Muhammad Yunus awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, was honored by President Barack Obama with the Presidential Medal of Freedom alongside fifteen other individuals being honored for their work as “agents of change.”

Dr. Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, challenges the notion of hopeless poverty in his country, Bangladesh and now in the United States. Currently, Dr. Yunus is expanding into health care services in Bangladesh and offering financial services in the United States - striking in the epicenter of the financial world of New York.

When asked what inspires him, Professor Yunus said when he sees the smile on the face of a recipient who has succeeded and sees the next generation has succeed as well like a mother who received a loan many years ago and now has a son who is an engineer. He explains, “Poverty is not created by the person. It is created by the system.” Change happens when the system is changed.

Following the success of twenty-six years of micro-lending, Grameen Healthcare is following the same principles. It will create another sustainable delivery system for health care for the poorest of the poor with an affordable price. He believes in "small heath centers to keep healthy people healthy.” One goal is to have early detection so as to provide early treatment. Another service is to bring basic simple health diagnostics to rural areas especially with new technology making it affordable and accessible - the Internet and the mobile phone.

Grameen America in the first year of operation is delivering low-interest, collateral-free loans in Queens, NY. It has now launched a second branch office in Omaha, Nebraska. With grant sizes as small as $2,200, most women are rebuilding their lives, generating an income and stabilizing their finances. Instead of generations on welfare, Professor Yunus said a new view must be created. He remarked how different the results would be if instead of deducting money earned by a welfare recipient from their state provided check, it would be matched. He said, “If for $1 earned the person would receive a matching $1, there would be an incentive to go earn $2.” Countless cities in the U.S. are requesting branch offices including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore and Durham.

Dr. Yunus challenges the notion that nothing can be done to eradicate poverty. He said his goal is that “In 2030 no one will be poor in Bangladesh.”

By Keri Douglas, writer/photographer, Washington, DC
More at KeriDouglas.wordpress.com

Click here to read Ode's interview with Muhammad Yunus from the December 2006 issue.