Subject: bangladesh grameen bank
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Harshad J Kamdar
> > To: prakruti@yahoogroups.com ; Jashfamily (E-mail)
> > Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 12:55 PM
> > Subject: RE: [prakruti] Re: [indianenvironment] Re: think needed
> urgently
> >
> >
> > Dear Kisanbhai and colleagues,
> >
> > The message from Kisanbhai is thought provoking. He has said and I
quote
> 'What is required is to take up and pursue till the end programmes based
on
> local and regional requirements and conditions. Devoted workers ready to
> study and learn from the local conditions and to replicate'
> >
> > I remember here the story of Prof Mohamad Yunus who started the Micro
> lending Movement thru Bangla Desh's Gramin Bank. Its new and thought
> provoking. How a single person can change the destiny of a nation and lift
> about 25% of the population above povertry line. Make them better
nourished
> and empowered.
> >
> > The story started during the struggle for independence of Bangala Desh
> by Banga Bandhu. Prof Yunus was a student of economics at an US
university.
> He collaborated with the Bangla intellectuals and after the Mukti Bahini
won
> and casme to power. He returned to Decca with his American wife a very
> nagging woman.
> >
> > He preffered teaching to a beauraucratic job which he was also
offered.
> Having early morning classes at Chittagong Uni., he found himself free in
> the afternoon and wandered in the villages in the neighborhood of
> Chittagong. He was wonhdering why the loans of the world Bank and the
> spendings of the Goverment not lift the poor. He also noticed the abject
> poverty and tried to speak to the women falk, but may be LAJJA of an
unknown
> male, they would sit down and never reply to his queries.
> >
> > So he did the next best thing, get his female students with him and
> question thru them. In the analysis of the replies he found a couple of
> things.
> >
> > 1 They had only one garment to wear in short poverty had made them
> topless.
> > 2 They had to walk 4 kms. to get Rs.5 to buy bamboo for making
> bashet. Walk back 4 kms and give them to the sahukar who would give only
> 0.50 paise for their day's work.
> > 3 If they could buy bamboo worth Rs 10 and that would last for 2
days
> and they could produce more and sell in bulk directly eliminating the
> Sahukar and got much better remuneration.
> >
> > Prof Yunus took out his own Rs 800 and started lending it to the
women
> and in return he experienced that a woman is a better credit risk then men
> and peer pressure was the best to eliminate bad credit.
> >
> > He tried to get a credit for them from a banker who talked of a
> collateral. Those who live in abject poverty hyow can they have
colatteral,
> so the bank aggreed to give them loans of Rs 100 each against a personal
> gurantee from Prof Yunus. When the recovery was as good as 98% he thought
he
> thought of starting his own bank and sowed the seed of a large bank
today's
> Grameen Bank.
> >
> > He intoduced a system of daily affirmation in the morning by each
> borrower which had about 10 points including
> > 1 Grow vegetables around their home in the gap between two huts.
> > 2 I will educate my children.
> > 3 I will take care of the health of the family.
> > 4 I will have only two children etc. etc.
> >
> > These pledges were reapeted at weekly meetings of the borrowers when
> repayments had to be made such that all loans were repaid in 50 weeks and
2
> extra payments were made to meet admin expenses. There were no
vouleenteers
> all were paid their due wages. If any one lagged on repayments their
> subgroup of 8/10 were denied further loans till it was regularised. This
> helped to create peer pressure and reduced bad loans.
> >
> > This is today a huge bank with regular borrowings and lending running
> in bill8ions of dollars. They have also acted as a neucleus for
> > 1 Cell phone service
> > 2 To charge cell phones they brought in Solar electricity.
> > 3 Bangla Desh was importing Madras bleeding checks handloom from
> India. Dacca was a mecca of spinning and weaving and the very thought of
> imports was a challange. Today not only Grameen Checks supplies the need
of
> their country but is a serious challange to India's dominace in the export
> market.
> > 4 Bangla Desh has a number of ponds (like our Konkan and Goa) When
> the beauraucrats were fed up with the loss making fisheries they thought
of
> Prof Yunus to run the nationalised fisheries and today it is a
decentralised
> sucess story.
> >
> > If I have created enough intrest and if any one is intrested in
learning
> more about the micro credit movement it is very well reviewed on the web
and
> the biography was first written in French and the English translation is
> Banker to the poor and the Gujarati translation is VANCHITO NO VANETAR.
> >
> > So I hope friends we can also have a dream and fulfill it with
devotion
> and dedication
> >
> > Warm regards
> > Kanu Kamdar
> >
> > Dear Colleagues,
> >
> > Our friend Harshad Kamdar responded to my message by citing hte
> > work of Mohamed Yunus of Bangla Desh. The story brings put the
> > results of consistent working in the community.
> >
> > The way he has brought empowerment to women is something
> > worth a study and adopting in our working for publc causes. Best
wishes.
> >
> > Kisan Mehta Priya Salvi Rajiv Bhatt
> > PRAKRUTI
> > 620, Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East,
> > Mumbai - 400 014
> > Tel: 0091 22 2414 9688
> > Kisan Mehta - Mobile 92234 48857
> > Priya Salvi - Mobile 93231 96420
> > Rajiv Bhatt - Mobile 93228 29805
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: kisan mehta [mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 8:06 AM
> > To: indianenvironment@yahoogroups.co.in
> > Cc: PRAKRUTI GROUP
> > Subject: [prakruti] Re: [indianenvironment] Re: think needed
urgently
> >
> >
> > Dear Colleagues,
> >
> > It is not the documentation that is required. What is required is
to
> take up and pursue till the end programmes based on local and regional
> requirements and conditions. Devoted workers ready to study and learn from
> the local conditions and to replicate
> > and promote disinct character of the village and region have to
start
> working. Do not depend on government programmes, mould them to local
> requirements.
> >
> > Common programmes that can universally be tried out are the
promotion
> of life style and suistainable agriculture that make
> > villages and regions self sufficient, self confident and self
reliant.
> > Public programmes have made villages dependent on cuties and
products
> and services marketed by cities. This has to go.
> >
> > We do not need uniform centralised stereotyped working in all
villages
> because they have distinct character. Government and public servants
cannot
> bring this transformation. Are our youth ready to adopt villages and work
on
> ground level?
> > Best wishes.
> >
> > Kisan Mehta Priya Salvi Rajiv Bhatt
> > PRAKRUTI
> > 620, Jame Jamshed Road, 4th Floor,
> > Dadar East, Mumbai 400 014
> > Tel: 0091-22-2414 9688
> > Kisan Mehta - Mobile 92234 48857
> > Priya Salvi - Mobile 93231 96420
> > Rajiv Bhatt - Mobile 93228 29805
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: syedarshadrizvi
> > To: indianenvironment@yahoogroups.co.in
> > Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 2:02 PM
> > Subject: [indianenvironment] Re: think needed urgently
> >
> >
> > Dear Mr. Zuberi
> > As I had mentioned in my earlier mail, it is very important to
> document the State Of Villages in every
> > part of the country. Until this is done, I dont think
> > that any Rural Development program will be successful.
> > The failure of programs like IRDP was due to the same
> > fact as it failed to match the needs of the villages
> > and the rsources provided.
> > Now if we compare the villages of Bundelkhand area, Rajasthan and
> North Eastern states. We can see a vast difference between the climatic
> conditions, soil
> > fertility and soil texture, natural resources, present systems and
> needs of irrigation,
> > ground water table, resources available and resources needed to
> start any cottage/small scale industries.
> >
> > Therefore in order to initiate developmental processes in
> > rural india both micro as well as macro economic analysis of the
> indian villages is a must, so that we can know what
> > activities will be most suitable for which region to provide
> sustainable livelihoods to communities.
> >
> > Lots more to discuss...
> >
> > thanks
> > Rizvi
> >
> >
>
