educational institutions (medical, engineering, etc). Students are made responsible to repay the loans when they start earning. Half the scholarships are reserved for girl students. The remaining 50 per cent is open for both boys and girls. Each year Grameen Bank gives out 3,704 scholarships. Grameen believes that poverty is not created by the poor; it is created by the institutions and policies which surround them. In order to eliminate poverty, all we need to do is to make appropriate changes in the institutions and policies, and/or create new ones. Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank of Bangladesh won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. As of May, 2007, Grameen Bank had 7.21 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2431 branches, it provides services in 78,659 villages, covering more than 94 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh. About 3 billion people live on less than $1 per day. Professor Yunus' vision is of eliminating poverty by 2050. This is really a fascinating book and I highly recommend it. |
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| Our price | $10.20 | $17.16 | $11.05 | $10.85 | $12.23 | $22.50 |
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| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 2003-10-14 | 2008-01-07 | 2006-02-28 | 2007-09-17 | 2006-02-06 | 2007-09-30 |
| Media | Paperback | Hardcover | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 312 | 296 | 416 | 368 | 304 | 360 |
| Ean | 9781586481988 | 9781586484934 | 9780143036586 | 9780195334760 | 9780131877290 | 9780262512015 |
| Book Isbn | 1586481983 | 1586484931 | 0143036580 | 0195334760 | 0131877291 | 0262512017 |
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