Accounting and Program Audit
Team
Log # 2
By Tyler Deng
I first heard of GLOBE my freshman year when I asked Dean Hughes
what some of the special academic programs in Tobin and I remember
her elaborating on GLOBE, EIRP, and The Student Management Fund. At
that time, I didn’t understand what the other focused on but GLOBE
appealed to me and I remember telling her that when I was eligible
to apply, I would and make the most of the opportunity if I were
accepted. Two years later I was finally in the position where I
could apply and during this interval, I learned a lot more about
microfinance, especially from Kiva. The interaction I had with Kiva
as well as the presentation I saw from the past GLOBE semester
(Fall 2011), immediately drew me in since it wasn’t focused on
charity, but more so on empowering others to break the cycle of
poverty. This sense of unity in assisting marginalized people is
extremely unique; not too many institutions offer such a hands on
approach in doing some social good. Poverty is all around us yet
many choose to ignore it, others have preconceived notions about
it, and some try everyday to look outside the box and face poverty
head on. Not everyone is ready to dedicate so much effort in trying
to balance out social responsibility and human dignity, but
programs like GLOBE and Kiva are titans of this industry.
With even an intermediate understanding of economics and
finance, anyone could venture into this field, but it’s not just
knowledge that an individual needs. Mitigating poverty requires
solid contribution from individuals who want to make that
difference, people who are willing to go the extra step to enter a
field that is inherently all theoretical and still yearn to do
more. This is where GLOBE kicks in; it’s an enlightening experience
where every week we learn something new. The collaboration amongst
teams leads to exposure of specified departments all working to
achieve the same goals which is great feature due to the different
responsibilities.
It sounds like a cliché, but I really had no idea what was in
store for us; everything I’ve had a vague idea about was mere
speculation but after our initial meeting, we hit the ground
running. It didn’t take any time to sink in that we’re actually
making a difference, these are peoples’ livelihoods that we are
working to improve and the gravity of this program isn’t just your
typical out of classroom experience. I can honestly say, only a
handful of my friends and family know what microfinance is and
there is even a smaller amount of people who care about it, which
motivates me apply whatever I can contribute to the team and the
program overall. I have a soft spot for programs that achieve
social responsibility and an even softer spot for individuals who
do it for the sake of doing it, not for a payday and not for fame.
I’ve found all of that in a few short weeks in working with my team
in GLOBE. It’s truly a learning experience and I’m enthused and
lucky to be a part of this process. The first few weeks have been
very foundational and it’s almost like the first few days of easing
into a new job or internship except that each class is constantly
set on ‘go’. As a lasting note, the texts have been extremely
instrumental into the transition for GLOBE meetings, not only are
the texts extremely relevant, but it’s a warm feeling to bring
Muhammad Yunus’s vision into fruition.
Finance and Risk Assessment
Team
Log # 2
By Danai Shirihuru
Coming into this program I was aware that it was an academic
program that would give me some real world experience, but had no
idea how eye-opening the experience would be for me personally,
especially so early on. Having spent over 18 years living in a
third world country plagued by poverty and growing up in a home
where I was taught to give back, I have never been sheltered from
the reality that there are millions of people without access to the
basic human necessities, but the truth is in my 3 years away I
became removed from that reality. In my first GLOBE class we
watched a short video in which there were people living in third
world countries, plagued by diseases caused by a lack of basic
health care. Seeing the statistics on diseases that are more or
less non-existent within first world countries that are existent
within third world countries left me shaken. Pictures of one
disease in particular stuck with me, leprosy. I felt chills and
unable to look at the screen as the video played. I wondered how
exactly we could let a disease that can be cured with basic medical
treatment upon early diagnosis have a place in a world with
advancing technology.
There is a quote by Muhammad Yunus that greatly touched me,
“Microcredit is a program for putting homelessness and destitution
in a museum, so that one day our children will visit it and ask how
we could have allowed such a terrible thing to go on for so long.”
How will we explain to our children and future generations that we
have allowed the distance between those living in poverty and those
living in excess to grow so far? We go about our lives every day
and claim we are aware, but at the same time we have allowed fellow
human beings to live in complete poverty, plagued by diseases, and
with very little resources. If I am so aware, what is it that I am
doing to help out?
A fellow class member when asked what poverty was referred to it
as foreign. So often people think of poverty as too big, too far
away, and not being able to do anything about it, as I felt on
being so far away from home, that to have this opportunity to reach
people in remote places and change lives through the Globe program
is such a unique one regardless of who you are. To me GLOBE has
stopped being just an academic program providing real world
experience, but it has also become a place for personal growth and
introspection.
Marketing and Fundraising
Team
Log # 2
By Stephanie Pereira Lima
Readings, Logs, Events, oh my! We have so much to do and so much
to learn! I will admit though, I am not a complete stranger to the
GLOBE program; I was first introduced to GLOBE by a close friend in
2010 therefore I had a very general understanding of the class.
After having read over the syllabus, two weeks ago, I could already
foresee how wonderful and yet intensive this course was going to
be. All reading assignments, events to attend, websites to visit,
and topics to research are listed in detail---and I love it!
Although we are short one person (from the typical five-person
group) I see it as an advantage. We are all very hands on and
proactive with our ideas, and after having listed our objectives
for the spring 2012 semester I know that we all have great plans to
succeed. We fully intend to bring awareness to the St. John’s
community of the GLOBE program as well as fund raise as much as
possible to benefit our donors.
Our first reading assignment was to read Chapter 3 “Back in
Chittagong” in Dr. Muhammad Yunnus’ book, Banker to the Poor:
Micro-lending and the Battle against World Poverty. This book is a
personal memoir on Dr. Yunnus’ journey towards dedicating his life
to eradicating world poverty. His decision to assist the poor,
especially the landless poor, is brought to fruition once he
returns to his home country of Bangladesh, after having studied in
the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. He noticed that most
scholars analyzed why people were poor but not how to end the
continuous and vicious cycle of poverty. This realization is what
most impressed me because he was able to successfully recognize the
problem, shed light on the situation, and create a change. This was
his “call to action”. Like Dr. Yunnus, we, the GLOBE Managers at
St. John’s University, are also doing our part in responsibly
creating a positive change. Naturally, on a much smaller scale yet
nonetheless significant enough. I am extremely excited to see how
the GLOBE course will develop our understanding of microfinance and
its affect on reducing global poverty.
Technology and Communications
Team
Log # 2
By Nirveeta Mahabir
“I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people
convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by
those who struggle to make one small difference.” ― Ellen
Goodman.
GLOBE represents great change in the world. Introduced by an
aspiring member of the faculty at St. John’s University, Dr. Linda
Sama, GLOBE was able to come alive! It is by far one of the best
courses at St. John’s. It has provided me the opportunity to
directly contribute to changing the lives of those living in
poverty and simultaneously put my skills to practice while engaging
in a learning experience.
“Changing the world, one loan at a time!” This is what GLOBE
represents. I am honored to be a GLOBE manager for the Spring
2012!
The readings recommended for this course is life changing. It
has already impacted on my life greatly. I am especially awed by
readings from one of the suggested books, “Half the Sky”, by
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Page by page, I shed tears
on the hardships that people encounter because of their lack of
resources. Education is the key towards changing their lives and
they are very limited to even an opportunity like this. I plan not
only to shed tears when encountered with such stories, but more
importantly to take action towards making a change.
Dr. Sama enlightened us with a great response and insight about
someone living in poverty. When that person was asked to rate
his/her happiness on a scale of 1-10, the response was 10. In
addition, even though they are living in poverty they also consider
themselves as rich, and indeed they are, in culture and values etc.
I believe that we all have something to learn from this, at times
when faced with small challenges, we immediately look down upon our
own lives thinking that life is unfair but if we really reflect on
the opportunities that we are given as opposed to these people and
the great attitude that they have towards life through the most
difficult times, we can really learn from them and appreciate what
we have.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the fact that I am very
grateful that such a program like GLOBE is available for students
at St. Johns. The efforts that previous GLOBE managers put into
this program has definitely impacted on the lives of people and as
the semester begin to progress I hope to also assist greatly in
making in lasting change in their lives as well.