Shan Ali writes for the Sydney Morning Herald – Last night a Bangladeshi economist and the institution he founded 30 years ago (Grameen Bank) received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Professor Muhammad Yunus, known to many as the “banker to the poor”, started his journey toward creating the Grameen Bank in 1976 with a loan to 42 desperately poor people. The total loan was $US27 – less than $US1 per person. One of those borrowers was a woman who made bamboo stools. Yunus was shocked to learn that her moneylender required her to sell the finished stools back to him at a price that barely covered the cost of the bamboo. This kept her in a life of extreme poverty. With a loan from Yunus, the woman sold her product in the market and her profit soared.
Story found on the Australian CM Site.
Tags: Anti-poverty strategies
