Last week was very interesting in terms of my relationship with microfinance. Unfortunately, I had to defend it to many individuals critiquing it and its impact. After listening to the Half the Sky lecture with Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof on campus, many of my professors were frustrated by the message the book was expressing. Many of the critiques pertained to the hindrances of microfinance. Not only was that an issue, but also the fact that many people wanted more of an international pressure than a grassroots relief effort. What I had to express was that though these were issues worth considering, the grassroots approach was alleviating poverty in some of the various forgotten villages. Then I was asked to write a paper choosing one of the grassroots projects noted in Half the Sky. I chose The Grameen Bank, in hopes of not only writing the paper, but also reinforcing the information I learned in GLOBE. One thing I found for certain is that microfinance, unlike many grassroots projects, is a system in which needs to be studied extensively. That’s what I think makes it so different and so important. One issue that really stumped me and I feel needs to be addressed is the concern of domestic violence between spouses and the group-lending model. I also wanted to find out if any of our borrowers have had to experience such a situation. These questions are extremely vital and necessary if we aim to accomplish growth in this field. Women who fear such violence would not want to borrow and would not leave their husband. After these discoveries it became knowledgeable that microfinance is webbed into systems of knots and tangles and we have to make sure we don’t just place the loan in such a web but actually aim at untangling it.
Then I realized that money might not be the best form of loan. This was something I did not think of right away. Our visitor Dr. Caroljean Willie and her presentation “A Bishop, A Cow and a Way Out of Poverty” left a lasting impression on me. What that program did was create a systematic and extremely thought out way out of poverty. I was surprised at what a flawless program it was. What I found very profound was the statement: “People have the right, the will, and the capacity to direct their own future.” I also thought that the donation system was beautiful. Giving people solid choices and something to correlate with their donation, such as a $10 ear, is something we should think about; this donation may not be literal but on Microdonation Day we could have cards that state: $5 –Pride, $10- Hope, and so on. I think this model can definitely express what we are aiming at accomplishing while also displaying important messages. Donors feel better when they can match their donation with something relevant to the cause.
I began thinking in terms of expansion to the Middle East and how this system is probably the best for some of the agricultural areas. I also found that the Moroccan government proposed microfinance in one area of Morocco. All of this information is necessary and expansion is a very complicated task; being the best informed rather than thinking in terms of execution of tasks is essential. I began to discuss this with a family friend who works with an exchange program in conjunction with Iona College, which is also a Catholic university. Finding that Morocco has invested very much in microfinance, I felt the need to ask if my friend who organizes the program knew about microfinance. Surprisingly enough, he had never heard of it. We determined that we would speak about it more thoroughly at a later time. But out of this brief conversation, I learned there is not a saturated “market” in terms of the presence of microfinance institutions. I also learned that the objective of expanding to the Middle East is probably the most difficult for us to address, but with diligence and hard work, it is quite achievable. Microfinance and the work we accomplish in GLOBE is not something we can do over-night. With a clear head and the right goals in mind, while also staying academically informed, we can accomplish these large tasks.
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