Directed by Holly Mosher
Review by Jacquelin Sonderling
How much does it cost to take a woman from poverty to a life of self-determination? Pennies a day, if you ask economist Mohammad Yunus. Yunas realized that traditional economic theory doesn’t apply to people who are so poor they can’t even meet their basic needs, and in 1976, out of his desire to level the playing field, he pioneered microlending—small loans to women who have no collateral. Those first loans—$27 each to 42 women in a small village in Bangladesh—came from his own pocket. Today, Grameen Bank, the community development bank he founded, has helped more than 7 million Bangladeshi women and their families. Yunus has been so successful that in 2006 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace. Peace, because Yunus sees microlending as a path to solving poverty, hunger and inequality. Essentially, it’s the principle of, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Yunus describes the poor with whom he works as “bonsai people” because, like the small trees cultivated in Asia, society does not allow these people to grow. However, Grameen is changing that. This fascinating film follows five women and their experiences with Grameen over a year. There’s new recruit Melancho, a shy young woman who blossoms in her capacity of chairwoman of her village bank center. Ayesha uses Grameen’s struggling member program to help her stop begging and find a viable way to earn an income. And Aroti is the microlending superstar— over the past 15 years she’s become a successful entrepreneur with several sources of income and two sons at university.
How does Yunus measure success? A family that had only one meal a day can now eat two. A family that had only one garment for each person now has a change of clothing. A family living in a straw house can upgrade to tin. Small steps in a journey that is changing peoples lives and bringing them self-respect, confidence and hope for a future.
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