Nobel Peace Prize Highlights Microfinance
October 13th, 2006
Congratulations to Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus for his pioneering work to bring microfinance to the working poor of Bangladesh.
Time Magazine reports:
Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their pioneering use of tiny, seemingly insignificant loans — microcredit — to lift millions out of poverty.
Through Yunus’s efforts and those of the bank he founded, poor people around the world, especially women, have been able to buy cows, a few chickens or the cell phone they desperately needed to get ahead.
“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. “Microcredit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.”
Yunus’ groundbreaking Grameen Bank was the first lender to hand out microcredit, giving very small loans to poor Bangladeshis who did not qualify for loans from conventional banks. The bank does not require collateral from its borrowers and repayment is based on a collaborative, community-wide system.
If you want to experience the process of microfinance for yourself, check out the many lending opportunities at Kiva.org. With seed money of just $25, you can be part of a life-changing loan to a grocer in Oaxaca, Mexico or a teacher in Uganda.
The opportunities are limited only by your willingness to participate! Get involved today!
October 14th, 2006 at 7:06 am
Hi Tabetha,
Thanks for your post on microfinance. It is so timely given the heightened awareness of microfinance as an effective tool for the eradication of poverty due to the recent Nobel prize announcement. Thanks also for writing about Kiva; you’ve provided your readers with a practical way to get involved. And thank you for placing Kiva on your blogroll; your are extending the shelf life of Kiva’s message for readers who continue to return to your writings!
Tim (volunteer with Kiva.org)
October 14th, 2006 at 9:26 am
my pleasure! it’s such a brilliant way to make a difference!