Study Abroad in BangladeshWinter 2008

UN Millennium Development Goals and Microfinance Julia Byeseda

History Under British colonial rule until 1947

1947: Bengal was split along religious lines between the new independent nations of Pakistan and India

1971: Liberation of Bangladesh as an independent nation

1974: Great Famine

Today: more than half the nation lives on less than $1/day, and ¼ of households are food insecure (WHO, 2007)

This is the National Martyrs Memorial which is dedicated to the sacred memory of the millions of unknown martyrs of the war

of liberation

People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Current Population: 156,050,883 Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% Life Expectancy: male: 57.57, female: 63.03 Literacy Rates: male: 53.9% , female: 31.8% Industries: cotton textiles, jute, garments,

tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, sugar

This picture of mustard seed crop was taken somewhere in between Dhaka and Bogra

Flag of Bangladesh

Despite adversity, Bangladesh is ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world. These children were begging

outside of Parharpur.

Millennium Development Goal 1

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

These children were photographed outside of Parhapur. The boy on the right is severely underweight at 13 months old.

Millennium Development Goal 2

Achieve universal primary education

This picture was taken outside of a BRAC funded primary schoolhouse in a village in Sreepur. 70% of

the students were female, 30% were male ages 8-10. The dropout rate in BRAC funded primary schools is zero, and the government pays families in cash, rice, and vegetables to keep girls in school through 12th

grade.

Millennium Development Goal 3

Promote gender equality and empower womenThis photo was taken at a BRAC meeting in which loan payments were being collected. A

healthcare worker attended the meeting and was selling medicines for common diseases such as the common cold and diarrhea, birth control pills, skin ointment for fungal diseases, and

vitamins. These medicines are sold at a very small cost. The women holding the baby in this photo came late to the meeting because she was getting her baby a polio vaccination in a

nearby village. The day this photo was taken on January 3, 2009 was a National Immunization Day in Bangladesh in which free immunizations are distributed.

Millennium Development Goal 4

Reduce child mortalityThis photo was taken in Kalampur Tamrai Village at a health sanitation village meeting. The village worker is trained by BRAC and travels to 4 villages a day to give one hour lectures on

family planning, breastfeeding and the importance of colostrum, prenatal care and dangerous warning signs to look for during pregnancy, and the benefits of having only 2 children. The

infant in the picture was showing early signs of blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency.

Millennium Development Goal 5

Improve maternal health

This photo was taken at a BRAC funded health clinic in a village in Sreepur in which a health worker visits once a month to examine pregnant women. The services performed are minimal including height and weight checks, diabetes testing and breast exams; however, the worker is trained to

determine warning signs that a woman needs to visit a hospital. 88% of women in Bangladesh give birth at home. At the present time there were 19 pregnant women in this village This woman in

yellow, Salema, was 9 months pregnant and recently diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Millennium Development

Goal 6• Combat HIV/AIDS,

malaria and other diseases

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other

diseasesThis boy was diagnosed with arsenicosis, a progressive and fatal illness caused by drinking water rich in arsenic, a common problem in Bangladesh.

Millennium Development Goals 7 & 8

Ensure environmental sustainability

Develop a Global Partnership for Development

As of January 2002, the government of Bangladesh has

outlawed the production and use of plastic bags.

The main partners that the Government of Bangladesh

recognizes as partners in the health and child welfare of the country are

WHO, USAID, DFID, SIDA, Royal Government of Netherlands, Rotary International, ICDDR, NGO Services

Delivery Program (NDSP), and BRAC.

Microfinance in Bangladesh

“Poor people are poor because they are powerless” Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder of BRAC

Programs such as ASA, BRAC, and Grameen Bank offer microcredit to the poorest women in Bangladesh and transform their lives by giving them the opportunity to create income

generating activities.

Microfinance in Bangladesh

This photo was taken in a village in Bogra at an ASA village loan repayment meeting

The microfinance industry in Bangladesh currently provides access to credit to around 13 million poor households (World Bank, 2008)

Each year, 5% of households in Bangladesh lift themselves out of poverty with access to micro-credit loans (Yunus, 2004)

Among borrowers, extreme poverty (defined by consumption of less than 80% of the minimum requirement stipulated by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the

United Nations) declined by more than 70% within five years of taking out a microcredit loan (Khankder, 2005)

ASA

Ranked by Forbes Magazine Survey as the #1 MFI (microfinance institution) globally

Mission: To reduce poverty from society gradually

Since 1992: Self reliant using the globally recognized ASA Cost-effective Sustainable Microfinance Model

ASAASA

70% of borrowers are female

Small Loan Program (Male): usually small and marginal farmers

Small Business Loan Program: graduated women members who already have proved themselves successful and reliant

Small Entrepreneur Lending Program: large loans to help small businesses grow and create jobs for the extremely poor

Recovery rate: 99.48% at 12.5% interest rate (ASA, 2008)

ASA has reached 5.06 million families in Bangladesh in 72.204 villages

ASA 2007 Impact Assessment87.29% of members

increased income through IGA’s (Income generating

activities) 96% of members in 2007 were taking in fresh water

88.88% of members report to have created employment

for non-members

83.52% of members report literacy rate has improved

86.72% of members report the quality of food

in household increased

80.16% of members in 2007 were using sanitary latrines, an increase from 60.23% in

2005

41.41% of members live in a thatched house in 2007, an increase from

23.18% in 2005

BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee)

Largest NGO in the world, founded in Bangladesh in 1972

These photos were taken in a village in Sreepur. A village worker is teaching a legal rights education class to a group of BRAC members. The photo on the left is a picture of the three common religions in Bangladesh, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian, and the women are learning about freedom of religion in Bangladesh. BRAC

classes use picture books to teach members because of the high illiteracy rate in the country.

BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee)

Holistic approach to poverty alleviation: microfinance, education, health education and clinics, human rights and legal services, and environmental efficiency

These photos were taken at a BRAC school house in a village in Sreepur. The children sang “We shall overcome” and danced for us. So we taught them the chicken dance and the hokey pokey.

BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee)

This photo was taken in a village in Sreepur. The boys were just released from school and were watching their mothers participate in a legal rights education class from a BRAC village worker.

BRAC Key Achievements 2007

DISASTER RELIEF Distributed emergency relief, food and clothing, and medical care to

180,000+ families in November 2007 after Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh

MICROFINANCE7 million members, distributed 917 million USD, interest rate 12.5%

TARGETING THE ULTRA POOR:Includes beggars and homeless, 132,500 members create income

generating activities such as investing in a chicken or goat

HEALTH AND SANITATION Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Program & Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Program

—workers teach classes to members in the village using picture books

BRAC Key Achievements 2007

INTERNATIONAL Established in Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan

BRAC ENTERPRISESAarong (buys goods from local villagers at fair price and sells them in the city), BRAC Dairy (sells livestock

to poor villagers at fair price, buys the raw resources back from villagers, and then produces milk and food products enriched with vitamins to sell back to villagers at fair price)

HUMAN RIGHTS AND LEGAL EDUCATION Provided legal education to 3.4 million women to date

EDUCATION 1.55 million children enrolled in 20,140 pre-primary and 32,000 primary

schools from which 6.1 million children have already graduated

Grameen Bank

Operates as a bank, requiring members to have a savings account, buy shares in Grameen Bank, and put money into a pension account

Founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus in 1974, and officially recognized as a bank in 1983

Gives microcredit loans to nearly 7 million people with no collateral, 97% women

58% of borrowers have lifted themselves out of poverty as of 2006

20% interest on basic loan, 5-8% interest on housing and education loans

This photo was taken in a village called

Baratia. This woman used her loan to purchase

fabrics and accessories to make

garments.

100% of Grameen children are in school

100% of Grameen borrowers’ family members vote in every national election: the day we arrived in Bangladesh was election day, and it was the first time in the history of the country

that the majority of voters were women

Grameen children receive education loans for higher education

“We are talking about a new kind of banking. It is about banking with people, about prioritizing people ahead of money” Muhammad Yunus

Grameen Bank

This photo was taken in Baratia at a Grameen

borrower meeting

Grameen Bank Beggar’s Program

Bank rules do not apply to the nearly 100,000 members

Carry small merchandise such as snacks, toys for kids or household items and go house to house selling them for a small profit

“Charity has only one life, social business has endless life” Muhammad Yunus

0% interest on a small loan of 1000 taka (about 7 USD)

It is working—nearly 6,000 members have already stopped begging completely

“We can put poverty into museums”

Muhammad Yunus

These two sisters were photographed outside of an orphanage called Rays of Hope

Professor Yunus tells a story of a mother and daughter, one illiterate and the other a

doctor. The only difference between the two is that the latter was given the opportunity to learn and realize the

existence of her potential.

I found this pile of bricks in the middle of a village called Baratia. The picture

metaphorically speaks for itself.

Ways you can helpVisit Bangladesh! There are currently zero tourism dollars contributing to the GDP

DONATERays of Hope-Bangladesh—www.Helpinghands-usa.org

ASA Foundation—contact Rachel McCullough-Sanden at rmsanden@asafdn.org BRAC—http://www.brac.net/usa/donate_now.php

Grameen Foundation—http://www.grameenfoundation.org/UNICEF—unicef.org