Grameen Bank - Good People Doing Great Things

This afternoon I was speaking to the Grameen Foundation. The Grameen Foundation who is helping spread microcredit throughout the world. As you know micro credit has raised more people out of poverty than any other program in history. Over 133 million people are now living in self-alliance because of the work the Grameen bank has done. They have launched a program called, Bankers without Borders, which is a very well developed strategic volunteering concept. The problem with most volunteering opportunities is that it makes use of our hands and our backs, not our heads or our skills. Strategic volunteering is using people that have specific skills to really make an impact, and to really make a difference. Bankers without Borders is not just for bankers, although anybody with a banking or finance background would do well to sign up because right from your own office or home you can help people who are running micro finance institutions, which are small banks come up with risk assessments, make loans, collect loans, and basically help raise their level of sophistication and change the lives of thousands of people without changing your life. It’s the ultimate, Save The World and Still Be Home for Dinner strategy. There are also opportunities for volunteers to go into the field in exciting places in Asia, Africa, and India to actually work with micro finance institutions. Bankers without Borders takes people with all kinds of skills, from marketing, to human resources, to information technology. What always impresses me about the Grameen Foundation is their understanding of how to scale up real solutions to help real people. This is not a charity that is interested in enabling people to wallow in their suffering, rather it is all about creating world wide self alliance. They have unquenchable ambition to absolutely eradicate through poverty. It’s a clear vision, and they have a clear path to achieve it. Now they have created a way for all of us to help, in any way that we can, right where we are. You can find Bankers without Borders on the Grameen Foundation Website. They are soon going to be creating a series of webinars to deal with specific topics, so that people know exactly how they might put their skills and energy to work. It always blows my mind to see good people do great things!