W12 Self-Reliance & Microcredit

Social business is sustainable, scalable, and replicable which makes it ideal for the output of social innovation which spurs tangible hope for the most desired society, one that is free from inequality, injustice, negative externalities, or unintended impacts (Taylor, bus374 Spring'21). Taylor went on to say that "this only works if we accept two things … First, humans … possess a desire and capacity for selfless actions. Second, humankind is naturally proactive, not reactive. Luckily, the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ confirms both".  

Self-reliance -- "helps people move from poverty to prosperity … self-reliant people possess a set of Assets that come from performing specific Behaviors which in turn results from a set of Cognitions. Cognitions are thoughts beliefs and attitudes … responsibility touches our deepest sense of right and wrong … provides the fuel that energizes people to move out of poverty" (Video, How can self-reliance eliminate poverty?). 

Microcredit -- "credit in the form of microloans provided to impoverished individuals and groups... the granting of small loans to people who otherwise would have no access to money to run a business"  (merriam-webster.com). "It is very surprising that economics never understood the social power of credit. The fact that credit creates entitlement to resources could have immediately triggered the thought that in a social context it could surely play a very significant and sensitive role. Amazingly economics failed to grasp it (Muhammad Yunus, Microlending: Toward a Poverty Free World). "The poor people are the bonsai … There's nothing wrong with their seeds. Simply society never gave them the space … the base on which to grow. If you had the base for them as wide as anybody else they will grow as tall as anybody … sometimes we kind of jump into conclusions about their fault. They don't work hard, or they're stupid, they don't have the training, they don't have the skill, we got a whole list out of it... but that's not true. They work very hard. It is the poor that work the hardest but get the least. That's why they are poor (M. Yunus, Bonsai Trees). 

I took away two things from this weeks assignments. 

1. "always be ready to unlearn and relearn" (Muhammad Yunus, Microlending: Toward a Poverty Free World). This statement is full of perspective and power. For myself, it's not so much that I am having to unlearn things as much as I am needing to gain understanding of the world around me and be prepared to share that understanding I've gained.
2. That leaving solutions to big social problems to someone else is not what Heavenly Father wants for me --or any of us. That I must engage further in "producing a society in which there were no poor to give to." - C.S. Lewis. In chapter 19 in our textbook, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, James Grant, head of UNICEF, said that the problems (surrounding child mortality) were not because of lack of human ingenuity, scientific advances and social conditions to meet the needs of all the world’s children already existed (p.250). It was Grant who altered the gears of UNICEF and lead the way and brought to light the vast capacity for diminishing disease and death for the world’s children by simply providing and supplying low-cost techniques, vaccinations, and monitoring a child’s health (p.250-251).

My own development of self-reliance, up until this course, was pretty much aligned with the word 'independence' and 'self-sufficient'. I had a since of personal responsibility to provide for my needs and the obligation to support my family. It meant to me tenacity, perseverance, and having a moral sense towards my well-being. Since taking this course, I have gained a greater view of a future beyond my immediate needs and my part in creating a stable platform for prosperity for all around me.