Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World
- ISBN13: 9780470196328
- Condition: New
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Product Description
Microfinancing is considered one of the most effective strategies in the fight against global poverty. And now, in Small Loans, Big Changes, author Alex Counts reveals how Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus revolutionized global antipoverty efforts through the development of this approach. This book presents compelling stories of women benefiting from Yunus’s microcredit in rural Bangladesh and urban Chicago, and recounts the experiences of different borrowers in e… More >>
As someone who has practiced micro lending (albeit on a rather small scale), I can vouch it works. After reading Professor Yanus’ “Banker to the Poor”, and David Bearstein’s “How To Change the World”, and other micro finance books,I can assure the reader if we all get behind this important social movement, we can really change the world for the better.
I preface what I am about to write by stating I do not say so to seek attention; I express it to encourage others to join in and help eradicate or reduce poverty everywhere. Recently, I asked the women of my village Amaoku and Amakwu Alayi who reside in the commercial city of Aba (Abia State Nigeria) to select 16 women who need micro loans the most. I told them then the loan was of small amounts, so as to not raise any hopes. However, I did not tell them the amount of the loan before hand. I told them about micro finance and how it’s supposed to work. Before I could finish the sentence on the telephone, my senior brother’s wife there in Aba who coordinates the program told me they knew all too well about the Grameen micro finance method. She told me the loans will have small interest and specific loan repayment period requirements so that the funds can be loaned to others and others. That was a very unexpected welcome first sign.
My wife and I promptly sent a small amount to be split among the 16 women. On the day the women gathered to give out the loan to the 16 women they chose themselves, they called me on the phone to express their appreciation. They told me they wanted to sing me a song over the telephone.But I was rushing to a meeting with customers here in Austin Texas when they called me. I asked them to give me a rain check on the song. Even if I was not busy, I was too emotional to hear them sing me a song for such a small amount of money divided among 16 women with families. Tears of humility and joy began to run down my cheek after the telephone call as I drove to my meeting. Many of the people who did not receive the first loans were jubilantly happy. My relatives in Aba told me how these women were overjoyed and sang themselves hoarse that day. An amount that is barely enough to buy a family of 6 one dinner in a semi fancy eatery in America, could change the life of a family in an African village. These people need a hand to buy a net or hook to catch their own fish, not to be given fish.
Giving is often a selfish act that benefits the giver more than the beneficiary, if you asked me. Giving is human and humane!
We intend to continue supporting micro financing efforts because we know it is effective. As someone who has actually witnessed and lived the the program, Alex Counts and other authors like him have knowledge to offer those of us who are just beginning to sow the seeds of poverty alleviation.
Rating: 4 / 5
Until recently I considered foreign aid, The World Bank or big private foundations as the ways to assist the world’s poor, but Alex Counts changed that. Counts describes an idea too often overlooked by those who are bound by traditional models or who want to hold tight control, but it is an idea too important to miss. An expert in the history and process of providing microfinance loans to the poorest of the world’s poor, Counts describes a solution that has been proven to work because it empowers loan recipients rather than makes them dependent on others. The poor as entrepreneurs … an exciting idea.
In a book about serving the poor, stories alone can be manipulative and facts alone can be lifeless, but Counts combines the two in his engaging, clear description of the history and impact of microfinance. I came away with high respect for Dr. Yunus, the work of the Grameen Bank, and the resourcefulness and courage of the women whose stories he tells. I also finished with new hope that there really are effective ways to break the cycle of poverty for millions.
Rating: 5 / 5
As an aspiring social entrepreneur and recent college graduate, I am grateful for the insights provided by Alex Counts into the history and inner workings of Grameen Bank and the greater microfinance movement. Having worked directly with the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus for decades in addressing poverty both in Bangladesh in the U.S., Counts has a unique perspective into this powerful approach to poverty alleviation. He effectively utilizes the stories of the day-to-day lives of women in rural Bangladesh, in juxtaposition with those of women in Urban Chicago, to demonstrate the universal applicability of microcredit as well its potential to unlock the hidden entrepreneurial potential of the poor. I would whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about one of the most exciting movements in the present fight against global poverty.
Rating: 5 / 5
Small Loans, Big Dreams is a great read on many levels. It reads like an inspiring novel that you just don’t want to put down AND it captures the history, current reality and rich potential for the future of one of the most effective programs for empowering the poor – microcredit. Put this on your must read list and be prepared not to be able to put it down until the end.
This book is perfect for people who enjoy reading about everyday heros – regular people who overcome personal and social obstacles to create a better life for themselves, their families and others. It is difficult not to be touched and get a deeper appreciation for our humanity as you read the stories of the women who step out of out what is comfortable and familiar in their culture and become leaders for a new future. Reading the stories of these women creating a new future in the circumstances they have, it is hard not to be left with more courage and commitment to tackle the issues and circumstances in our personal lives and our communities. With simplicity, gradualism, faith and partnership, truly any difference can be made. This book demonstrates this.
This book is ALSO perfect for people who like to read books about real world issues. Alex shares the evolution of perhaps the most effective program of all time to combat poverty and he does it so that the reader has multiple perspectives (Muhammad Yunus’s personal history/journey to empower the poorest of the poor, the current economic and social constraints that disable the poor from participating in capitalism and pulling themselves out of poverty, a glimpse of the day to day experience and dedication of the staff at the Grameen Bank and those women who use micro-finance to give themselves and their families better lives). It is useful, understandable and insightful to readers regardless of whether you consider yourself knowledgeable about economics or a complete beginner.
This book would be excellent for book clubs and discussion groups – there is something for everyone to love and so many directions that discussions could take, every reader would have much to contribute and also be left wanting to learn more. I knew nothing of economics before I read this and now I both know more and what to know more. It was interesting to see the comparisons of the programs in the US and Bangladesh and to realize in our American `land of opportunity for all’ we literally have more societal and legal constraints that are actually in the way of empowering our poor to get out of poverty.
The original micro-finance programs have been able to be duplicated in many different cultures and countries, which is a testimony to the integrity and resiliency of Yunus’ thinking and design and the work of many people. Alex also presents the future opportunity for real social change through the strengths of the networks and relationships. You will be left with both opportunity and optimism for our future.
Rating: 5 / 5
“Small Loans, Big Dreams” has it all. It’s a wonderful book about the story of micro-finance based on Dr. Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank model. Several women in Bangladesh and Chicago generously share their personal stories with author/economist, Alex Counts, about how the smallest loan helped get them back on their feet, gave them self-esteem and a sense of purpose, when no one else would take a chance on them. If you have a heartbeat you will be moved by the stories of Amodini, Shandha, Queenesta, and Omiyale.
Counts, who is President and Founder of the US-based NGO, Grameen Foundation, reverently gives a comprehensive history of how Nobel Peace Prize-winner (2006), Dr. Muhammad Yunus, defied all expectations and reached out to the poor in Bangladesh in the 1970′s, empowering them to be entrepeneurs. It is a warm, engaging, balanced account of the pitfalls of doing what you know is right despite everyone telling you you’re crazy.
I love this book because it blends the human element with the academic, thus making micro-finance accessible to those of us who aren’t trained economists. The theory behind micro-lending is so simple: empower the poor to pull themselves out of poverty and you change the world. Whatever the arguments against micro-finance are, I would venture to say this book could convert even die-hard oppositionists. Counts concedes that the system isn’t perfect, but there is such accountability, and such a desire to serve its clients well, with integrity, that you’re inspired to put the book down, find your nearest micro-lending institution and see how you can help further cause. I don’t remember the last time I felt that way.
YS
Rating: 5 / 5