At 1 pm today in Oslo, in a packed house with standing room only at the Nobel Institute, a press conference was held with the Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Dr. Yunus and Taslima Begum representing Grameen Bank. Dipal Barua, the Deputy Managing Director and one of the original students working with Yunus over the last 30 years was on the dais and translated for Taslima Begum, a Grameen Bank board member elected by the borrowers who are also shareholders of the Bank. Dipal is from the village of Jobra, the first place Yunus began his Grameen experiment with Sophia Khatoon and 41 other women who needed just 27 dollars in credit to break free of moneylenders.

Taslima shared a little of her story from being distressed and landless to now having savings in the Bank (over 30,000 taka) and many assets (a mango garden, goats, a sewing business and for her husband, a small three wheeler taxi).

Yunus said the Nobel Committee’s decision was a “thumbs up connection” for linking reducing poverty to peace and for linking microcredit to reducing poverty. He said it was an endorsement that the financial system should be all inclusive and leave no one out.

Yunus said, “if Bangladesh can do it, anyone can do it.” He added that “microcredit alone cannot do it but that people should see microcredit as a platform. It unleashes people’s capacity. They also need other things such as technology, health, education, etc. and that we can create a poverty free world. It is possible and I believe it.”

It was thrilling to hear them answer questions from around the world, New York Times, Reuters, Bangladesh TV, German TV, Swiss, etc

More later….

Susan

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