microfinance

Kojo, a poor boy in Ghana, finds a way out of poverty and helps others do the same after he is given a small loan and buys a hen.

"[Shares the life story of] Muhammad Yunus, who from a young age was determined to make [a] difference in the world and eventually revolutionized global antipoverty efforts by developing the . . . economic concept of micro-lending"--Provided by publisher.

Kojo, a poor boy in Ghana, finds a way out of poverty and helps others do the same after he is given a small loan and buys a hen.

Kojo, a poor boy in Ghana, finds a way out of poverty and helps others do the same after he is given a small loan and buys a hen.

How one small loan made a big difference.

This documentary explores the issues of poverty and microcredit as it features interviews with numerous recipients of small loans (generally under $100) in locales throughout the world. Most of these recipients are women who are unable to secure a traditional loan. Most borrowers are able to pay back their loans, and have enough profit to reinvest in their businesses, their homes, and their children.

The author, a former international banker, relates her experiences trying to understand global poverty and working with the poor, and suggests ways in which the situation should be addressed.

"[Shares the life story of] Muhammad Yunus, who from a young age was determined to make [a] difference in the world and eventually revolutionized global antipoverty efforts by developing the . . . economic concept of micro-lending"--Provided by publisher.

Initially the author was hired by ForbesTraveler.com to review some of the most luxurious hotels and resorts in the world. A chance encounter in Dubai with some of the workers whose backbreaking jobs create such opulence changed his mind about his job and he resigned. He found his way to Kiva.org, the leading portal of donations to help third-world workers. For as little as $25 to $50 businesses are financed. The repayment rate for these loans is nearly 99 percent and enables the giver to re-loan the money time after time. After making hundreds of microloans online, the author wanted to see his money in action and so he traveled to Peru, Bosnia, Cambodia, etc. He found some of the most inspiring and enterprising people he had ever met, and also learned things about the day-to-day life in countries with political and emotional turmoil that never makes the headlines.

A biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who from a young age was determined to make difference in the world and eventually revolutionized global antipoverty efforts by developing the innovative economic concept of micro-lending. Includes an afterword and author's sources.