环球英语 — 136：A Bank for the Poor
Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Rebekah Schipper. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Gulbadan Nesa lives in a poor area in Bangladesh. For many years Gulbadan struggled to survive. She had no money. There were days when Gulbadan could not even feed her children. And she had no way to send them to school. For many years, Gulbadan had no hope. But today, Gulbadan’s life has changed.
Voice 3
“Not long ago I was almost begging for money from other people to help me feed my family. Today, I have my own house. I have enough money to feed my children and send them to school. I cannot express in words how happy I am.”
Voice 2
Five [5] years ago Gulbadan borrowed a small amount of money from the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. With that money she bought a few chickens. She sold the chickens’ eggs. And she began to earn money. Gulbadan was able to repay the bank. And she improved her life. She was even able to start a second business. She now sells eggs and building materials. Gulbandan is just one of millions of poor women to receive a loan from the Grameen Bank.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on the Grameen Bank and its creator, Muhammad Yunus. Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. For many years, Yunus has been helping poor women, like Gulbadan, start their own businesses.
Voice 2
Muhammad Yunus started the Grameen Bank in 1974. And he started it with just twenty-seven [27] dollars. In 1974 Yunus met a woman named Sufia. She was a twenty-one [21] year old mother of three [3] children. She made seats from bamboo wood to make money. Yunus could tell Sufia worked very hard with her hands. They had many marks on them. But, Sufia was poor, even though she worked hard. One day, Yunus asked Sufia how much money she made from each seat.
Voice 1
Sufia told Yunus that she borrowed nine [9] cents to buy the bamboo to make each seat. After she sold a bamboo seat, she had to pay back the money she borrowed, with a very high interest. In the end, Sufia only made two [2] cents for each seat she sold. She worked very hard for very little money. Yunus could not believe it. He said
Voice 4
“My goodness, for nine cents she has become a slave!”
Voice 2
The next day Yunus went into Sufia’s village. He asked the village women how much money they had. Yunus discovered that together, forty-three [43] of the village women had no money. In fact, together they owed a total of twenty-seven [27] dollars. Yunus said
Voice 4
“I could not take it anymore. I put the twenty-seven [27] dollars out there and told them they could [free] themselves.”
Voice 1
Yunus paid the women’s debt of twenty-seven [27] dollars. He told them they could repay him whenever they could. Yunus wanted the women to be in control of their own money. Yunus hoped they would use the money to buy materials to make goods to sell. When they had enough money the women could pay Yunus back. And Yunus hoped that they would be able to continue selling their goods without having to borrow more money.
Voice 2
Over the next year, all of the women paid Yunus back. And that was the start of the Grameen Bank. Today, the Grameen Bank loans money to over six million [6,000,000] people. Ninety-seven [97%] percent of them are women.
Voice 1
Grameen means “village” in the Bengali language. Many people in Bangladesh live in rural villages outside of cities. These people are some of the poorest of the poor. Many of them work hard every day just to survive. They have no extra money. And because rural Bangladeshis have no money, many banks will not give them loans.
Voice 2
Except for Grameen Bank. Grameen loves to give loans to poor Bangladeshis. The people at Grameen believe that giving loans to poor people is a great idea. So, not only does Grameen offer loans to the poor, but they most often give loans to poor women. Women can use the loans to help their families. Grameen Bank believes that loans can help women and their families get out of poverty.
Voice 1
Grameen Bank is a microfinance bank. Microfinancing works like this. A person can go to the bank with a business idea. She can ask the bank for a small loan, usually under one hundred [100] dollars. She can use that money to start her small business. She buys all the materials that she needs. When she sells her goods, she can keep all of the money. When she has made enough money, she can repay the bank and still have money left. With this money she can continue the business on her own.
Voice 2
People who use the loans must pay a little interest. Having to pay interest helps people make wise money decisions. It makes them work hard to repay the bank. And, the interest helps the bank give more and more people loans.
Voice 1
Yunus’ idea has spread around the world. Now, many banks are trying microfinancing. In fact, economists believe that microfinancing is one of the best ways to develop a poor nation. When people do not live in poverty, there is a greater chance for national peace.
Voice 2
That is why Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Officials of the Nobel Prize believe the work of Mr. Yunus can create lasting peace. One official said,
Voice 5
“The bank’s work creates chances for many people to get out of poverty. This creates the conditions for lasting peace. Development such as this is useful in human rights and democracy. Today there are few things peace researchers and other scholars readily agree on. But they do agree that democracy and human rights create peace and move it forward.”
Voice 1
Yunus was very happy to accept the Nobel Prize. He received an award as well as money. Yunus wants to use the money to find new ways to help poor people. Yunus will continue to create peace by helping the poor.
Voice 2
Helping poor people can create peace? This is a very interesting link. Imagine if we all could help the poor people in our own communities. In this way, we would all be working towards peace. Maybe one day the whole world could win a peace prize.
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