Grameen began a project in 1976 of 4 people: Dr Yunus, Mrs N Begum, Professor Latifee, and Dipal Barua. All four lead the bank today in its 33rd year of helping humanity race to poverty museums by designing and replication social businesses round all of community's most vital service needs
Here is an extract on interview made with Mrs Begum summer 08:
Minute 12- Bangladesh 1976 - Gradually we started to talk to the women,- the first reaction , I’m a woman, I cannot do anything. My husband is responsible for any economic activities. Most of them never touch money with their own hand, because the husband is bringing all the things so she is not really handling any money matters. So when we started talking to them , they were really surprised,- oh you go to my husband, he can do something, I cannot do anything. So we gradually convince the women to take some money to start up some business, so some of them – very few – first loanee was Sophia. She was a beggar who startes to work. And others were just observing what was going on. Then one by one they came…seeing those who have the money are doing better. But it was not an easy task. From the beginning we had in our mind that at least 50% should be the women and 50% should be the men. To talk about that is easy, but to involve women in that scenario, it was not easy. So it takes time. One thing I should say, how women feel much better and the position came up. I was in a workshop in Tangi in 1979, and in that workshop I’m talking about: is there any change with their family, with their husband, the relationship? So one woman mentioned my husband never took me to doctor or never brought me any medicine if I feel sick. But later when I joined Grameen and I’m in money, now my husband goes to the doctor, brings the medicine. So I asked what is the reason ? She told me that this is – I am an "earning woman" – the important thing that you are depending on yourself, not dependent on others, husband or son or the father…and you come yourself and you give yourself some confidence. And this is the dignity of life.
So what Dr Yunus wants, to bring the dignity among all these women, vulnerable women, so that they can make their own future, they can make their children’s future, because the mother always loves her child very much.
If you need full 45 minute transcript - please contact chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk washington dc mobile 240 316 8157
you can also ask about 10 hours of transcript made wiht all founding directors of Grameen July 2008 the week the Nobel judges came to Dhaka to celebrate opening a Yunus Museum - a celebration we commemorated by sampling yunus10000 dvds- and 2 years later during Yunus Interdependence weekend 4 July 2010 Glasgow (first commemoration party to Norman Macrae) launch of Journal of Social Business
100 times more tech every decade has changed everything - see von neumann alumni; BUT which universities and school systems are helping youth connect PRACTICE most needed for last mile sustainability everywhere children are born to sustainably co-create with;
| ..Can humnas design a world in which each next girl born has a good chnace to thrive?Clearly this question was not the purpose of the white men from Europe who from late 1490s set out to acquire places -in new world America via old world Africa and Asia...Scot Adam Smiyh can be read as both the last person to ask this question in would before engines (moral sentiments 1758) and first 16 yeras of engines (advantage of nations 1776) . (Adam's first disappointment was that Scotlan's land of engineer was unable to join in an united states of english speaking freedom- instead america decalred indepndenc leaving Scots ruled by London. iN 1843, Lomdon Scot James Wilson founded The Economist to renew Smith's question - could queen victoria start desiging empire of commonwealth instead of one starving the Irish, stuntiing the peoples of India etc/.The centenary autobiography of The Economist in 1943 recognises that root cause of world war was the then G* most powerful nations had not been addressing this question: when the war ended in 1945 the UN was foinded to have another go at asking this question as well as to reboot advanced economies.It can be argued that about 75 years later, digital UN2 as advanced by Guterres (with quest for digital cooperation beginning 3 months before his 10 year appointment when educatirs reviewing the first year of sdg4 saw a system with no hope of most youth's inclusion- humans didnt not just need goals but transformation of systems connecting every community) | Apps that share life critical knowhow multiply value in use unlike consuming up things. It beggars belief that essentially the same 8 empires that misapplied machines 1760-1939 have brought the world to the verge of extinction again by not valuing digital cooperation/learning economics even though we have had satellite coms since 1964 and von neumann 1951 briefed economist journalists on the world's most valuable question what (above zero-sum) good will peoples do with 100 times more tech every decade 1930s to 2020s.. | .. | You don't even need hi-tech to see how a billion asian women ended rural poverty 1972-1996. At fazle Abed's 80th birthday party a tent went up at brac's car park in dhaka with 5 subspaces - each was like a waxwork's stiry of a decade of progress so you couild see what added to what in what sequence (figures were actually made of paper mashier. We have filed the journey of the 30 greatest cooeprations womens webbed to end extrreme poverty here. Lets hope it reminds those lucky enough to be at the edge of every hi-tech under the sun that the most valauble purspoe (indeed all sustainability goals) needs to go deep into maos blueprinted by hand. Otherwise an algorithm is only as usful as what data it excluded. Abed died decembere 2019 just before guterers started to ask will un2.0and ed3 get digital cooperation right or are we condeming the younger half of the world to be the first extinction generation. | What would you do if you were a young economic journalist who had survived his last drays as a teenager as a navigator in allied bomber command burma campaign and in 1951 you meet von neumann in princeton and were instructed on the biggest journalistic scoop ever - train economic journalists to ask what peoples want to do with 100 times more tech every decade 1930s to 2020s | .I can tell you what my dad norman did, and some of his followers. Dad really liked Kennedy' two sixtoes challges: moon race mostly because staellite telecoms could one day connect all being to share life critical knowhow; and interdepence of a triad of human development - about a tenth out of atlantic 2.0 (ie america) about a tenth out of atlantic 1.0 west europe - over 65% out of pacifi ocean with perhaps 15% yert to identify which coastines to access world trade from (80% being shipped); meanwhile dad spent hos 1950s listening to what peopels wanted - eg as only journalists at borth of eu messina 1955; aged 39 the economits let dad sign one surbvey a yera so 1962 he chose peoples of japan and asia Rising; 1963 peopels of Russia; 1964 brazile and latin america...1969 rainbow alliance of usa;from 1972 dad was alarmed that nixon had taken dolar off gold standards - so he addeed in 40 year future survey focusing particulary=ly of new tech of finance, education and health; by 1976 romanno prodi was joining in translating the entrepeeuirial revolution worldwide communities would need... and from 1884 dad and I tuirned 40 yera futures into a book form - 2025 report listing sustainability deabliens and probable best first and last chnaces to globally and locally brainstorm solutions - of course alumnisat needed to bring down costs of millennails universities to near zero - the opposite of making colege studnts the biggest debt class. | While covid makes Asian networking a challenge, I mainly host meetings in ny (eg around Flatiron) or DC region or by zoom; i am interested in people who have a solution they want to mentor 1000 student community builders to apply; speed & scale- if app is really useful you soon get 1000 by 1000 alumni actions for sustainability -12 years ago my number 1 sdg hero started debating 100 times more effective universities and this matched my dad's life work at the economist so this is why- i now believe 1000 mentoring circles can be funded through NFTeds but only where endorsed by United Nations- could this fit with whatever you most want to share?? - more coming at www.alumnisat.com and friends' co-platforms of metacodes.com | welcome from chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk Who do you learn from most? 40 years ago - I co-authored 2025report.com - searching for world's partners in sustainability. After 9/11 I nearly gave up until my friends and I came across Fazle Abed and a billion Asian women's work since 1972. After 15 trips to Bangladesh here's a catalogue of extraordinary partners in sustainability and transforming education |
