Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank Win Nobel Peace Prize
By Bunny Nooryani
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for working to advance economic and social development among the poor, the Nobel Committee said today.
Yunus, born in 1940, founded the Grameen Bank which provides credit to the poor in rural Bangladesh without any collateral. The so-called micro-credit system has spread to several countries around the world.
Who is Muhammad Yunus? ______
What is “micro-credit”? ______
What is collateral? ______
``Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty,'' said Ole Danbolt Mjoes, director of the Nobel Committee, which picks the winner. ``Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.''
How does economic development advance democracy and human rights? ______
The peace prize, worth 10 million kronor ($1.4 million), was created in the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel more than a century ago. Past winners include Mother Theresa, Doctors Without Borders and the 14th Dalai Lama. It was first handed out in 1901.
Who was responsible for the creation of the Nobel Peace Prize? ______
Cite several past winners. ______
The five-member Nobel committee keeps nominations secret. Of the 191 nominees for this year's award, 168 were for individuals and the rest for organizations.
The prize should be awarded to ``the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace,'' Nobel's will says.
Why is a person awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? ______
Last year's prize went to the International Atomic Energy Agency and its Egyptian director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, 64, for their work to stop the military use of nuclear energy.
Who won the award last year and why? ______
The award is formally awarded at a ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896. Nobel also set up prizes for achievements in physics, medicine, chemistry and literature, which are handed out by the Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation.
Why is it awarded on December 10? ______
An economics award was established in memory of Nobel by Sweden's central bank in 1969.
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Microfinance
An effective poverty reduction strategy
Microfinance is often considered one of the most effective and flexible strategies in the fight against global poverty. It is sustainable and can be implemented on the massive scale necessary to respond to the urgent needs of those living on less than $1 a day, the World’s poorest.
Microfinance consists of making small loans, usually less than $200, to individuals, usually women, to establish or expand a small, self-sustaining business. For example, a woman may borrow $50 to buy chickens so she can sell eggs. As the chickens multiply, she will have more eggs to sell. Soon she can sell the chicks. Each expansion pulls her further from the devastation of poverty.
What is microfinance? ______
Provide examples of Microfinance: ______
Microfinance, the Grameen way, includes several support systems that contribute greatly to its success. Microfinance institutions offer business advice and counseling, while clients provide peer support for each other through solidarity circles. For example, if a client falls ill, her circle helps with her business until she is well. If a client gets discouraged, the support group pulls her through. This contributes substantially to the extremely high repayment rate of loans made to microfinance entrepreneurs.
Provide an example of the support systems. ______
An equally important part of microfinance is the recycling of funds. As loans are repaid, usually in six months to a year, they are re-loaned. This continual reinvestment multiplies the impact of each dollar loaned.
What is the recycling of funds? ______
Microfinance has a positive impact far beyond the individual client. The vast majority of the loans go to women because studies have shown that women are more likely to reinvest their earnings in the business and in their families. As families cross the poverty line and micro-businesses expand, their communities benefit. Jobs are created, knowledge is shared, civic participation increases, and women are recognized as valuable members of their families and communities.
Why do the majority of loans go to women? ______