The picture depicts the Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus.
In 2006 he and the bank he founded, Grameen Bank, were
jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in
creating micro finance.
It’s a new year and a new excursion is coming up, however with a bit different set up and objectives than last years Iran trip. This time I’m combining work with pleasure since I will be participating in an internship at a micro finance institute in Ambato, Ecuador for five of the eight weeks I’ll be gone. Also I’m not travelling solo but with Oscar, a friend from Lund.
The intention with the blog is nevertheless the same: the primary purpose being to process things that I experience and to be able to reminisce in the future, and secondly to update friends and family. With this in mind the content will of course reflect my interests, so a part from the continuous rendering of what I’m doing and where I am, cultural and microeconomic observations will most likely dominate those of landscapes, plants and animals.
Why micro finance, why Ecuador?
I think micro lending is a great way of helping poor people since it gives both giver and receiver incentives to perform – the absence of this being one of the biggest problems of traditional aid. At the same time the money goes straight to the source, which enables and empowers the individual instead of potentially corrupt leaders. So, in theory it sounds awesome, but what I don't know is how it works in reality, if it is as good at it sounds. By experiencing it close up I’ll hopefully get a deeper perspective of how (of if) it’s actually benefitting common people.
That I’m going to Ecuador is instead of anywhere else in the world is pure coincidence. In fact I reckon I have to thank Oscar on that, since it is he who has done all the grunt work; searching for different institutes, mailing back and forth and finally setting up the deal with “Skandinaviska Institutet” who’s sending us to the Institute.
What will we be doing?
To be honest, I don’t really know. The preliminary thought is that Oscar and me are going to work at the Credit Department, actually issuing loans to customers. This means listening to and evaluating the customer's intentions, what she wants to do with the money, and gathering all the necessary facts and figures so that the finance department can make their calculations. This means working with customers both at the office and on the field where she intends to realize her project, which sounds truly awesome. However, there’s a big ‘but’ in this, and that is that I can’t speak Spanish. If you intend to evaluate someone’s business idea – potentially her life project – you better be sure that you understand her intentions so you can make a good judgement. Hence, I have low expectations on what I actually will be doing. As of now I’m putting my trust to Oscar’s Spanish skills and am hoping that I can free ride on him and make myself useful in other ways than listening.
What will we be doing?
To be honest, I don’t really know. The preliminary thought is that Oscar and me are going to work at the Credit Department, actually issuing loans to customers. This means listening to and evaluating the customer's intentions, what she wants to do with the money, and gathering all the necessary facts and figures so that the finance department can make their calculations. This means working with customers both at the office and on the field where she intends to realize her project, which sounds truly awesome. However, there’s a big ‘but’ in this, and that is that I can’t speak Spanish. If you intend to evaluate someone’s business idea – potentially her life project – you better be sure that you understand her intentions so you can make a good judgement. Hence, I have low expectations on what I actually will be doing. As of now I’m putting my trust to Oscar’s Spanish skills and am hoping that I can free ride on him and make myself useful in other ways than listening.
