AND, WE LEAVE IN LESS THAN A WEEK FOR BELIZE. I FEEL LIKE THIS ISN'T EVEN REAL.
I'm so excited to go have this awesome experience!!!!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Blog 3
Growing up in a Roman Catholic family, I learned early on that Jesus urges his followers to lend a hand to the poor or less fortunate. Also, from a young age I have been told to "treat others how I want to be treated". It is from these two beliefs that I have been able to connect my service to my faith. I act in a way that is beneficial to others not because "it's the right thing to do, so I'm supposed to do it", but more often, it is because I have identified that the group of people is less fortunate, and because I have been blessed with more resources, whether or not it comes in the form of educational opportunities, financial security, physical health, a strong family background, etc, I should pass my good fortune along. In a sense, I would feel guilty if I was selfish with those things that I take for granted and am blessed with having, and not use them in a way that I can help others better themselves or improve their current situation. Through my faith, I have learned that helping the less fortunate is the morally right thing to do and because it is Jesus' will for people to help others, I participate in service activities.
It is here that the Microlending Project fits in. Clearly, the people we will be extending microloans to in Belize have not had the same opportunities that I have had. Because the people in Belize have not had the same advantages and resources that I have, I am in a position where I could potentially help them better themselves. It is important to note, though, that I don't 100% associate "bettering situations" with "making someone happier". Offering service and financial resources to someone may reduce stress, but to say it would make someone happier implies that they were not happy before. I feel that too often people mistake this and assume if people aren't as lucky someone else, then the 'less-fortunate' are automatically in a position where they can't be happy. For this reason, the Belize Microlending Project will allow me to provide service that coincides with my faith in that I will be able to help those people in need take a step toward bettering their lives (most likely through their socioeconomic status).
When thinking on this topic, I discussed the relationship of service and spirituality with Susanne, a spiritual advisor at my friend's Baptist church. I was interested to see if there was any variance between the relationship of service and spirituality in a Roman Catholic sense and that of a Baptist background. What I found was the two religions are essentially the same with their stance on religion and service, but Susanne was careful to note that "people can do good things without knowing God, but they do not have eternal value. Those good deeds have value on this earth, but works will not get you into heaven". This statement depicted a major difference to me. After this interview, I felt that Susanne placed more of an emphasis on the direct connection between God and service, and by identifying with God and by acting in a charitable way with God in mind, one can get to heaven. Here, Susanne led me to believe that if one is not identifying with God, but still does good things, they are not going to get into Heaven. On the other hand, I look at service more in a way of only doing God's will. Although the variation might be slight, I personally feel that someone that does not necessarily have to follow a faith or religion that has 'God' or 'Jesus' as the main deity, through good actions, they can still make it to their own form of heaven, if it even is different from my concept of Heaven. In her definition of service, Susanne defined service "as helping others, helping in the church and helping to further the kingdom of God". This definition caused me to think that I should try to look at service and faith in a broader sense, and not focused on a small, individual scale.
Susanne also referred to her 'calling' as something that directed her actions, and therefore her service. She said that "our relationship with God provides the impetus for us to serve" and "His Spirit directs and leads me to do those things that are important to God as long as I am listening to him". Although many, including myself, look at the relationship between service and faith in a different way, I feel like Susanne summed up the connection between the service and spirituality very well in these two statements.
It is here that the Microlending Project fits in. Clearly, the people we will be extending microloans to in Belize have not had the same opportunities that I have had. Because the people in Belize have not had the same advantages and resources that I have, I am in a position where I could potentially help them better themselves. It is important to note, though, that I don't 100% associate "bettering situations" with "making someone happier". Offering service and financial resources to someone may reduce stress, but to say it would make someone happier implies that they were not happy before. I feel that too often people mistake this and assume if people aren't as lucky someone else, then the 'less-fortunate' are automatically in a position where they can't be happy. For this reason, the Belize Microlending Project will allow me to provide service that coincides with my faith in that I will be able to help those people in need take a step toward bettering their lives (most likely through their socioeconomic status).
When thinking on this topic, I discussed the relationship of service and spirituality with Susanne, a spiritual advisor at my friend's Baptist church. I was interested to see if there was any variance between the relationship of service and spirituality in a Roman Catholic sense and that of a Baptist background. What I found was the two religions are essentially the same with their stance on religion and service, but Susanne was careful to note that "people can do good things without knowing God, but they do not have eternal value. Those good deeds have value on this earth, but works will not get you into heaven". This statement depicted a major difference to me. After this interview, I felt that Susanne placed more of an emphasis on the direct connection between God and service, and by identifying with God and by acting in a charitable way with God in mind, one can get to heaven. Here, Susanne led me to believe that if one is not identifying with God, but still does good things, they are not going to get into Heaven. On the other hand, I look at service more in a way of only doing God's will. Although the variation might be slight, I personally feel that someone that does not necessarily have to follow a faith or religion that has 'God' or 'Jesus' as the main deity, through good actions, they can still make it to their own form of heaven, if it even is different from my concept of Heaven. In her definition of service, Susanne defined service "as helping others, helping in the church and helping to further the kingdom of God". This definition caused me to think that I should try to look at service and faith in a broader sense, and not focused on a small, individual scale.
Susanne also referred to her 'calling' as something that directed her actions, and therefore her service. She said that "our relationship with God provides the impetus for us to serve" and "His Spirit directs and leads me to do those things that are important to God as long as I am listening to him". Although many, including myself, look at the relationship between service and faith in a different way, I feel like Susanne summed up the connection between the service and spirituality very well in these two statements.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Blog 2
After reading more of Yunus' books, Creating a World Without Poverty and Banker to the Poor, I am starting to gain better understanding of Yunus' ingenuity and the uniqueness of the Grameen programs. I think that is is important that all anti-poverty programs lean from Grameen's success, and start to focus on creating a program to fit the people rather than trying to fit a person into an incompatible mold. For Yunus to start with only a concept and no previous banking experience and have the success he did is unbelievable. This should signal to people that it can be done and poverty can be eradicated. I had only brief knowledge of the extent of poverty and illiteracy rates in Bangladesh, and for Yunus to address both issues with his social business concept is amazing. I also found it interesting that Yunus puts such an emphasis on helping women in order to bring the Bangladeshis out of poverty. Also, I think that it was very beneficial to develop strict guidelines and criteria to define poverty, especially with such an overwhelming number of people that need help.
The excerpts from the book prompted me to think about if a Grameen-inspired program would experience similar success in areas of Kentucky, such as Appalachia, that are experiencing poverty on a large scale. After brief research, I found that some micro-credit programs do exist in Appalachia (arc.gov), but I had not heard of their methods or progress. We briefly discussed this topic in class, and I still believe that it would be harder to start a micro-credit program in an already developed nation and have it experience success comparable to that of the Grameen Programs. For this reason, I think that it would benefit other developing nations, such as those in Africa or Southeast Asia, to follow the Grameen structures, but on the other hand, a new plan should be applied to help those in already developed nations that are in poverty.
A quote of Yunus that I found interesting was in Creating a World Without Poverty, page 115: "I am opposed to giveaways and handouts. They take away initiative and responsibility from people. If people know that things can be received 'free', they tend to spend their energy and skill chasing the 'free' things rather than using the same energy and skill to accomplish things on their own. Handouts encourage dependence rather than self-help and confidence." This quote led me to believe that Yunus' ideology differ from philanthropy. Philanthropy is defined as 'altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work...'. Although Yunus' idea may have initially manifested itself as philanthropic, his new stresses on turning Grameen programs into social businesses have caused the programs to shift away from philanthropy. The programs needed some sort of philanthropy to get up and running, but because Yunus is intent on getting Grameen programs to a point of self-sufficiency, they are no longer reliant on donations, and therefore, philanthropy does not apply.
Service, on the other hand, still connects to Grameen programs. Two commonly used definitions of service include the use of service to describe a product, or output, of a company, and also, service can also be defined as an helpful activity, or aid. The first definition of 'service' clearly applies because a majority of Grameen programs provide services to people of the community. This would include, for example, Grameen Cybernet, Grameen Phone, and Grameen Telecom. The second definition of 'service' still apply because more fortunate people, such as graduating students, Yunus himself, and others that hold other occupations or social status, often help out with Grameen programs and other impoverished people. The Grameen ideas can be considered a 'self-help' service, because one of their biggest contributions is giving people in need the resources they need to help themselves.
The excerpts from the book prompted me to think about if a Grameen-inspired program would experience similar success in areas of Kentucky, such as Appalachia, that are experiencing poverty on a large scale. After brief research, I found that some micro-credit programs do exist in Appalachia (arc.gov), but I had not heard of their methods or progress. We briefly discussed this topic in class, and I still believe that it would be harder to start a micro-credit program in an already developed nation and have it experience success comparable to that of the Grameen Programs. For this reason, I think that it would benefit other developing nations, such as those in Africa or Southeast Asia, to follow the Grameen structures, but on the other hand, a new plan should be applied to help those in already developed nations that are in poverty.
A quote of Yunus that I found interesting was in Creating a World Without Poverty, page 115: "I am opposed to giveaways and handouts. They take away initiative and responsibility from people. If people know that things can be received 'free', they tend to spend their energy and skill chasing the 'free' things rather than using the same energy and skill to accomplish things on their own. Handouts encourage dependence rather than self-help and confidence." This quote led me to believe that Yunus' ideology differ from philanthropy. Philanthropy is defined as 'altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work...'. Although Yunus' idea may have initially manifested itself as philanthropic, his new stresses on turning Grameen programs into social businesses have caused the programs to shift away from philanthropy. The programs needed some sort of philanthropy to get up and running, but because Yunus is intent on getting Grameen programs to a point of self-sufficiency, they are no longer reliant on donations, and therefore, philanthropy does not apply.
Service, on the other hand, still connects to Grameen programs. Two commonly used definitions of service include the use of service to describe a product, or output, of a company, and also, service can also be defined as an helpful activity, or aid. The first definition of 'service' clearly applies because a majority of Grameen programs provide services to people of the community. This would include, for example, Grameen Cybernet, Grameen Phone, and Grameen Telecom. The second definition of 'service' still apply because more fortunate people, such as graduating students, Yunus himself, and others that hold other occupations or social status, often help out with Grameen programs and other impoverished people. The Grameen ideas can be considered a 'self-help' service, because one of their biggest contributions is giving people in need the resources they need to help themselves.
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