Blog 5

Although well-organized microlending programs have experienced success in developing countries, I don't think similar success would be realized in most areas of the United States. One of the key factors of this is the fact that developed nations have well-developed economies, and the entry barriers for entreprenual companies are very high. If you think about the businesses that are the products of microloans, many of them are on a very small scale, and are grocery stores, restaurants/food-stands, or the owner sells their own hand-made crafts. This type of business is able to thrive in the lower developed nations, mostly because the market is not over-flowed with huge corporations or chain restaurants. On the other hand, in the United States, forum.belmont.edu states that for entreprenuer-based companies, "credible studies show success rates five years out...to be around 50% +/- 5%". It is important to note that many of the people in the United States that start their own companies are those that most likely have acheived a higher education, have experience in the given field, and have some sort of financial resources or other means of capital to serve as initial investment in their company. Microloaning, by definition, encompasses small amounts of money that are extended to applicants. Also, the aim of a program of this type is to alleviate poverty. In a country such as the United States, an impoverished person would most likely need a considerable loan to start a business and be successful, because the loan would serve as most, if not all, of the initial investment. Here, a microloan would not suffice because the materials, certifications, land, etc. would require a lot of financial capital, most likely not equitable to the amount of money a microloan would offer.

However, in the United States, although a microloan in its true form would not be efficient in starting a business, it would work to build credit. In this sense, it is possible that a microlending program in the United States would have similar success to a comprable program in a developing nation.

My trip to Belize confirmed my opinions of the potential success of microlending programs in the United States. For example, the grocery store that we helped to expand, although successful in Belize, would not survive in the United States. I think that many Americans would opt for a store like Wal-mart, for example, that would have lower prices, a wide variety of inventory, and more convenient locations. I do think that there are limited situations within the United States where microlending could experience success, but I feel like this would only occur in isolated areas of extreme poverty, such as Eastern Kentucky, where outside (but nearby) developed communities could extend support in the form of microloans. I feel like in this case, the impoverished areas of developed nations would be in similar conditions of developing countries, and microlending would work.

Although I have identified circumstances in which I think microlending could experience success in the United States, overall, I feel like there are too many institutional and social boundaries that would prevent the success of microlending programs.

Blog 4

Belize was not what I expected, but it was SO MUCH BETTER. Looking back on the trip, I am so glad that I got to experience what I did and if I could go back and replay that week I would without thinking twice. I had a lot of fun getting to know the rest of the team and experiencing the culture of Belize, and although I felt 100% prepared for the trip, there were many things that caught me off guard. I could have never predicted some of the things I saw and I wouldn't have been able to guess how I would react to them. Seeing many people living in such poor conditions, but truly being happy, made me think about how our society is so far away from what is really important in life. During our de-briefing, Jessica mentioned that many people probably don't realize that they are 'poor' and they have a less-than-desirable way of life until people come in and tell them that they need help making their life better. One of my favorite pictures of this trip was the little boy that was the son of the wood carver that applied for a loan. He was so happy playing with his pet quash in his yard, and despite the fact that his dad was applying for a microloan and his family was 'poor', he was so happy just to be able to play in his yard with his animal. So often so many kids are always demanding the latest and greatest and I think in the US we have lost sight of what is really important in life. Seeing people in Belize that were genuinely happy despite the fact that they didn't have a lot of money made me realize that in the grand scheme of things, the things that matter are nothing that money can buy.

As an economics major, there are many connections between my studies and the Belize trip. I have studied the works of Yunus in my International Trade and Finance class, and I was interested in the microfinance programs then. Seeing the process and the results of microfinance programs first-hand was so awesome. I love helping others, and being able to combine that with an area of economics that I'm interested in was such a great experience. I've been considering Microfinance or working with developing economies as my specialty, and the trip really furthered my interests in these areas. It was also really interesting to think about the concepts and theory that I had learned in my economics class and look at how they applied to things we were involved with in Belize. For example, when we went to the client's houses with Michelle and Ursuline, the qualities of a good loan candidate that Michelle and Ursuline had defined aligned with those that I had learned in my classes. Also, I thought about the relationship between Gross Domestic Product and the standard of living for the Belizeans, and I found it very interesting to compare Belmopan to San Pedro, and look at the effect that tourism has had on the country. It was so neat for me to be able to connect the things I learned in my classes back in Louisville to things I was experiencing first-hand in Belize. I'm hoping that I will have more opportunities to experience this in the future (a repeat Belizer...?) and I would love to pursue this as a potential career.

No words will ever be able to describe how I felt about this experience!! I'm very glad that I took the advice from past team members and brought a journal with me to write down what we did.