Shorshodi Village Day 2 (August 9th)

On Monday, August 9th, our day began at 8am.  We gathered in the Branch office and discussed the agenda for the day.  We were to attend a Center meeting nearby to help conduct the days meeting and installment collections.  We would then have the opportunity to interview an old Grameen member/borrower and a new Grameen member/non-borrower.  After the interviews, we would regroup at the branch office and observe the loan disbursements procedures. 

We walked to the center meeting, which was about half a mile from the branch down a narrow dirt road.  The environment was stunning, with rice fields in every direction.  Everything was bright green and appeared to glow.  There was very little pollution and trash which was a common sight in the urban area's.  Beggars were not as common either, as most of the villagers were subsistence farmers and shop owners.  It began to rain as we walked, but luckily made it to the Center before it started pouring. 

After we helped conduct the meeting and loan collections, we visited the home of 37 year old Monima, who had been member since 1990 and had a current outstanding loan of 15K Taka, which is equivalent to about $200.  With this loan, she was supporting her sons education and expansion of her rice fields and vegetable gardens, which she sales the surplus of in the market.  She had taken several other loans in the past to help buy land and home.  She explained that her situation was disparate prior to joining Grameen, since her husband had died and was left to support herself and her two children.  When asked if she had an complaints about Grameen Bank, she acknowledged that at times there was tension and confrontation between group members with regards to new loans and ability to make installment payments. 

Next, we went to the home of 27 year old Rashida, who had just become a member two weeks earlier.  She intended to take out a loan to open up a grocery shop.  Her husband is an expatriate worker in Dubai, and although she is not in financial hardship, she had decided to become an entrepreneur to help support the family, which includes her two sons. 

Once the rain had stopped, we began heading back to the branch office.  I had noticed that much of the village was without electricity.  When I inquired about this, I was told that the government did not currently have any plans to extend the power grid to cover this part of the village.  Instead, Grameen is planning to begin a solar panel initiative to bring power to homes, through an affiliated organization called Grameen Shakti (power).  When we returned to the branch, we observed the loan disbursement process.  All new loans approved at the center meetings are centrally disbursed at the main branch office and must be approved by the branch manager.  All accounting transactions were recorded by hand in a ledger, which is inputted into a central computer by agents of the Area office.  Due to the constant black-outs, a computerised system would not work well in many village areas.