Grameen Foundation : What we do : Special Projects
Special Projects
Recovery from the Tsunami Disaster
In 2004 an earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a tsunami, killing more than 225,000 people and devastating entire communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. While organizations such as the Red Cross provided valuable disaster relief services, Grameen Foundation and other microfinance programs convened to determine strategies for long-term economic recovery.
Recovery from the Tsunami Disaster: Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development through Microfinance(Alex Counts, Liam Collins, Gene Octavio, and Vineet Rai, 2005)
Tsunami/Microfinance Conference PowerPoint Presentation (May 2005)
Post-Tsunami Microfinance Initiative: 2006 Update (April 2006)
Education Scholarship Program
The Grameen Foundation Educational Scholarship Program promotes education for rural, financially disadvantaged girls and boys in Bangladesh. Public education requires families to pay fees for books, tuition, school uniforms, and other expenses. The current cost of sending children to public schools in Bangladesh range from $1,000 to $1,200 per student over the five years. The scholarship program covers these fees so rural and poor children of microfinance borrowers can attend school and have a chance to break out of the cycle of poverty.
More Information
Cyclone Sidr
In 2008, Cyclone Sidr swept through Bangladesh. Thousands of Bangladeshis lost their lives, tens of thousands were cut off from access to food and water, and an untold number of families lost loved ones and their homes. As is often the case, the poor were the ones hit the hardest by the storm. Approximately 675,000 Grameen Bank members were affected by the cyclone. This represents about 9% of Grameen Bank’s clients in Bangladesh. Grameen Bank has a long history of successfully assisting its clients to recover from natural disasters, most notably after the floods of 1988 and 1995, and after the cyclone of 1991 that claimed an estimated 150,000 lives. Its goal in every case is to motivate and assist the survivors to build better lives than they had before the disaster struck.
Read Grameen Foundation's press release about Cyclone Sidr
Learn about Grameen Bank's Cyclone Sidr Recovery Efforts
Grameen Foundation : What we do : Special Projects
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
+1-202-628-3560 www.grameenfoundation.org
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