Accounting and Program Audit Team
Log # 3
By Ana Morales
Last class, we went to the Quad Cinemas to watch “Bonsai People:
The Vision of Muhammad Yunus.” I really enjoyed watching this
documentary, especially because it gave me a greater insight of
what we are doing and helping others across the globe. I really
admire all the great efforts of Yunus and his followers, since they
have impacted many people in underdeveloped countries that need the
most help.
From the documentary, there were some ideas we can apply to GLOBE,
especially because I will be helping out a bit with Enterprise
Development. Being able to see their different ways of making a
living has inspired me to share the ideas with other communities.
Of course, not all of the resources are available everywhere, but
some may apply. Some possible ideas are, growing trees, irrigation
systems, buying/selling goats and cows, providing clean water, and
building houses. More research will be needed, but this is a great
start.
It would be amazing to have a similar documentary for GLOBE, to
get a better feeling of what it would be living with the borrowers
and spending time with their families. In my culture, getting to
know people is a basic step before making a business. Perhaps,
something similar would be great for our program, although distance
and resources are scarce.
Every week, GLOBE changes me in one way or another. After watching
the documentary, I have decided that after graduation, I want to go
to underdeveloped countries in Africa and serve people living in
poverty for a month. I know that I do not have to go far to help,
but I would love to be there to volunteer, adding a different
experience and perspective to my life. I feel satisfied when I know
I am helping others and I would like to continue doing so in many
ways.
Finance and Risk Assessment Team
Log # 3
By Tung Hoang
“Here we were talking about economic development, about
investing billions of dollars in various programs, and I could see
it wasn't billions of dollars people needed right away. “ –
Muhammad Yunus
Last week we spent our class time watching the movie Bonsai
People: The Vision of Muhammad Yunus at the Quad cinema. It was an
especially memorable and insightful experience. Although I have
learned much about microfinance after the first few weeks in GLOBE,
to see the actual story of how Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank
helped the Bonsai people allowed me to see micro-lending in a much
closer perspective – working on the field. Every step of the
journey to help the poor was described in the movie, from the
setting up a branch of Grameen Bank to issuing loans to empowering
people to run successful businesses. One can see how people at
Grameen Bank quietly change the world every day. They do not travel
in executive cars, have lunch with heads of states or talk about
investing billions of dollars. Rather, they ride their old bikes on
the dirt road of the rural area, speak with poor farmers and issue
loans that are less than a couple hundred dollars. But that is
exactly what the poor needed. I was shocked to hear that the first
micro-loans that Muhammad issued valued at $27 to 42 women.
Apparently, the amount of money is not the most crucial factor
in fighting poverty. It is how that money is used. We see billions
of dollars being dedicated to charity every year. Nonetheless, if
not used well, that money would be a waste. Microfinance flourishes
since it not only gives money to needy people but also empowers
them with the skills needed to run a business and ultimately to
change their lives. Obviously microfinance cannot eradicate poverty
on its own, as there are things that require expensive investment
such as infrastructure projects to change the living conditions in
high poverty area. However, if well administered, microfinance can
be at the forefront of the fight against poverty.
Besides watching the movie, I also attended a GLOBE fundraising
at the St John’s Alumni Speed Networking event. Through speaking
with some alumni, I found that they take interest in GLOBE and the
concept of helping the poor through microfinance. Some of them even
knew about GLOBE already. Although we didn’t raise a large sum of
money (due to the limited number of alumni who attended the event),
we were able to promote the message of GLOBE. I believe attending
events such as this would be helpful in increasing the awareness of
the program.
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Log # 3
By Princy Ann Abraham
Last Thursday February 17, 2012 I participated in the TCB Speed
Networking event where several GLOBE students sold promotional
items and explained the GLOBE phenomena to students and Tobin
College of Business alumni. GLOBE raised about $60 through items
such as t-shirts, water bottles and bottle openers. While several
individuals already knew about our program, others had no idea what
GLOBE was.
The actual transfer of information took place when a couple of
GLOBE students sat down to enjoy the appetizers at the event.
Alumni that were participating in the networking sat down at our
table assuming that we too were participating in the speed
networking. Once they sat down they told us a bit about what they
did for a living and then asked us why we were all in GLOBE
t-shirts. I found that we were able to talk to individuals and
connect with them better while we were sitting down with them as
opposed to standing behind a table full of promotional items we
were trying to sell.
I also realized that people at the event were more likely to
support our organization after they received adequate information
and became genuinely interested in supporting us. After I spoke in
depth to several alumni about GLOBE (while sitting at the speed
networking table) they offered a small donation without me having
to ask them. We made more than half of our profit away from the
table in 1 hour than we did standing at the promotional table for 3
hours.
The beauty of GLOBE is that the mission is so strong and the
effects are so direct that people can easily become a supporter if
they are informed properly and clearly.
After watching the film “Bonsai People” last Tuesday February 14th
I was really inspired to raise as much money as possible this
semester. Our marketing team has been working diligently to make
this goal a reality. We have been working better together and have
supported each other’s ideas. Our ideas to have a new promotional
item, an international buffet, a bake sale and a grant proposal are
all in an effort to raise as much funds as possible to make a
difference in the lives of our borrowers.
As we learned in our reading this past week in “The Microfinance
Handbook” by Joanna Ledgerwood, in the short term the money we
provide to borrowers will not instantly raise their income.
Instead, they will protect what people already have and reduce
their vulnerability of falling back into poverty. Like we learned
in class today people are not moving across the poverty line
immediately after they receive a loan. Research and evidence shows
that small changes can easily be taken away by outside forces such
as political and environmental changes.
Technology and Communications Team
Log # 3
By Anastasia Zavgorodni
We began this week with a group Valentine’s Day date to the
movies to watch Bonsai People: The Vision of Muhammad Yunus, a film
explaining Yunus’ implementation of Grameen Bank. The film was
incredibly touching, as it gives a face and a story to those being
helped by Grameen Bank. It also informed us of the intricacy that
goes into establishing a new bank of its kind in a particular
region. It was great to see the everyday lives of the women
entrepreneurs as they all take different paths of profit toward
repaying the loans, while all still working as a community. It is
especially inspirational to hear the story of the woman who has
benefitted so much from her loans that she was able to make her way
into her community’s government. This is the perfect
personification of Grameen Bank’s goals: working toward developing
a “shift in people’s habits.” Women are the main beneficiaries of
micro lending, and seeing that they are moving up the ranks bodes
well in decreasing the poverty in developing countries.
Additionally, I was surprised to see that a multinational
corporation such as Danone actually works hand-in-hand with Grameen
Bank to provide much-needed food for the sake of aide and not for
profit. Danone is an example of how a capitalist corporation can
and must have humanitarian goals for the sake of alleviating
poverty.
Our assigned reading for the week, and specifically my section,
discussed the importance of bringing the developing Southern world
to the same developmental level as its counterpart in the North.
Not only this, rather than merely separating the two, and only
ensuring that the South learns from the mistakes of the North, we
must learn how to make sustainable development equal for both
halves. I like the analogy Yunus made for the need of the world to
realize that we are on one ship, and if this ship sinks, we all go
down. Additionally, one point particularly stood out to me- the
fact that the commercialized behavior of the North is not condemned
but rather imitated and praised. The South sees its immersion into
capitalism as beneficial, whereas this should instead be
discouraged. It is somewhat sad that the culture of the North is
what deemed as desirable, when it is clear that is has many
shortcomings and plain faults. The South should not vie to imitate
the North, but rather to create a new progressive system of
sustainability so that they may this time serve as an example.
Yunus is correct in noting that such a change requires reducing the
corruption in government and ultimately creating a more effective
system of global supervision for the sake of both humanity and the
environment.