My most recent few weeks have mainly consisted of meetings with sister companies as my internship at Grameen Bank comes to a close and my time at Grameen Trust is about to begin.
I was highly unaware of how large the Grameen empire truly is until I endured two weeks of meetings with affiliates of the bank. Although these companies insist that they are independent, each one feeds off the others and they are all each other’s main clients. For example, Grameen Bank provided a large fund to set up Grameen Kalyan, which invested this seed capital and has utilized profits to provide subsidies for the higher education loan offered by the bank. Usually the interest rate for this loan is 12% but is subsidized by 7% so borrowers only have to pay 5%. Grameen Communications provides Grameen Bank and other microfinance institutions with microfinance-specific software. Grameen Telecommunications has created a village program allowing the poor to purchase phones at very low prices, which can help them to more effectively communicate with buyers and suppliers for their business. These phones utilize the strong rural network that was set up by Grameen Phone. The list goes on and on and includes everything from Grameen Distribution to Grameen Danone, a partnership with Danone to set up a social business that buys milk from local farmers and distributes nutritious yoghurt to villagers at a very low price. Overall I met with 11 sister companies and missed many more.
Last week I traveled to visit a village in which Grameen Shakti (Energy) focused some of their operations. They are one of the fastest growing Grameen companies and have successfully implemented a way to provide solar energy, biogas systems, and safe cookstoves to villages. This was followed by a very interesting visit to one of the eye hospitals run by Grameen Healthcare Services. The trip ended with the whole Grameen Danone experience – from milk collection point to yoghurt sales lady. We were able to speak to some farmers regarding the fixed prices they receive for providing their milk. They said these prices were not enough but only because costs are constantly rising, then started yelling about the government. This country is experiencing inflation to the max. 10.7% in 2011? Are you kidding me? This inflation really helps to keep the poor… well… poor. (Source: CIA World Factbook: Bangladesh)
At Grameen Danone we were lucky enough to meet the GM of operations for basically all of Danone’s Asian BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) and social business projects. This guy set up the whole Grameen Danone project and factory and was super interesting to talk to. He told us all about taking Danone’s knowledge of premium products and having to strip it down to provide the lowest price possible. From Activia to yoghurt that sells at 9 cents per cup? Not easy. Cutting the price even further in order to eliminate current complaints from the villagers that the yoghurt is too expensive? Even more difficult, especially with that inflation problem. We also met a local sales lady and saw some cute kids enjoying some yoghurt as a snack.
Recently my supervising professor for my Directed Studies course asked me to include how poverty affects people’s lives in my upcoming paper. I decided to do another short village expedition in order to focus on this a little bit more. Discovery: poverty doesn’t affect a life; it is a life. There is a constant struggle to meet basic needs, often not only for yourself but for the family that you’re responsible for. Dignity is sacrificed for survival. Sometimes survival isn’t even possible. A family member gets sick? All of your assets vanish in order to help them. You’re lucky if they recover. You’re even more lost if they don’t. You’re left with nothing. Nothing? What is your definition of that? A Canadian will never know nothing. Thank your lucky stars that you’ve been born into such a life. I have been doing so every second.
On one lovely morning in the Bhuyagati Raygonj branch I was lucky enough to meet Sakera, a 70-year-old “struggling member” who sat across the table drowning in her sari with curious eyes and a lot to say. Her story was one of loss. She could easily define nothing. Over her lifetime, she had to say goodbye to her husband and eight of nine children. Now stop picturing her as a statistic and imagine her as a person who was just unlucky enough to be born on the other side of the world.
We visited her house. It took about four steps to walk from one wall to the other. There were a few planks of wood nailed together and raised from the floor with a blanket on top of them. The bed. On the other side there were a couple holes in the ground. A stove. She shared this place with her daughter and two granddaughters. My room in residence was larger.
In the village we made an agreement with a large crowd of people that if we sang for them, they would sing for us. We sang the ABC’s, expecting some children to belt out a simple song afterwards. We received a show from three of the best singers in the village who all sang extremely meaningful and classic Bangladeshi songs. It was incredible. I especially enjoy interacting with the villagers and attempting to understand them.
When I am interacting with villagers, I always wonder what things they typically think about. They live quite simple lives, however are burdened with countless problems. Are they constantly worrying about what they don’t have or appreciating that which they do? How do they occupy their minds while doing mindless work? It’s so hard to tell because my own mind is so biased and distracted by all that to which I’ve been exposed. Eyes can be the window to the soul but culture is the tinting that prevents a clear view.
I hope that I was able to convey even a fraction of what I’ve experienced. My past six weeks here have already changed my life so much.
Take care,
Kendra