January has been a busy month and it is not over yet! I just got a great lesson on time management in one of my classes though, so I should get more organised! I'm trying to set aside time each week for this (although right now I am in my "Thesis Time").
Couple things: I have found microcredit even in London, Ontario!! The farmers' market where I am doing my thesis (on the economic impact that the market has on the surrounding community) is trying to set up, with the local Business Improvement Association, a economic development corporation which can be used to help provide vendors at the market with a loan to open full blown stores / expand their businesses!
I am now the President of the Western Microcredit Society (WMS), since our wonderful president for the last year and a half left us to go on exchange to Hong Kong! However the club is still moving forward I think under my leadership. =) We will soon have a page about us on Opportunity International's (OI) website under YAO (Young Ambassadors for Opportunity), and OIConnect site will be set up in a week or two to promote our events.
The WMS also has 5-6 interested students in the internship that I did last year to the Grameen Bank, our problem has been that the trip is very expensive, ~$3,500! However, Jannalee from Opportunity came into talk to us yesterday and gave us her great presentation about what OI does and how microfinance works. She had the great idea to look for companies to donate aeroplane points to pay for the flights! Soooo my charge for everyone is to ask if anyone wants to donate aeroplan points, or knows of good businesses to approach. It takes 130,000 points to get to Bangladesh and back x 5-6 people!
Cheers,
Mike
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
New Year's Resolution #2!
In the last week of every year and TV hosts and Radio broadcasters make their ridiculously vague new years resolutions: I want to be healthier, I want to have more fun, be nicer, etc. If you make a vague goal, you will have a vague response - nothing! So I always make a resolution not to make any resolutions. Which is usually easy to keep, but this year i have already broken it - for good reason I hope!I have now decided to have 2 resolutions for the new year, neither of them are really "New Year's" resolutions - they both just made sense to start in the new year, and they both are a lot more specific than "be healthier".
The first was to run the 30k Around the Bay running race in Hamilton this year. And the second, is to actually keep this blog updated. I was very busy last semester, and I did not keep up with a lot of things, this blog being one of them. I am not any less busy this semester - probably more busy actually, but I think I am getting a better grip on how to handle it.
This past semester I have started looking into possible international internships in developing countries (preferably back in Asia) in either Urban Development and Planning, Impact Assessment of Development Projects, and microfinance. I would really like to do a longterm internship, 6-12 months, or possibly two half-year ones. I found it was very interesting to be in Dhaka for 6 weeks, just in those few weeks you got such a better sense of the city than if you only stay for a couple days it takes to see all the tourist sites.If you are interested in longterm paid international development internships check out: CIDA Youth Internships or AIESEC Canada.
This resolution is turning a new leaf for the blog, the future of the blog will be updates from things I read related to international development. *Hopefully* it will also be where I can reflect on my travels to different parts of the world, fingers crossed that I get that chance again. I took a couple courses last semester on Globalization and International Development which were easily two of the most enjoyable parts of my week. I had to do many readings for those courses and I am always reading new articles on my own believe it or not!, especially about microfinance, which I will direct you to and comment on!
Might as well start now with When Indian Elephants Fight which is an interesting article since it is one of the better insights into the India microfinace crisis. The author, David Roodman, is writing an open book on microfinance - where he publishes drafts of chapters in his blog for critic and review - and he visited Andhra Pradesh (AP) province in India to learn more about the crisis. The article talks about the need for regulation of the microfinance industry, however the regulation must be by a third party - not a competitor to microfinance (as in the case of the Government in AP). If it is regulated properly by consulting all inpacted groups; the rural poor, local government agencies, local non profits AND local microfinance institutions, then the industry can be allowed to grow to reach more people in a way which protects the poor and prevents exploitation.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Mike
The first was to run the 30k Around the Bay running race in Hamilton this year. And the second, is to actually keep this blog updated. I was very busy last semester, and I did not keep up with a lot of things, this blog being one of them. I am not any less busy this semester - probably more busy actually, but I think I am getting a better grip on how to handle it.
This past semester I have started looking into possible international internships in developing countries (preferably back in Asia) in either Urban Development and Planning, Impact Assessment of Development Projects, and microfinance. I would really like to do a longterm internship, 6-12 months, or possibly two half-year ones. I found it was very interesting to be in Dhaka for 6 weeks, just in those few weeks you got such a better sense of the city than if you only stay for a couple days it takes to see all the tourist sites.If you are interested in longterm paid international development internships check out: CIDA Youth Internships or AIESEC Canada.
This resolution is turning a new leaf for the blog, the future of the blog will be updates from things I read related to international development. *Hopefully* it will also be where I can reflect on my travels to different parts of the world, fingers crossed that I get that chance again. I took a couple courses last semester on Globalization and International Development which were easily two of the most enjoyable parts of my week. I had to do many readings for those courses and I am always reading new articles on my own believe it or not!, especially about microfinance, which I will direct you to and comment on!
Might as well start now with When Indian Elephants Fight which is an interesting article since it is one of the better insights into the India microfinace crisis. The author, David Roodman, is writing an open book on microfinance - where he publishes drafts of chapters in his blog for critic and review - and he visited Andhra Pradesh (AP) province in India to learn more about the crisis. The article talks about the need for regulation of the microfinance industry, however the regulation must be by a third party - not a competitor to microfinance (as in the case of the Government in AP). If it is regulated properly by consulting all inpacted groups; the rural poor, local government agencies, local non profits AND local microfinance institutions, then the industry can be allowed to grow to reach more people in a way which protects the poor and prevents exploitation.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Mike
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