Response Paper to Muhammad Yunus

I was very interested to read about Muhammad Yunus because I found it relating very much to what I am learning in Geography 100. In fact, there is a great book called World Hunger: Twelve Myths that explores all of the common misconceptions about the causes of world hunger. One of the myths is that there is an actual shortage in the quantity of food. The book then continues to dispute this myth by saying it is not a lack of quantity, it is a lack in proper distribution. In many countries around the world, the new technology and food producing methods being introduced will not help if the government and social systems continue to allow uneven allocation of food. I think that this is exactly what we see in the reading by Mr. Yunus. The wealth, food, and land are simply not distributed evenly, creating extreme stratification and gaps within society.

However, he was not satisfied with these gaps and set out to do something about it. That is what I find so striking. Many of us are discontent with the status quo sometimes, yet we do nothing about it. Mr. Yunus went into the actual communities to meet one on one with the people. He got to know the individual, not their stereotype. The negativity associated with certain members of the community just because of their social status is set in the government and banks as well. I find it tragic that these institutions discriminate based no class statures. Even when Muhammad Yunus proved that lending to these people was effective and could work, he was met with stubbornness.

The frightening thing is that I had never even heard of the Grameen Bank before this reading. My question in that is, why? Why is this method not being employed around the world? I think that sadly the large corporations or more powerful people are more concerned with making money than spreading equality. Thoughts like that bring about the realization that perhaps we need to be like Muhammad and zoom in on the problems in our community because often that is the only way to get things done. This reading has certainly proved to me that one person is never too small to accomplish such a large feat. I am having difficulty in finding a solution my own community issue of racism because it seems a hopeless task for one person. Changing that mindset, like Mr. Yunus, is the start. Just imagine the possibilities if everyone discarded that way of thinking?