Ever heard of Professor Muhammad Yunus or Grameen Bank? Whether or not you have, it's always awesome, I've found, to check out more of what this fantastic Nobel Peace Prize winner and the bank he has created are doing. Microfinancing, or giving out small loans without massive interest rates to women living below the poverty line, has been changing many lives since it was first introduced to communities in Bangladesh by Yunus. Now the ideas that started with this single man have grown to an international scale, including branches of Grameen America in Queens, Brooklyn, and Omaha. Recently, my mom has begun to participate in the process of establishing Grameen's presence in Washington State, which is being done very carefully so as to cooperate with other organizations in the area that have adopted a similar model, such as Washington Cash.
The women who receive these loans use them not just to support their family for a little longer, but invest them into profitable appliances and businesses so as to bring in a steady stream of income for the family. For this reason, Grameen America has been able to keep a 99% rate or return on the loans they give.
I really encourage people to look up more about this organization and to keep an eye out for the documentary To Catch A Dollar, which is due to release in select theaters this coming September. I'm really impressed by the work these folks are doing to truly make the world a better place, and my summary here really doesn't do them justice.
For more info, check out
http://www.grameenamerica.com/ and
http://www.grameen-info.org/ ,
And http://www.tocatchadollar.com/ has a good trailer on the opening page. Check it out.
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