What poor people need - according to them

Today the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2011, which reviews the reach and impact of microfinance, came out.In light of the difficulties microfinance institutions have faced this past year – from natural disasters to government crackdowns to the collapse of the market in Andhra Pradesh, India – the report stresses the importance of listening to the clients. And from Bangladesh to Uganda, clients of BRAC and many other microfinance institutions have said they want the same three things:

Enough food to feed their family,
A secure and protective shelter, and
Access to education for their children.

Our clients have been telling us this from the beginning, which is why we developed our Microfinance Plus approach.

We provide livelihood training with an emphasis on creating micro-franchisees in agriculture, poultry and livestock so our clients can have a sustainable source of food while also generating income for their families.

When our clients lose their homes because of natural disasters, we help them build back better, more resilient homes. We’re also piloting a land rights initiative in Bangladesh to help our clients legally claim their property.

We’ve created second-chance primary schools with accelerated learning programs to provide education to children and youth who dropped out or never had the chance to go to school. So far, we’ve given more than 10 million children and youth access to educational opportunities, which is why our Founder and Chairperson recently won the inaugural WISE Prize for education.

So, from the millions of people we’re serving and the millions of other microfinance clients around the world: Poverty is a complicated problem that requires a multi-faceted solution:

Be part of the solutionS

Click here to read the BRAC Blog.