Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus: A Banker Who Believes Credit is a Human Right

Autor/inn/en	Szpara, Michelle Yvonne; Ahmad, Iftikhar; Pederson, Patricia Velde
Titel	Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus: A Banker Who Believes Credit is a Human Right
Quelle	In: Social Education, 71 (2007) 1, S.9-14 (6 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0037-7724
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Social Development; Banking; Economics; Credit (Finance); Poverty; Awards; Social Studies; Class Activities; Teaching Methods; Elementary Secondary Education; Bangladesh + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Soziale Entwicklung; Bankgeschäft; Volkswirtschaftslehre; Credit; Kredit; Armut; Award; Auszeichnung; Gemeinschaftskunde; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Bangladesch
Abstract	The article profiles Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank (an independent financial institution in Bangladesh), as well as an economics professor at the University of Chittagong. In his birthplace of Bangladesh, 49.8 percent of people exist below the poverty line, and 73.2 percent of the women are categorized as "unpaid family workers." These individuals may not have the financial resources to adequately care for their children or the ability to contribute to household income and stability. Without adequate funds to meet daily needs, there is no opportunity to invest funds in long-term approaches for creating financial security. Yunus began what would become a worldwide phenomenon known as "micro-credit," lending small amounts of money to the poorest of individuals in order to help them achieve long-term financial security. Yunus sought to liberate these borrowers from "loan-sharks," who charged excessive interest, which kept the borrowers in a cycle of permanent debt. Yunus later expanded his lending to nearby villages, and, in 1983, Grameen bank was established as an independent institution, taking its name from "grameen," the Bangla word for village or rural area. Today, Grameen Bank has 6.74 million clients and provides a variety of financial services to the poor. Its borrowers own 90 percent of the bank's shares, women constitute 96 percent of the borrowers, and repayment rates have reached 97 percent. In 2003, Grameen Bank launched a new initiative, targeted at the neediest of Bangladesh's poor--individuals who engage in begging activities to survive on a daily basis. Today, 81,000 of the clients are street beggars, who utilize the bank's financial and health insurance services. In 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." It recognized Yunus's idea of micro-credit as a necessary instrument for building peace and prosperity at the grassroots level. This was the first time the Nobel Committee directly linked peace with the struggle against poverty. The study of Yunus and Grameen Bank can be integrated into the social studies classroom at all grade levels. Using the social studies standards, "NCSS Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies," as a guide, this article also provides teaching suggestions for elementary, middle, and high school levels. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street 500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10