Businesses Contributing to Living Conditions in an Asian Community - Essay Example

?Can you find examples of businesses contributing to living conditions in an Asian community? The Grameen Bank is a model example of an enterprise which contributes to the improvement of living conditions in the Asian community. Picture Bangladesh, as monsoon approaches; Joshua Begum, a woman in rural Bangladesh, was not worried about the damage that the weather would cause. Her neighbors on the other hand were frantic. Their house was flimsy and built out of straw and bamboos. Johsua Begum on the other hand had a tin roof, with sturdy walls and windows. By being able to gain a loan from the Bangladesh Grameen Bank she managed to make the changes to her house and improve her standard of living. She wasn’t the only one; there were a large number of individuals living in rural Bangladesh who had managed to bring significant improvements in their living condition with the aid of the microfinance program that was implemented by Grameen Bank. It was because of the Grameen Bank that thousands of poor Bangladeshi women were able to change their lives through the loans extended to them by Grameen Bank and initiate their own enterprises. The contribution of Grameen Bank was so significant that by the year 2003, it had over a 1000 branches all over Bangladesh, and it was reported that the bank had managed to aid about 48% of its borrowers to be able to move above the poverty line (Sarker, 2001). The model of the Grameen Bank due to its success in Bangladesh was replicated in other developing Asian countries. These comprised of countries like India, Pakistan and Vietnam where similar schemes were established in order to improve the living conditions and opportunities for the urban poor individuals. The aspect of providing small loans to the deprived can be considered as an economic intervention; however the Grameen Bank loan initiates a profound transformation in the lives of numerous individuals which are a part of its members. The poor women redouble their efforts to be able to bring about positive changes to their existing lives and their economic condition advances. The aspects with which this business touches the lives of the Asian community is the way in which it encompasses the popular issues of poor countries, such as education, eating healthy, consumption of clean water and the environmental issues (Shepard, 2003). Housing and Education Grameen Bank has worked extensively in endorsing its members by focusing specifically in the aspect of housing and education. They recognized quiet early that the poor families in these Asian communities were vulnerable mostly due to the fact that their houses were constructed out of poor and weak materials. This is when they started providing loans specifically for housing in the year 1984. Ever since then GB has aided individuals through housing loans for the construction of over 630,000 houses. They have focused in covering the costs associated with basic but durable building supplies as well as sanitary latrines, for its borrowers. How it contributes to a resource for the improvement of their standard of living is mostly because these homes serve not just as a place to reside in but also as a workplace for these individuals; So when the houses are stronger and better able to withstand the heavy rainstorms it helps these individuals resist the weather from destroying their livelihoods, which in turn has a positive impact on their health and families (Wijnbergen, 2012). Another aspect that the GB touches as far as the improvement of the Asian community is concerned is by supporting education of the families that constitute to that of its members. It was in the year 2000 that GB initiated education loans specifically for higher education of the children of its borrowers. These loans worked on certain conditions and came into play after students reached a tertiary standard of education and were then in need of loans to receive higher education. These loans were very helpful in the way they covered tuition, maintenance costs, and all kinds of other expenses. By February 2006, research showed that GB had facilitated about 10,000 Asian students by providing them with loans which equaled to US $ 4 million. Furthermore, scholarships for girls was prioritized and their education was given more importance as part of the Asian communities the opportunities for girls as far as academics is concerned were found to be severely limited (Alexandra, 2003). Efforts to eradicate begging due to poverty GB in the year 2004, looking at the thousands of individuals who were a part of the Asian community resorting to begging due to the desperation of their circumstances, initiated loans that were specifically given to beggars (Hulme and Shephard, 2003). It invited beggars to become a part of their program, and gave them the viable alternative to carry certain consumer items, which were funded by the GB, once they went from a house to house. Selling these items for their convenience was a viable option for these individuals. Towards the end of the year 2006, over 70,000 beggars had become a part of the GB program. A standard loan given to a beggar was about 10 dollars, but a key part was that there were no specified terms regarding the repayment (Wijnbergen, 2012). Village Phone Program Another key aspect that Professor Yunus has gone to address through the introduction of the GB is by addressing the limited employment opportunities that are available to the poor. This plays a key part in the enhancement of the standard of living of the individuals residing in the rural part of Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Information and communication technology is a source of unprecedented employment and can serve to be a powerful tool when it comes to learning opportunities for the poor. How Grameen Bank initiated these programs by selling telephone services to the villagers in localities where there were very few fixed lines. By introducing a telephone lady in the locality, and providing telephonic services to other individuals, this process becomes a source of income for the woman. This when you look at the average turns out to be two times as much as the national per capita income. By this way GB has been able to give over 194,500 poor women from rural areas in Asian a source for income generation (Kanika, 2009). Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank is an example of another business that has been aiding Asian countries, namely Papua New Guinea, to boost various economic opportunities and be able to advance their living conditions. These businesses focus on helping the women that reside in isolated roadside societies mostly in the Highlands regions (ADB, 2009). ADB administered for the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction by issuing a grant that was over 2 million dollars which will be utilized in order to facilitate the construction of access roads and other kinds of rural infrastructure in poor Asian communities which are primarily located in the Southern Highlands as well as the Enga Provinces. By linking these roads to the major road network as part of the ADB’s ‘Highlands Region Road Investment Program’ the main aim is to link these rural poor communities and give them access to employment and ease of transport in order to improve their standard of living by the enhanced opportunities provided. Furthermore the ADB provides these members with additional skills training so that they can make use of the advanced road networks. The main aim of the project is to enhance individual skills by training them to perform road work and construction, improving literacy rates, work in agriculture sector, marketing and micro-enterprise, as well as other household skills (Asian Development Bank, 2009). There are other aspects which the ADB aims to address which will through the spread of awareness aid in these communities being able to raise their standard of living. This is mostly through the road and safety measures and the knowledge of health problems, mostly HIV, reproductive issues, domestic violence and drug abuse which this program aims to teach these individuals about. This mostly comprises of helping vulnerable and weaker groups, such as women and individuals who are unemployed. The Asian communities that this program specifically targets are that of Papua New Guinea and the contributions it makes are important to their economic growth as well as the decrease in poverty. Future plans to extend these social development efforts to other Asian communities are a most likely plan for the future of ADB (ADB, 2004). Inspired by the work of the ADB other business enterprises such as PNG aims to serve as an executing agency to help such Asian communities and provide them with contributions of about 2.10 million dollars in order to help improve awareness, expand employment opportunities and aid individuals residing in rural communities in destitute conditions to improve their standard of living. References Abu Elias Sarker. 2001. “The secrets of success: the Grameen Bank experience in Bangladesh.” Labor and Management in development, volume 2, number 1. ADB (2004), “ADB Annual Report, Special Theme: The Changing Face of the Micro Finance Industry,” Manila. Anne Manon Wijnbergen. (2012). “An evaluation of microfinance as an effective instrument for poverty reduction. “ Retrieved from: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document1.9.57306/Wijnbergen.Microfinance%20evaluation%20study.pdf Asian development bank (2009). Japan, ADB Grant to Improve Living Conditions in Remote PNG Communities. http://www.adb.org/news/japan-adb-grant-improve-living-conditions-remote-png-communities Bernasek, Alexandra. (2003). “Banking on Social Change: Grameen Bank Lending to Women” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society Vol. 16, No. 3, Toward Gender Equity: Policies and Strategies (Spring, 2003), pp. 369-385 Hulme D., Sheperd A., 2003. “Conceptualizing Chronic Poverty. World Development.” Volume 31, Issue 3 ADB (2004), “ADB Annual Report, Special Theme: The Changing Face of the Micro Finance Industry”, Manila. Taneja, Kanika. 2009. “Micro-finance: A case study.” Delhi Business Review X, Vol. 10, No. 2 (July - December 2009). Read More