What this is all about?

Grameen means "rural" or "village" in Bangla, so literally this translates to 'Stories from the Village.' I travelled to Bangladesh in 2010 and did an Internship with the Grameen Bank and was amazed by the people there especially in its rural villages. The 'desh' and its people are an inspiration and will always have a special place in my heart.

Since then, I continually see how important villages are, be it in rural Bangladesh, or in urban core neighbourhoods in Canada. A strong village is what brings people together and welcomes newcomers and supports those in need. Villages are what I fight for and this blog is how I do it.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Three Cups of Tea

I'm sure some of you have heard of the book and the story of Dr. Greg, but if you haven't then get off your computer right now, go to your nearest bookshop and get the book. No don't order it online, because you should start reading it tonight!

Check out the books website:
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

I read the book in the last two and a half days on my trip to and from work, and every minute of free time I had last night. It is a different country with different villages, but the similarities to what I would like to someday do - even if it is just a fraction of what he has done - are extremely inspiring.

It really was incredible to see the sacrifices that he made to extend all the help he could to the Balti people. However, even after he had built those first couple schools I thought it was amazing that he still had so much trouble collecting donations. He had proved that he could do it, he had the establish connections in the region, yet he could not collect more funds to build schools.

This is the attraction in social businesses where they can grow themselves, and fund the creation of more schools themselves. In this way extra donations only serve to speed up the process of expansion even more. That said, I doubt a social business model would work in the sparsely inhabited and remote Baltistan, where whole villages are poor and there are not wealthier families which could subsidize education for those who are even less fortunate.

Cheers,
Michael

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