Steven Sibley from Bangladesh - Sept. 21, 2008

NOTE: MTSU student Steve Sibley is in Bangladesh to learn microfinance, a humanitarian empowerment of the poor, from its pioneer, Nobel Prize-winner and former MTSU professor Muhammad Yunus.

Sibley is the recipient of the Kawahito Scholarship for Experiential World Poverty Studies. For more information, contact Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito at 615-898-5751.kawahito@mtsu.edu

One of the best feelings one can have is the relief when luggage lost in transit by an airline is recovered. This reveals a fundamental attachment to things. However, the comfort in having two large bottles of Pepto-Bismol, numerous pairs of clean socks and underwear, and good works of fiction cannot be denied.
When I showed up at 9:30 in the morning to begin my first full day at Grameen, I was delighted to discover that another American intern, Kathryn, was starting on the same day as I. To add to my elation, she is staying at the Grand Prince Hotel along with me. This completely alleviated my concerns about being alone in a country where I cannot adequately communicate with anyone. Additionally, this helps reduce transportation costs and costs of a translator.
Today was supposed to be my first full day at Grameen Bank. Unbeknownst to me, my internship coordinator, Babor was busy calling the hotel and airline trying to track down my luggage while Kathryn and I were undergoing orientation. When Babor interrupted the video introduction to Grameen Bank to inform me that my luggage had arrived at Zia International Airport, it took restraint not to jump out of my seat and give him a gigantic hug. Babor even offered to personally drive me to the airport to recover my luggage.
Again, the kindness and openness of the staff at the bank is overwhelming. I am a stranger to them, a mere intern who can speak none of their language, yet they have welcomed me wholeheartedly as a member of their family. Jannat, the director of the internship program, and Babor said that, while I am a guest at their bank and in their country, they will do anything in their power to make my stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible.
I didn't accept Babor's invitation to escort me to the airport, as I didn't want to impose. Instead, I told him that I would get the hotel to call me a cab. Mr. Rahman, the Grand Prince's assistant manager, arranged for a cab and a hotel employee, Shopi, to drive and escort me to the airport. The trip to the airport was relatively uneventful, save for the tense moment as Shopi explained my situation to the security guard carrying a semi-automatic rifle.
I collected my lost bag without incident. However, during the return trip from the airport, again the beggars, upon seeing an American in a taxi, swarmed around me. Today, however, I was prepared emotionally, as I had gotten a good night's rest and knew what to expect. Furthermore, I was prepared financially.
Expecting that I would again encounter beggars, I had broken a 50-taka bill into 25 2-taka bills to give to beggars. The first beggar woman with child told me "Good morning" as she held out her hand. Instead of handing two 2-taka bills to her, I placed them in the hand of her infant child. The child knew that money meant food and smiled one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen as he held the bills to his cheek.
It is unimaginable to think that as little as four taka (approximately six US cents) could bring such a huge, heart-wrenching smile to the face of an infant. The smile itself was priceless. While I don't delude myself into believing that my four-taka donations offered any long-term solution to the staggering problems facing the infants and their beggar mothers, I know that ten Bangladeshi children were able to put some food in their bellies today.
The next day, Thursday, was my first trip out of Dhaka and into one of the villages in which a Grameen Bank branch operates. After two days of witnessing what seem to be helpless people in hopelessly poor circumstances, today's excursion has renewed my optimism that there is perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel for these impoverished people. Microcredit, as practiced by Grameen Bank, can help alleviate poverty. At least, it can help motivated poor people to help themselves.
Before relating my experience in the village, perhaps it is necessary to briefly describe what Grameen Bank does and how it is organized. Grameen practices microcredit, the lending of money to poor people who lack collateral or credit. The majority of Grameen's borrowers are women, who, tending to be responsible for the household duties and rearing of children, have more time with which to start a small business.
In order to apply for a loan, a prospective borrower assembles into a group with four other prospective borrowers who live in the same village and have similar socio-economic situations. Prospective borrowers receive instruction on the basic principles of borrowing and repaying both principal and interest. After they understand this process, the group members form loan proposals, which include a basic description of what they plan to do with the money they receive and the term over which they will repay the loan.
Once the proposals are approved, the loans are disbursed, and the borrowers (who join the bank as members) use the funds to start their own small businesses. These businesses are as varied as groceries, small agricultural ventures, or transportation services, to name a few. Members repay principal and interest on these loans in uniform weekly payments over the term of the loan. After the initial loan is paid off, members often apply for additional, larger loans with which they can expand their businesses.
So today, Babor, Kathryn, and I visited a center meeting. The center conducted its business while Kathryn and I asked questions (through Babor, of course) to several of the members of the center. The first woman was an elderly new borrower. We asked what she was doing with the loan. She said, "I am old, I cannot improve myself with my loan." Disappointment.
The second member of whom we asked this question, Morjina, had been a member for three years, and she said, "Today I am borrowing 100,000 taka (at an exchange rate of approximately 68 taka per U.S. dollar, this amounts to $1,470). Her first loan had been for 15,000 taka and the second for 30,000. With each of Morjina's loans, she expanded her husband's already existing grocery business and also bought a milk cow and some chickens for eggs.
I thought to myself, "Wait a minute, Grameen is supposed to be lending money to poor women. These loans were given to a woman whose husband already owned a business. Furthermore, the loans seem to have been funneled to her husband's business. This seems to contradict Grameen's mission of lending primarily to women in an effort to improve their social status, thereby empowering them."
Nonetheless, Morjina described the amount of income she and her husband were able to earn with their various business ventures. Both of her children were in school and were not having to work to help support their family. Obviously, Grameen's financial assistance had helped improve their livelihood. As the cliché goes, all is well that ends well.
While we were talking Morjina, another member was hiding her face in her sari, blushing a little bit. After Morjina had finished answering our questions, Babor asked if there were any long-time members. Several women in the center mentioned Shohana, and the blushing woman started giggling.
When Babor asked how much money she was borrowing today, Shohana answered "600,000 taka." At 68 taka per US dollar, this amounts to over $8,800. As we learned more about Shohana, we discovered that she had received her first loan of 3,000 taka 14 years ago. At that time, her husband was driving a baby taxi, which he did not own. With her first loan, Shohana bought a used, broken down bus. She and her husband repaired the bus and started a bus service. Again, the loan was funneled through the woman to her husband. However, Shohana and her husband now operate six buses. Her 600,000 taka loan is going to be used to purchase their seventh bus.
It was such an uplifting experience, spending time in the village. After the center meeting, each of the women with whom we spoke took us to their houses and stuffed us full of food. At Morjina's home, we met her husband and youngest child. They fed us bananas, mango "Hello Jello," and 7-Up from their grocery store. Additionally, Morjina brought us cups of homemade yogurt, which she had made with milk from her dairy cow. They laughed at me as I sliced a banana and put it in my yogurt. I explained that we put fruit in our yogurt in America. They looked baffled. After leaving the house, we visited their grocery. It had a variety of items for sale and a television playing movies in Bengali. There were several people congregating around the store watching the television. In a village with few televisions, this seemed quite an effective way to lure business to their store.
Shohana's home was a mansion compared to the other homes in the village. We met the husband who had been a rickshaw driver, turned taxi driver, turned bus driver, turned entrepreneur. Again, the wife and husband seemed to be equals. The woman brought us cookies and biscuits on very nice plates. On examining the room, I discovered a plethora of silverware, plates, and cookery, all of which are signs of wealth in Bangladesh. They also had a television and a battery-operated Apache helicopter toy for their young son.
Shohana's house is large enough that they currently rent a two-room apartment to a sick elderly woman and her son. Discussing their long-term plans, Shohana and her husband hope to build a five-story house. They plan to live on the top floor, while renting the bottom four to other families. If the couple's past successes are any indication, this plan will come to fruition in the not too distant future.
After leaving the village, we visited the village branch office. Here, we met with the branch manager, the assistant manager, and a center manager. Babor showed us the branch's books. This branch, while one of the more successful branches, had 68 million taka in deposits from both Grameen members and non-members. One of the main reasons for the overwhelming success of this branch is the fast growth of a nearby city to which several textile mills had located. Additionally, the branch has been in existence for more than 15 years.
In addition to offering a temporary escape from the low roar of traffic, the pungent odor of rot, and the constant pleading of beggars, the trip to the village offered hope that the bleak poverty of the Bangladeshi villagers could be alleviated. I am optimistic about the ability of the tools of finance to solve societal problems, like poverty.
Kathryn and I explored Dhaka on Friday, but this email is long enough as it is. That story will come at another time. Upon showing up for work this morning, Kathryn, Nana (a brand new German intern), and I were informed that we are to take a three-day, two-night trip to a village tomorrow. As a result of such short notice, I need to purchase some clothes and begin packing.