When we first began our Economics unit, I had no idea what I wanted to focus my documentary on. I did know, however, that if I had one goal for this project, it was to inspire others. And the best way to inspire others is by doing something you truly believe in. So I thought to myself, what am I inspired by? And that's when it clicked.
As cheesy as it may sound, there's something about service that I love, thus, I knew I wanted my project to allow me to interact with others, especially the less fortunate. And what better way to do this, and at the same time combine my passion for business and entrepreneurship than by focusing on micro credit lending in Peru?
I'm not going to lie, I really don't know much about micro credit lending, and even less about it here in Peru. But I think that's the adventure of all of this; going from knowing nothing about a certain topic to becoming an expert at it.
Step 1: Coming up with an essential question.
Is it feasible? Time wise? Filming wise? | Is it original? Or will it simply be one more video on microcredit lending? |
Is it relevant? Does it connect to the government? To economics? | Does it have value? Value to others, but most importantly, value to me? |
Nonetheless, before contacting these sources, we want to have an idea as to what micro credit lending is? We want to know how it helps people, whether it is common around the world, and if so, how successful it is in other countries? We want to know the consequences of not paying out a loan, and the steps a bank must go through before deciding who to give a loan to. We want to know every last detail about microcredit lending to ensure that our documentary is both informative and reliable.
After an hour and a half of research in class, we definitely got a deeper understanding to several of our questions, but we still have a long way to go...
Thus, since 1993, thats exactly what Muhammad Yunus has been doing. The bank he founded, Grameen, has given a total of 6 billion dollars to seven million families in Bangladesh's most rural areas. His idea started after he loaned 27$ to forty two people living in a small village. With that money, the people from the village were able to purchase raw materials for their trade and escape poverty.
Muhammad Yunus was also the first person to define the concept of a social business.
If there is anyone we should contact it is Mohammad Yunus: the king of micro credit lending. How cool would that be?
To be completely honest, this project has really taught me what it means to have complete autonomy over something. The responsibility it entails (planning your time, coming up with the right question, making contacts, conducting research...) can be a little scary, but more than scary it's E M P O W E R I N G . It's empowering to know that you don't need to be an adult to create awareness of something you're passionate about. It's empowering to know that there are people all around the world, like Muhammad Yunus, working on projects and topics similar to your own. It's empowering to be inspired by others. And most importantly, it's empowering to inspire others. And that, is my ultimate goal.