PDG Steve introduced our speaker Alex Counts, who was a Fullbright scholar in Bangladesh, to talk about Microfinance.

A video was presented that showed how a loan given to a girl could transform her, her family and her community (one loan at a time).

Alex spoke about Microcredit in Bangladesh. Microcredit worked in 90% of Bangladeshi communities. It was the notion of civil society changing the course of the nation and not the government. It is the same story with Rotary, Bill Gates and Polio plus.

In India it was about solar heating. In Haiti it was about adult education.

Problematic: There was an unscrupulous man who enriched himself. Sometimes too many loans are given out by competing agencies. But 100 million folks have been helped, and this has changed our world.

For more information visit the Grameen Foundation website.

Duncan thanked Alex for his interesting and informative presentation, and presented him with our world famous Boltman.

reported by Don Axford