Magazine Grameen bank

Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/grameen-bank This support pack contains the following materials: a pre-reading vocabulary activity the article that you can listen to a comprehension activity based on the article an activity that practises 'reference words' Before you read Activity 1 At the top are 16 words and phrases from the text. Below are sentences which contain these words and phrases. Complete the sentences with the correct words and phrases. a. afford e. borrowers i. lent b. allows f. j. collateral loan c. approach g. encourages k. paid o. repay d. borrow h. lend l. peer pressure

m. poor

n. poverty

p. repayments

Its difficult for the [.....(1).....] to break free of the cycle of [.....(2).....]. The woman that Yunus met couldnt [.....(3).....] to buy bamboo to make her stools. Yunus [.....(4).....] twenty-seven dollars to the people in the village and they [.....(5).....] all of it back. Conventional banks dont want to [.....(6).....] money to poor people because they dont have any [.....(7).....]. The Grameen bank started a new [.....(8).....] to lending money. The Grameen bank [.....(9).....] people to make small [.....(10).....] over a year. People cant [.....(11).....] more money if they dont pay back the first [.....(12).....]. The majority of Grameen [.....(13).....] are women. There is [.....(14).....] from the rest of the group to [.....(15).....] the money. The Grameen system [.....(16).....] people to make their lives better.

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Magazine Grameen bank

Read the article Grameen bank by Linda Baxter If we are looking for one single action which will enable the poor to overcome their poverty, I would focus on credit. Dr Muhammad Yunus He lent them the money and told them to pay it back whenever they could. He got all of it back, so he went to other villages and did the same thing. He always got his money back. The official banks didnt want to get involved in what he was doing, so Yunus started his own bank. The Grameen bank was born, and with it a new approach to lending money micro-credit. But what makes the Grameen bank so different? The conventional banking system is based on the principle that the more you have, the more you can borrow. Grameen gives priority to those who have nothing, particularly the poorest women. The loans are small and repayments are made in small amounts spread over a year, with a built-in insurance scheme so that the family doesnt become responsible for the loan if something happens to the borrower. There is no legal contract between the bank and the borrower, and no danger of legal action if the repayments are not made the relationship is based on trust and good faith. Repayment rates are very high for two main reasons. Firstly, borrowers know that they cannot borrow again if they dont repay the first loan. And secondly, they must join a group of other borrowers who all share some responsibility for other members loans and are encouraged to make group decisions. So there is considerable peer pressure and support from the group to encourage them to pay it all back. Another important difference from conventional banks is that Grameen has a social programme. The system encourages the borrowers to do practical things to improve their living conditions, health and level of education. These are known as the Sixteen Decisions which include, for example, not continuing the dowry system, growing fresh vegetables, organising clean drinking water and good sanitation, education for children, and being ready to help each other whenever necessary. Conventional banks would not consider this to be any of their business.

The beginning Twenty five years ago, Muhammed Yunus, a Bangladeshi economics teacher, was visiting a village when he met a woman who made bamboo stools. She couldnt afford to buy the bamboo to make the stools, so she had to borrow the money from the bamboo sellers and then pay them a large part of the profit from each one she sold. There was so little money left for her to keep that she couldnt afford to buy more bamboo, so she had to borrow more money. And so the cycle continued with no way out for her. She couldnt borrow money from friends or family because they were as poor as she was. She couldnt borrow from the bank because she had no collateral (property or land) to guarantee that she would pay back the loan. Yunus went around the village and found fortytwo people who were in the same situation trapped in a cycle of poverty with no escape. When he added up the amount of money that they needed to break free of the cycle, it came to just twenty-seven dollars. As Yunus says I felt ashamed of myself for being part of a society which could not provide even twenty-seven dollars to forty-two hardworking, skilled human beings.

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Magazine Grameen bank

The success The bank now lends over a billion dollars to more than two million borrowers, 96% of them women, and involving more than half of the villages in Bangladesh. The repayment rate is 99%. The rural economy of the country has improved greatly since the bank started. And the success has spread. This year it was estimated that there are now over 7,000 microcredit organizations in the world, lending to over 16 million of the poorest people. Grameens success in Bangladesh has also shown that the developing world has lessons to teach richer countries like the USA and Britain. Both countries have begun to encourage microcredit schemes based on the Grameen model, in an attempt to deal with their own levels of poverty.

After reading Activity 2 Complete the gaps with a word from the box to make a summary of the text. a. action e. microcredit b. amounts f. repayments c. conditions g. social d. loan h. trust

Mohammed Yunus started the Grameen bank in order to lend poor women in Bangladesh small [.....(1).....] of money. The bank does not take legal [.....(2).....] if the person has difficulties in repaying and the system is based entirely on [.....(3).....]. It works because those taking the [.....(4).....] know they must return the money if they want to borrow again in future. They must also join together as a group so that they are partly responsible for each others [.....(5).....]. Only 1% of borrowers have ever defaulted. The banks [.....(6).....] programme encourages borrowers to improve their own and their childrens living [.....(7).....]. This [.....(8).....] system has spread to 50% of Bangladeshi villages and many other countries, including those in the so-called developed world. Activity 3 In each of the questions below there are words in bold. Decide in each case what these words refer to by selecting the correct answer. 1. She couldnt afford to buy the bamboo canes to make the stools, so she had to borrow the money from the bamboo sellers and then pay them a large part of the profit from each one she sold. What does them refer to? a. the stools b. the bamboo sellers c. the bamboo canes 2. As Yunus says I felt ashamed of myself for being part of a society which could not provide even twenty-seven dollars to forty-two hardworking, skilled human beings. What does which refer to? a. Yunus b. society c. feeling ashamed

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Magazine Grameen bank

3. The Grameen bank was born, and with it a new approach to lending money micro-credit. What does it refer to? a. the new bank b. microcredit c. a new approach 4. Grameen gives priority to those who have nothing, particularly the poorest women. What does those refer to? a. people b. women c. loans The system encourages the borrowers to do practical things to improve their living conditions, health and level of education. These are known as the Sixteen Decisions Decisions which include, for example, not continuing the dowry system, growing fresh vegetables, organising clean drinking water and good sanitation, education for children, and being ready to help each other whenever necessary. 5. What does These refer to? a. the borrowers b. living conditions c. practical things 6. What does each other refer to? a. the borrowers b. the sixteen decisions c. the children 7. The bank now lends over a billion dollars to more than two million borrowers, 96% of them women, and involving more than half of the villages in Bangladesh. What does them refer to? a. women b. dollars c. the borrowers 8. Grameens success in Bangladesh has also shown that the developing world has lessons to teach richer countries like the USA and Britain. Both countries have begun to encourage microcredit schemes based on the Grameen model, in an attempt to deal with their own levels of poverty. What does their refer to? a. the developing world b. microcredit schemes c. the USA and Britain

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Magazine Grameen bank

Answers: Activity 1 1. m; 2. n; 3. a; 4. i; 5. k; 6. h; 7. f; 8. c; 9. b; 10. p; 11. d; 12. j; 13. e; 14. l; 15. o; 16. g Activity 2 1. b; 2. a; 3. h; 4. d; 5. f; 6. g; 7. c; 8. e Activity 3 1. b; 2. b; 3. a; 4. a; 5. c; 6. a; 7. c; 8. c

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