"The Price of a Dream"
Among its numerous actions, you may be aware that General Convention passed a resolution affirming the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This is a UN-sponsored declaration to focus attention on and pledge funding for specific aspects of world poverty, especially the plight of women. "Ways of the World" will visit this issue, likely well more than once.
Meanwhile, one particular effort toward the ends described in the MDGs has actually been in process now for more than 25 years: The Grameen Bank, which makes micro-loans to poor villagers, mainly women, in Bangladesh.
Journalist David Bornstein visited this Bank and talked at length not only with its management, but also with a number of its "members". The account of his excursions through the Bengali countryside is called The Price of a Dream.
It is simply and powerfully written. To know about poverty and feel with these people in their daily lives, sit with this book. Hear them talk about their hardships and their labors, but also about their hopes and their dreams for their children to be educated and live better – even, and especially, the girls.
Mother Crafton and VivaBooks have added The Price of a Dream to the Geranium Farm Bookstore offerings. Order it today. Do.
Meanwhile, one particular effort toward the ends described in the MDGs has actually been in process now for more than 25 years: The Grameen Bank, which makes micro-loans to poor villagers, mainly women, in Bangladesh.
Journalist David Bornstein visited this Bank and talked at length not only with its management, but also with a number of its "members". The account of his excursions through the Bengali countryside is called The Price of a Dream.
It is simply and powerfully written. To know about poverty and feel with these people in their daily lives, sit with this book. Hear them talk about their hardships and their labors, but also about their hopes and their dreams for their children to be educated and live better – even, and especially, the girls.
Mother Crafton and VivaBooks have added The Price of a Dream to the Geranium Farm Bookstore offerings. Order it today. Do.
posted by Carol S. | 6/27/2006 10:37:00 AM
3 Comments:
Two additional books on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding whether foreign aid can alleviate poverty in the long-run are "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs and "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" by William Easterly.
My two cents: Partnering with a healthy respect for local know-how and microcredit is the way to go.
Two additional books on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding whether foreign aid can alleviate poverty in the long-run are "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs and "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" by William Easterly.
My two cents: Partnering with a healthy respect for local know-how and microcredit is the way to go.
Two good books about this topic of eliminating poverty (each at opposite sides of the issue of whether it is indeed possible with foreign aid) are "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time" by Jeffrey Sachs and "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" by William Easterly.
From what I observe~that U.S. foreign aid is largely tied to foreign policy agendas and the U.S. provides pitiful little foreign aid~tells me there is much to be done. The experiment to end poverty with a large-scale effort has yet to be attempted. My two cents: partnering with humility and respect for local know how is the way to go.
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