[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 629

[Garry & Anne Krischock]

1 1266: Feb Message of RI Pres Bill Boyd 
Posted by: "Sunil K Zachariah" sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk   sunilkzach 
Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:43 am (PST) 
February 2007 
The Rotarian 

Dear fellow Rotarians,

Thirty-one years ago, Muhammad Yunus, then a professor of economics 
at Chittagong University in Bangladesh, discovered a harsh reality of 
extreme poverty: The difference between self-sufficiency and virtual 
slavery is much smaller than one might think. In the village of 
Jobra, he found, it was just a few cents.

While talking to a bamboo-stool maker, Yunus learned that the woman 
purchased her supply of bamboo on credit, for roughly 25 U.S. cents, 
every morning. Lacking the money for even a single day's supply of 
bamboo, she would never be able to repay the loan. Throughout the 
village, Yunus found many in similar straits. Their total debt? 
Twenty-seven U.S. dollars. Yunus did what was, for him, the natural 
thing: He paid their debts. The new entrepreneurs quickly turned a 
profit, his loan was repaid, and microcredit was born.

The idea of giving small loans to the very poor was a revolutionary 
one, and it has had revolutionary results. In 2005 alone, 100 million 
microcredit loans helped people in 130 countries. Today, Rotarians 
are involved in more than 60 microcredit projects around the world. 
In 1999, Yunus was honored at the RI Convention in Singapore. In 
October, he received the Nobel Prize.

The simple principle of microcredit is also a principle of Rotary. 
Small changes can become great changes, and a seemingly 
inconsequential act can have tremendous consequences. Just as 25 
cents in that Bangladeshi village meant so much more than merely a 
quarter of a dollar, the prosperity of an unnoticed individual or 
village has international implications.

As we enter World Understanding Month, we are reminded by Yunus' 
achievement that we can never know every consequence of what we do. 
His loan of $27, given in compassion, led to far more good than he 
could possibly have imagined. Our Rotary work also leads to benefits 
we'll never see: new friendships, new connections, warm feelings 
among people who may have little in common. 

Poverty, as we know too well, is a tremendous obstacle to peace and 
stability. So, every intelligent act of generosity, every project 
that helps others to lead better lives, is also an act of hope. We 
Rotarians share the belief that love for others does make a 
difference. Each small act of kindness, from one human being to 
another, brings us closer to each other and to the kind of world we 
hope to leave to our children.

We may think we are only helping to equip a school, supply a clinic, 
or build a well for a faraway community. But in truth, what we are 
doing is helping to build a better, more stable, and more peaceful 
future.

W.B. (Bill) Boyd
President, Rotary International

Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/d9640general_rotary9640.org/attachments/20070201/7f182097/attachment.html