Dr. Muhammad Yunus

Founder, Grameen Bank

 

By: Mohammad Omar Farooq
(January 25, 2000)

Poverty is the lot of the mass,
That's a precept so easily was believed,
Those poor, lazy, illiterate ones,
No other way; their misery is to be re-lived.

While the rich of the world reached the sky,
So many in the world still don't have food,
Education and health are luxury to them,
In formulating theories, however, we are so good.

The "developed" ones seek the development of others,
About this, one shouldn't harbor any doubt,
To remove poverty and bring development
Are dedicated so many big entities with so much clout.

The important thing was to make the rich richer,
So that they can help those who are destitutes,
Fattening the already fat wallet is the way,
Why daydream? There really were no substitutes.

From Haiti to Ethiopia, from Madagascar to Mali
The prospect for overcoming poverty was the same,
In time things will trickle down to the hapless,
to this theory, said NO - Dr. Yunus is his name.

Where there is a problem, there is also solution;
And of the former, Bangladesh does carry a big share,
It's not then unnatural that right in the nest of problems,
Solution, so persuasively, would reveal itself bare.

In the desert of theories and conventional wisdom,
Where the hope of so many hearts sank,
Similar to what we learnt from the Prophet and axe,
Emerged from nowhere, the Grameen Bank.

To be charitable, one doesn't need to offer charity,
Rather, show others the way, stand by their side;
Give them "little" capital, and put them in a special group,
Soon these hapless ones will attain income, self-reliance and pride.

Does it really take a lot to touch others' life for good?
Apparently not - a success lesson all can share;
The real ingredients are fairly simple;
Micro-credit, organization, some ingenuity and, of course, a little care.

Poverty is not inevitable or insurmountable,
The world now knows, at least, one way we all can do or contribute,
Dr. Yunus, you have touched so many lives, and
Moreover, have shown us the way; please accept our humble tribute.

 


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