Category Archives: Announcements

A Sad Day for Dignity

One of the hoped-for outcomes in working with people who are very poor is that in some way they are able to restore their sense of self-worth, that the oppression of poverty can be lifted enough to enable hope and dignity to reassert themselves.  That’s partly what accompaniment brings.  It’s certainly been a cornerstone of the microlending phenomenon.

The architect of the micro finance concept, Muhammad Yunus, has preached to the world about the restoration of dignity and self-help for the impoverished.  He has preached it, he has innovated around it, he has performed it, has set an example for the rest of the world and eventually won a Nobel Peace Prize for it.  He founded one of the largest and most successful microlending banks in the world, Grameen Bank.  And now, he has paid the price that so many visionaries end up paying for their commitment to the poor.

Please read the editorial below, written by Sam Daly Harris, founder of the global Microcredit Summit Campaign.  It is a succinct, factual account of how greed, envy and lust for power have once again conspired against a champion of the poor.

Two Steps Backward for Innovation to End Poverty by Sam Daley-Harris

“The deed is done.  On May 5th the appellate division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court agreed that the Bangladesh Bank, the nation’s central bank, was justified in firing Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus from his post as Managing Director of Grameen Bank, the institution he founded more than three decades ago.  Prof. Yunus’ lead lawyer, Dr. Kamal Hossain, one of Bangladesh’s most distinguished attorneys and a drafter of the nation’s constitution, was scarcely able to hide his disgust at the Appellate Division order, when he said: “I [apparently] have to take admission to university again to newly learn the constitutional laws of the 21st century.”

The dismissal is not the lone action of one government institution but is part of a premeditated campaign that starts at the highest level with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.  Their reason for sacking Prof. Yunus?  He’s “too old.”  Never mind that the 70-year-old Yunus maintains a rigorous schedule or that the Finance Minister, another key player in the sacking, at 77 is somehow not “too old” for that post.  Their excuse would be laughable if it were not for the calamitous impact it portends.  What makes the decision to remove Prof. Yunus so disgraceful is not that he would be out of a job – any university in the world would welcome him with open arms as a visiting professor.  No, the atrocity here is the fact that the independence and integrity of one of the world’s premier poverty fighting institutions is now at grave risk.  Grameen Bank, an extraordinary institution with more than 8 million microcredit borrowers that took 35 years to build, could be destroyed in a matter of months by incompetent government action.

The government’s action cannot honestly be in response to accusations by a Danish documentary maker about an improper transfer of Norwegian aid funds more than a dozen years ago, because both the Norwegian government and Bangladesh’s own review committee have found that Grameen did nothing wrong.  It cannot be due to the documentary maker’s charge of excessive interest rates, because Microfinance Transparency and the government’s own review committee found Grameen has the lowest interest rates in the country.  Instead, most observers see this as an inexcusable political vendetta by the Prime Minister against Prof. Yunus, stemming from his short-lived attempt to start a political party in 2007.

Consider these groundbreaking innovations that Prof. Yunus’ poverty-fighting laboratory has brought to the world and what could be lost in the future from his unwarranted ouster:

  • In 1976 he made loans of less than US$1 each to 42 desperately poor Bangladeshis to start or build tiny businesses – and the microcredit revolution was born.  It has made its way all around the world.  While others have seen microfinance as a way to make big money for investors, Prof. Yunus has never once diverted from his original intent to empower the poor.
  • In 1997 Grameen Phone Ladies started bringing cell phone technology to remote villagers throughout Bangladesh-providing the dual benefit of creating jobs and increasing communications, which enhanced others’ work.
  • Grameen Shakti, an energy firm, has installed more than a half-million solar home systems and sold more than a quarter-million improved cooking stoves.
  • In a joint venture with Danone, the yogurt maker headquartered in France, Grameen Danone is bringing low-cost fortified yogurt to malnourished children throughout the country – and creating a business opportunity for the poor women who sell it.
  • College scholarships and loans have gone to 180,000 students. Most remarkably, in almost all of the cases, these are the children of illiterate parents who have had the help of Grameen Bank in breaking the bonds of intergenerational illiteracy.

A government that so rashly and ruthlessly ousts this innovative and transformational leader cannot likely be trusted to continue his revolutionary work.

But the deed is done.  Here is a sample of the visionary voice that Bangladesh has likely lost in this despicable government act.  Reflecting on the 1997 Microcredit Summit Prof. Yunus wrote: “In teaching economics I learned about money, and now as head of a bank I lend money.  The success of our venture lies in how many crumpled bank bills our once starving members now have in their hands. But the microcredit movement, which is built around, and for, and with money, ironically, is at its heart, at its deepest root not about money at all.  It is about helping each person to achieve his or her fullest potential.  It is not about cash capital, it is about human capital.  Money is merely a tool that unlocks human dreams and helps even the poorest and most unfortunate people on this planet achieve dignity, respect, and meaning in their lives.”

(Sam Daley-Harris is Founder of the Microcredit Summit Campaign which seeks to reach 175 million poorest families with microloans www.microcreditsummit.org and of RESULTS which seeks to create the political will to end poverty www.results.org.)

In the words of Albert Einstein, “Great spirits have  always met violent opposition from mediocre minds.”  We will look forward to the next incarnation of Dr. Yunus with great anticipation. Compassion and genius are rarely bound by the foibles of little men….

 

 

The Handwriting On The Wall

I took a class this Spring.  It was called, “Big Questions, Big Ideas,” and it was taught by a college philosophy professor of mine, now retired.  Richard Ylvisaker is still an icon on the Luther College campus, however, due to the legacy of 35 years of teaching as well as the continuing keenness of his mind and manner.  The class included excursions into Plato, Dostoyevsky, Bertrand RussellMartin Buber, Clarence Darrow and others as a sort of romp through some very big thoughts and thinkers, indeed.  Professor Ylvisaker still has the gift of provoking thought and guiding to insight; I enjoyed the class immensely for its content and encouragement to read some “big ideas.”  I even felt a little pride that I was able to read these famous thinkers and still understand a good deal of what they were trying to say!  What a great experience.

And then last week, I was back in Nicaragua.  And this time, in addition to the usual partner visits which we made, there was also significant time spent in pursuit of understanding the education dilemma that exists in Nicaragua today.  Winds of Peace has embarked on a new initiative, one that will focus on the need for education transformation and how we might play a role in helping to bring that about.  We met with teachers, activists, economists, university professors and administrators, grassroots educators and more.  In the process, we tried to immerse ourselves into the depths of a problem that is a threat to Nicaragua both current and future.  Simply stated, Nicaragua is in an education crisis.

Pick your statistic.  Only 20% of students finish secondary school, while only 45% even register for any amount of secondary school.  Only 40% of students “graduate” from primary schools, with a majority dropping out between grades one and three.   Among youth between ages of fifteen and twenty-four, almost 25% have less than four grades of school completed (the functional illiteracy rate).  There’s more, but I think you get the drift as well as the scope of the problem.

United Nations development statistics suggest that a country needs to invest no less than 7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to escape the systemic conditions of poverty in any given country.  According to almost all available data, Nicaragua invests 3.8%, although the government statistics tout 10% as their number because they include private funds that are dedicated to education, a reporting strategy which defies common practice but makes the government’s efforts appear laudable.   But it’s a strategy that is short-sighted and dangerous, as the people’s abilities to function in the future grow less and less capable.

In a recent study of ninety-two schools, only four passed the test of reading at twenty words per minute, against an already-low standard of forty words per minute.  I thought about that result during the entire week as I tried to imagine myself in that predicament.  Inability to read.  What must that be like?

It certainly would have removed me from the “big ideas” classroom.  I could not know of Socrates, Dickens, Conan Doyle, Austen, Frost or even Peanuts.  I would not have learned to play guitar, studied law, crafted poems for my mom, written manuscripts or performed public speaking.  I might have been unable to adopt children, read to them at bedtime, or edit their papers in school. I could not read the news.  I would not be writing these blog entries.  In short, my entire life would have been so dramatically altered that an entirely different human being would exist.  And so it is with all of us.

There are some items that we choose not to read, like the license agreements we confront when accessing our computers to a download.  But choosing not to read is far different than being unable to read, and we are blessed to have the choice.

Reading is the throttle on the engine of education.  As Winds of Peace delves more deeply into the crisis that looms in Nicaragua, I know that reading will likely be at the top of the priority list of actions.  It’s how that society will strengthen itself, by having greater access to truth and deeper insight into reality.  In fact, it’s true within our society, as well.  We should probably all remember that the next time we turn on our TVs….

Lifetime Education

I’m headed for Nicaragua again, for a solid week of meetings with educators, producers, researchers, Indigenous people, campesinos, you name it.  The visits are always mixed in terms of activities and the range of people with whom we meet, but this week has a clear and overarching theme: education.

In the first half of the week, we’ll be meeting with educators across the spectrum in an effort to gain an understanding of how we might best become an asset in helping to address the education deficit in Nicaragua.  Like most places, Nicaragua’s key to its economic future rests in large part on the education of its youth.  Based upon the unique connections the Foundation has cultivated over the years, we think there may be a way to weave together some initiatives and some funding to make an impact in this crucial arena.

The second half of the week will include the second of two, three-day workshops for the coffee producers, cooperatives, supporters, funders and buyers in the north.  San Juan del Rio Coco is the site of this second meeting where the participants will complete joint strategic thinking about their interconnectedness and how they can best unite for mutual, long-term success.  It’s a unique setting and gathering, and the participants- and Winds of Peace (WPF) which is funding it- are excited about continuing the conversations.

The second half of the week will also include visits with two of the Indigenous communities supported by WPF.  We’ll be sharing views of organizational structure and transparency as these communities think about upcoming elections in their midst.

In one sense it could be said that WPF is becoming more active within the education arena, and that’s true.  But the real learning is what I am privileged to receive through the lives and experiences of the people I will meet.  And that is education of a lifetime, invaluable in its clarity and truth….

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So now we hear of the attack on no less than Muhammad Yunus, creator of the microlending concept, founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.    Grameen is one of the most visible, successful and transformational microlending organizations in the world, and like most successful enterprises, its success has attracted the unwanted attentions of those who would have it for themselves.  In this case, Grameen has become the takeover target of the Bangladeshi government.  The current events have caused overwhelming public outrage in Bangladesh over the last week, as a Government takeover of the Bank would effectively result in the millions of borrower owners (and their families) of the Grameen Bank -who own 97% of the shares of the Bank- being disenfranchised.

If the Grameen bank were to lose its independence, then this unique model of microcredit would totally perish; indeed, the model is not only selfless (Grameen Bank is a nonprofit making organization), but it is also responsible (in the sense that all borrowers also place their savings in the bank), and of course democratic (as it is the borrowers who democratically elect 9 of the 12 members of the Board).

The main reason for the current attacks appears to be a blatant attempt to take control over a highly successful bank where the Government’s equity has dwindled to barely 3% (despite this, it still prevails on the Board because of the governance structure of the institution). This campaign could be also viewed as a deep rooted animosity. Speculations range from petty jealousy over Yunus’ Nobel Prize and his international fame to grievances against Yunus for his brief foray in Bangladeshi politics.

The Bangladesh Prime Minister, speaking in the Parliament, has famously accused the Nobel Peace Prize-winner of “bloodsucking the poor”. The trigger for the Prime Minister’s outburst was an unfounded report in a Norwegian TV channel broadcast on 30th November 2010 claiming that a misallocation of a Norwegian Government grant dating back to 1996.

This report was quickly refuted by the Government of Norway which declared on the official website of its Ministry of Foreign affairs “… there is no indication that Norwegian funds have been used for unintended purposes, or that Grameen Bank has engaged in corrupt practices or embezzled funds.”

One would have thought that the Norwegian declaration of a clean bill for Grameen Bank would have been the logical conclusion of a matter raised and addressed. The allegations appear even more surprising as Grameen Bank is audited annually by Bangladesh’s Central Bank as well as one of the “Big Four” accounting firms as the outside auditor.

And so the accusations flow.  There are other allegations against Dr. Yunus, all of which seem equally bogus upon review.  The reality is that Grameen Bank stands as a valuable asset and an icon of Bangladeshi success, both of which are highly needed by the Bangladeshi government these days.  If the work and reputation of Dr. Yunus is the price to be paid for an easy acquisition of money and status, then the government is unfortunately willing to pay it.

There have been few individuals who have left such a positive and imaginative legacy on the world as Dr. Muhammad Yunus.  It is both ironic and unjust that  one who has struggled so effectively to give opportunity and dignity to the impoverished of the world now stands on the threshold of betrayal, at the hands of those who can only understand the value of power and wealth for themselves.

There is a great deal more detailed information available at the Friends of Grameen website.    Visit there to learn about the fraud being perpetrated against some of the poorest and yet most successful people in the world.  Ultimately it is not Dr. Yunus who pays the price for this coup, but the borrowers and supporters of Grameen Bank….

Climbing Momotombito

We might be excited reaching the top of the volcano Momotombito.  We might raise our hands in the air and dance at the accomplishment, thinking that we have achieved the highest summit.  But then, when we dance in jubilation, we see that an even bigger volcano, Momotombo, looms above us.  There is a higher mountain for us to climb, where the view is even more spectacular.  But in order to climb up Momotombo, we must first climb down Momotombito.   (From the  January 2011 Cooperativism Workshop, San Juan del Rio Coco.)

Thus began Rene Mendoza in talking to the audience about the coming “golden decade” for coffee producers, a time when the already-high demand for the coffee harvests will become  even greater and potentially more profitable.

I mentioned here last November that Winds of Peace had undertaken a study on rural cooperatives in Nicaragua, in an effort to better understand the opportunities that exist for these organizations, as well as the obstacles which can impede their success.  Researchers Rene Mendoza and Edgar Fernandez completed a very telling study on the practices and results of rural coffee cooperatives, which we will post on this website shortly; be watching for it.

One of the actions prompted by the study has been the development of an important workshop involving producers, supporters, second-tier organizations, buyers and lenders.  In a unique assembly for three days, these participants met in San Juan del Rio Coco to share their stories, explore their issues and begin the process of strategizing their collective futures.  Facilitated by Rene Mendoza, the exchange offered a rare opportunity for the various actors in the growing-marketing-selling cycle to be together for the purpose of discovering their mutual self-interests and how they might maximize success for each other in a period when the demand for coffees of all types is on the rise, a “golden decade of coffee.”

Three days is a long time for any people to absent themselves from their livelihoods, but perhaps especially so for the rural poor who have so little margin for error and daily face falling behind.  But this group demonstrated not only a willingness to attend, but an appetite for the learning, even to the point where several participants lobbied for a fourth day of discussion!  Such is the level of interest and intensity they have displayed toward this chance to learn, understand and strategize.  It’s a powerful process to observe and it generates energy for everyone who is part of it, including those of us from WPF.

Part of the uniqueness of this workshop is that is has brought together small, rural players from disparate parts of this economic process, encouraging a collaboration among participants who are frequently marginalized from the core activities and benefits.  They seemed to relish the chance to speak together, to be together.  Their participation served as a recognition of sorts, an acknowledgement of their importance to the process under scrutiny, the value of their independent voices.  They were even hungry for more details about the genesis of Winds of Peace Foundation, its roots within Foldcraft Co. and what employee ownership of that firm was like.  Throughout the workshop, the themes of holism, participation and ownership-  those universal needs of working people everywhere- were once again at the center of attention.  There is both a hunger and a growing awareness developing in the minds and hearts of these entrepreneurs who seek greater control of their futures.

This process is unusual enough and perhaps will be successful enough to warrant replication in other parts of the country; we’ll be monitoring the outcomes closely.  Other groups have inquired about being able to participate.  And currently there is a second part to the workshop scheduled for the first week in April.  All the same participants have been invited back and, once again, WPF will be present to observe, listen, understand and even offer some insights when invited to do so.  It’s a rare opportunity to be privy to the conversations and rather personal testimonies offered by many of the attendees about a critical and complex part of their lives.  I hope we might play some small part in creating the kind of epiphany that they so desperately need….

A Sadder Place, A Happier Place

Louise NielsenToday we lost Louise.  At age 95 she most certainly led a long and fully engaged life to be celebrated.  But today Winds of Peace Foundation is a sadder place as it grieves the loss of one of its founders, and the one who might be said to have birthed the organization in the first place.  Yes, Louise was a “mom” to a lot of us.

My intent here is not to chronicle a long life filled with accomplishments and adventures. If you want to know more about the challenges and energies of her long life, read Steve Swanson’s book, One Couple’s Gift (C. 2009, Nine Ten Press).  But noteworthy among her many legacies was her hallmark of living a life of unabashed caring and unpretentiousness.  Among recent generations who have found this increasingly difficult to comprehend- let alone emulate- Louise was a model.   The empathy which she felt for others the world over was truly matched by the strength of her convictions and actions.  A woman of heart and compassion, she understood what really mattered in our connections with one another around the world.  She did as she said.

Louise had occasion to meet and build a Habitat for Humanity home with former President Jimmy Carter.  She was amazed at a kiss of her hand by Nicaraguan politico Daniel Ortega during one of her many excursions there.  But the faces she most remembered were of little children in need of food, shelter and clothing, images that remained with her long after the Central American trips became physically too difficult.  Simplicity hallmarked her attitudes: if a little boy is hungry, feed him.  If a little girl is homeless, shelter her.  And if children are naked, clothe them.  And she did.

Few of us who ever had the good fortune to visit Louise at her home will ever forget her gracious giving of herself on those occasions, always inquiring about family, making meals from scratch to accommodate day-long meetings,  preparing bedrooms for overnight occasions and always curious to know the workings of every initiative posing itself for consideration.  Louise brought a quiet presence to those times, a presence that bore the essence of calm, of confidence, and yet necessity for those whom we served.  One might have surmised that it was Louise, in part, who we were trying to satisfy in our work, and that feeling might have had some merit: Louise desired justice for those too small to secure it for themselves.  Now they have lost one champion’s voice.

So today and in the days to come, Winds of Peace is a sadder place, but only because in her own special way Louise made it a happier, better place.  The work may continue without her physical presence, but it will never cease to exemplify her will, her spirit and the unshakeable care that she felt for other human beings.  And in the end, that is the very best that any one of us can give….

 

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"All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance"

Although it might seem early to be talking about it, the 23rd Annual Peace Prize Forum, March 4-5, 2011, is already taking shape on the campus of Luther College, this year’s host school. 

This year’s Peace Prize Forum will focus on the importance of courageous action in the work of peacemaking. Nobel Laureate Barack Obama—whose work inspires the 2011 Forum—states that to truly honor ideals like peace, justice, and human rights, we must uphold these ideals “not when it is easy, but when it is hard.” In this spirit, the forum will highlight the work of those who have acted with courage to confront difficult issues of religious discord, social and economic injustice, and the threats of nuclear war and environmental degradation.

And in support of this important gathering of thinkers and activists around the elusive concept of peace, Winds of Peace Foundation will again serve as one of the co-sponsors of the event.    This forum is one of very few which invites people from all walks of life to gather and learn, to listen and speak, to actually make a commitment of time and energy toward the furthering of peace.  It’s a grassroots opportunity that is right in line with Winds of Peace philosophy.

Winds of Peace encourages anyone who has felt discouragement, a sense of impossibility or even apathy on the topic of peace and justice between nations and peoples to consider attending this two-day event.  The making of peace does not belong to others; it belongs to each of us.  If it is not to be, it is because we allow it so.

Plan to attend this year.  Decorah is a lovely place.  Peace is a lovely space….

At Every Turn

If you have read blog entries here over the past couple of years, you already know about the Genesis spinning cooperative in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua.  Winds of Peace has worked with this group since their inception, and watched as these women and men created something from nothing, a cooperative from a disconnected group of people desperately needing to work, and a building from an empty piece of land.  It has been a remarkable story of people overcoming the odds, even as the odds continue to work against them at every turn.

The latest chapter has had to do with the failure of a U.S. firm, Coker International, to deliver the spinning plant equipment as agreed.  The Cooperative has been waiting for delivery of the equipment for nearly an entire year now, as promise after promise from Coker has failed to complete the transaction.  Meanwhile, some of the Cooperative members finally have been forced to finally leave the coop to find other work, for the survival of their own families.

The conflict may have reached its peak this week, as a Greenville, South Carolina television station (WYFF) aired a story about the dispute in the hometown of Coker, International.  I have included a link to the story so that you may hear a summary of the tale.  (Click on the link to get to the TV site.  Then type Coker International into the search box.)  You be the judge of what’s going on here.

Meanwhile, lost in the middle of the dispute, the women continue to wait and to hope for a chance to see their incredible journey finally come to fruition.  They deserve it….