Mohamad Yunus – The Pathfinder

Dr. Kofi Dankyi Beeko

THERE WAS a Pediatrician, (Specialist in Children’s Diseases), born and bred in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. He had his entire education in England, where his parents lived, and worked, (after the bloodshed of the early 70′s in their hometown), having arrived in England as refugees.

Oh, he was, proud of British Education, which he always tried to impress upon everybody, that it was the best! If, and when he said "the Best", he didn’t accept any other opinion. He and I did not work in the same institution, but we met each other an awful lot, rubbed shoulders, so to speak, on a weekly basis.

One day, he was so upset that he had brought to my home, "a prominent Economist" from his country, who had traveled to the Holy Land of Islam, to perform the "Umrah", the closest meaning of which in English should be the "Pilgrimage", other than the Hajj, and he did not find me at home.

The man had already returned to Bangladesh, but I was to hear about him from his compatriot for many months.

Mohamad Yunus holds a Ph.D. from the USA, in Economics, and the "branch thereof which deals in "circulation of money." In spite of attractions to stay in the "biggest Economy in the world", he went back home instead, to one of the poorest countries in the world, if not indeed, the poorest.

Whilst at home, and face to face with abject poverty, he came up with an idea, which would make it possible for financial institutions to give loan-grants to people, whom regular banks would not "even listen to," because they would be listed as too poor to be credit-worthy. He coined the word, "MICRO-CREDIT", and he was in charge himself. It would be possible, in Bangladesh, to dish out loans of between US$100, up to US$300, but, at times even as low as US$50.

In America, things are either Macro, (Jumbo), or Micro, and the man was in America for many years, and had gotten used to American ways of doing things. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ of Nazareth talked of a man who went out of his way and dished out talents; five, three, and one, (Mat. 25, 14-30).

He expected each and every recipient to do the best he could to be productive with what "talents" were dished out to him, (at the time, women were probably not at par with men), when talking of "Trading." There is a parallel in Islam. (The New International Version of the Holy Bible explains; at the time, the Talent Jesus Christ mentions in this parable, was the equivalent of US$1,000 today).

Suddenly, the Bangladeshi woman, who for decennia was "pinned into the house", to smell rancid diapers, and produce as many children as she was "biologically fit" to carry and nurture in her womb, (let’s assume the husband fulfills his biological parameters thereto as well), had made out of US$300 loaned to her five years previously, US$5,000, of which she had control and the freedom to invest as she felt fit.

Her daughter, who was twelve the time she received the micro-credit had turned seventeen, and she could afford to send her to college to study COMMERCE. Healthy food had become accessible to the family, and diseases attune to malnutrition had left the family since several years.

Dr. M. Junus and his staff were always available to advice, whenever necessary. But, all was not as smooth as you might think. Bangladesh, (and perhaps, even my detractors might permit me saying), is to a large extent, a puritanical Islamic society. The woman involved in trading activities, which might lead to her independence in the family, (when she came to control money), was not a welcome proposition.

Opposition grew from all corners to the new idea being introduced into the country, even if it came from one of them. The "Pathfinder" stuck to his guns. His stance stayed unflinching. Improvement in the lives of people, (women first, but with time, growing to affect the entire family), was too apparent to be spat at by anybody.

In the meantime, the idea of micro-financing, as a way of poverty-alleviation in a third world country, began spreading, almost like wildfire. Not even the mighty USA could resist the idea borne by an individual, who owes his Education to an American institution.

Micro-credit eventually found foot in America too. Up to the present, almost all Asian countries are agog with the system. Africa has this time not been left out. The system has been greeted, but also condemned, or sharply criticized in Ghana, for example.

Whilst a volume of the creditors feel it has made a difference in their lives, a lot more feel that the interest rates are exorbitant, and the conditions of re-payment leave people on "tight ropes."

There is someone with whom I took a ride on an STC-Bus one day, and the stretch was such that we could talk to one another for about four hours. She thought the rates were high, (not exorbitant). She called my attention however, to how some private money-lending organs operated in the country ‘traditionally", pre-as well as post-independence. One process was called in the Akan, or Twi, language, "mpem animu." You borrowed the equivalent of one thousand (GH¢1,000) and paid GH¢2,000 when the time agreed upon was up.

What looked strange, listening to her, was that "many people traded successfully, borrowing money at such interest rates. In America, and following the Vietnam War, (early-sixties to mid-seventies), Asians who "found themselves" in America as "fresh immigrants", without bank-connections, borrowed money from compatriots with such facilities, at 100% interest rates, or at times even higher. They, (the Asians) made it into millionaires.

I feel the stimulus lies in the fact, (notion), that someone was ready to lend someone else money, even though there wasn’t "any collateral." The high stakes for both, and the intensity with which the borrower should work, seems to be what has sustained the system.

Dr. Mohamad Junus is on the list of Nobel Prize Laureates, since about five years now. He has moved the world of the poor in an ever-intriguing manner and direction. There is the self-narrative by the Saudi Prince, His Royal Highness, Prince Walid bin Talal, for many years the 5th richest man in the World. When he was given the third and last chance to re-start business in his home country almost 25 years ago, it was like a Bangladeshi, receiving US$300.

Moneys moving in business in that country move in hundreds of millions, or at times even in billions, especially, when dealing with a Royal. His Majesty’s circumstances were special, but he was unperturbed. The money involved, (US$100,000), hence, the comparison with the Micro-Credits that M. Junus operated with.

The condition put down by the bank of having to put his only house as indemnity, was for a Prince, very unusual, and even humiliating. But he went along, since he had no choice. He had gone bankrupt two previous times, with higher sums of money. He admits himself, that the specter of being thrown into the street, should he fail this time around, was the driving force to success.

For those of you who might find the "grain" of the parable, and its parallel in the Quran, the most important message is not to give up, even if the material to start with is small. The world should be seen, as on course, to eliminate poverty. It seems it’s just a matter of time. Bravo, Mohamad Junus!