I'm a big Fan of This American Life on NPR. Diane C. in AFS introduced me to this show casually last fall and I have been hooked ever since. Most recently, I listened to an episode entitled Somewhere Out There. The 3 acts were focused on whether there is only one match for each of us in the world. There was the fairy tale story with 2 people against all odds get matched; and other stories of people who wanted to be the match, who weren't. After listening to the show, my beliefs seem to be more in line with the Chinese woman than the Americans. To believe that there is only one person on the entire planet, who will be my one true love seems ludicrous. It would mean that that person's life would have to evolve at lock step with my life. As I grow and evolve in my ways of thinking that person would have to also evolve to keep the flame alive; and when I get stuck in moments of stagnation -- well, you get the picture. Certainly, it's romantic to believe that there is only one person in the world that God created just for you. But I've gotta believe God is more practical than that. I mean, the story goes that He even decided to rest on the 7th day. Anybody taking time for a nap is a practical, good guy in my book!
Similarly, it seems that Grameen understands that there's not a single model for microfinance institutions. With every country having different customs, traditions, level of infrastructure, literacy rates -- there cannot possibly be only one partner that does it all. Hmm, perhaps that makes Grameen the "swinger" of the MFI world. Yea, I don't think that is the analogy I was hoping for! :)
Having now witnessed a bit of the inner workings of Fonkoze and Grameen, I asked myself, "if I were to donate to one or the other, which would I want it to be?" The answer turns out to be more a matter of what type of impact I would like my money to make. With an organization like Fonkoze, I know that I would be investing in a very localized program (Haiti) that is focused on both its financial and social performance. I know that it has strong leadership and a staff that is dedicated to their clients beyond simply the loan programs. The same, unfortunately, may not be true of every MFI in the world. And thus, without the time to personally inspect and meet with individual, direct micro-lenders-- an organization like Grameen would be a much better choice for donations. Grameen vets their partners, is focused on creating best practices within the industry, and creates a network of MFIs to learn from one another. Furthermore, an organization like Grameen actually gets involved with the MFIs beyond being a source of funding. They are interested in implementing successful products, technologies, and innovative solutions at the MFIs as a bridge to future successes. This puts, in my mind, Grameen ahead of funding organizations like kiva. I have been strongly influenced on this topic by Leah, the director of Social Performance at Fonkoze.
In both love, and volunteering, it seems that it takes an open heart and mind. You have to be open to experiences and realize that with both, the most scarce resource is time. There's never enough time to spend with the ones you love; and there's never enough time to do all you want to help others. Nevertheless, when the partnerships are taken with love and trust, magical moments take place.
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