nwasianweekly.com
Dec. 23, 2006

Muhammad Yunus

Ending poverty, one person at a time

Twenty-five bucks may not seem like a lot to most Americans, but to the billions of people living in poverty throughout the world, it can mean the difference between life and death.

Just ask Muhammad Yunus. The 66-year-old Bangladeshi economist has seen firsthand how a miniscule loan can sustain a family for a lifetime. Three decades ago, Yunus developed the concept of microcredit. Through his Grameen Bank, tiny no-collateral loans are given out to the very poor so they can start their own businesses. These people have so little that they don’t qualify for traditional loans. They are expected to repay the loans, and about 80 percent of them do.

The success rate has been astonishing. This program has helped millions of people, especially women. In one case, a woman took out a loan to buy a cell phone, which she let other villagers use for a fee. Her income helps feed her entire family. All that was needed to put this plan into action was less than $50, and the Grameen Bank was there for her. Simple. Easy.

Now governments and financial institutions throughout the world are asking how they can start microloan programs of their own. This is not even a nonprofit venture; it’s for-profit, and it’s holding its own in the marketplace.

Yunus and his bank were awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for their role in transforming lives and alleviating poverty. He is the first Bangladeshi to receive a Nobel award.

In his speech at the award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, Yunus noted that terrorism and poverty are inextricably linked. “We must address the root causes of terrorism to end it for all time. I believe putting resources into improving the lives of poor people is a better strategy than spending it on guns,” he said.

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most powerful ones.
In this day and age, we are quick to shrug off challenges like homelessness, poverty, hunger, racism and sexism because they seem too insurmountable. But Yunus has shown that change can happen — one dollar at a time, one person at a time.

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