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| Volume 2, Issue 1: June '04 | ||||
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In This Issue Responses to New York Times Editorial Regarding New US Law on Poverty Measurement Tools REGISTER NOW for Middle East/Africa Region Microcredit Summit Meeting of Councils Microcredit Summit Campaign Announces Appointment of New Africa Regional Organizer Archived Issues
Vol 1 Iss 6 Jan. '04 |
Letters to the Editor of The New York Times13 May 2004 I was stunned that the NY Times chastised Congress for wanting to direct more services to very poor people. While it is true that microfinance will not solve all the ills of poverty, I have encountered thousands of people living on less than a dollar a day who have improved their livelihoods, enhanced their homes and sent their children to school because of the small loans that resulted from US foreign aid. These thousands pale in comparison to the millions more who could also be served. Why should a poor woman in India, stigmatized as an "untouchable", be less worthy of investment than the landowner for whom she works? Can’t fifty cents on every dollar we invest in microfinance be used to help her and her neighbors? Does it all have to go to the landowner? I thought we were beyond that. Sincerely, Didier Thys |