Sydney Peace Prize Inagural recipient in 1998: Professor Yunus Current recipient: Irene Khan Congratulations to both from the Grameen Support Group Australia. Find more about Sydney Peace Prize on gramBangla.

One man's battle with life and helping Bangladesh Over the last couple of years, Dr Shafiqul Hassan, a resident of Quakers Hill, NSW, Australia has achieved something that very few of us would ever succeed in doing: in addition to battling cancer successfully, he has raised about A$1500 by selling beans that he cultivated in his backyard. Then, with this money, he ensured a bright future for a student in Bangladesh by offering him a scholarship through Grameen Shikkha. Read more about it. Send an e-mail to Dr Hassan.

Grameen related useful links

Grameen Bank At a Glance

Commonwealth Lecture, 2003 by Professor Yunus

More links

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize have been awarded to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, the microcredit-lending bank he helped establish in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1976. The Nobel committee mentions that the recipients have been awarded "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below".
This is the first time in Bangladesh's history for one of its citizens to be honoured with the prestigious award.

From Poverty to Peace

Celebrations on the occasion of Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2006

Thanks to Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank, it is the first time in history that the recipients of Nobel Peace Prize are from Bangladesh. We are all overwhelmed with joy. The Bangladeshi Community in Sydney, with Grameen Support Group Australia's coordination, has organised to celebrate the event in a befitting manner for Sydneysiders.
You are cordially invited to the celebrations with your family and friends.

Place: Ashfield Park, Ashfield, NSW
Date: 28th October Saturday
Time: 11am till 4pm

The day's activities include:

• Family picnic (please bring food for your family and friends)
• Open air cultural function
• Member's of the young generation expressing their views
• Your chance to express your feelings with song, poem or speech
• A diary for you to express your joy and sign that will be sent to Professor Yunus
• Tea, coffee and cold drinks will be available at reasonable price

Come let's celebrate this incredible achievement together

previous posting:
Sydney Celebrations of Dr Yunus's Nobel Prize Reception
We are planning to celebrate this year's (2006) Nobel Peace Prize Reception of Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank in a simple and befitting way on 28th of October 2006. To decide on the venue and other details, an urgent meeting of members have been called on Sunday the 22nd October 2006 at the Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre (MRC), 15 Hunter Street, Parramatta, NSW 2150 between 2.30 - 5.30pm.
Please be there and have your say in shaping this simple celebration!

Do you know how one destitute person in Bangladesh can come out of poverty?
Simply open a current account with A$250 in Grameen Bank and maintain the account at the least for a year before withdrawing your money.
By taking this small step you will open up a gigantic opportunity for Bangladesh and its people whom you consider your own flesh and blood.

Rationale behind opening Taka Current Account

Grameen Bank is the bank that invented the concept and practice of micro-credit - providing working capital to the poorest of the poor without demanding a collateral - in order to remove poverty from Bangladesh. The bank which is in operation since 1983 is founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus. Both the bank and Professor Yunus are recipients of this year's (2006) Nobel Peace Prize for their success in alleviating hardcore poverty.

The Grameen Support Group Australia (GSGA) which is based in Sydney, Australia is the Australian counterpart of Grameen Support Groups found in many countries across the world. We believe in the Grameen cause, it's method and it's effectiveness. We are proud of Grameen Bank and we want to take part in Grameen efforts to remove poverty from Bangladesh in the shortest possible time.
We are a group of volunteers and we do not have any legal or financial association with Grameen Bank.

The simplest way for anyone to be part of Grameen success is to open an account with Grameen Bank using any of their four banking products described below:

Current account:

1. Current account - you can withdraw your money any time - Account opening form

Other accounts:

1. Fixed monthly income - Deposit Tk 100,000, receive Tk 850 per month - Account opening form
2. Doubles in 7 years - Deposit unlimited amount, it doubles in 7 years - Account opening form
3. Fixed Deposit - Deposit unlimited amount for unlimited time for a high return - Account opening form

Meet the people who have already opened account with Grameen Bank through the Grameen Support Group Australia's initiative.

International Year of Microcredit 2005 UN has announced 2005 as the Year of Microcredit. As Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, says: "Microfinance has proved its value, in many countries, as a weapon against poverty and hunger. It really can change peoples’ lives for the better -- especially the lives of those who need it most." "Our experiences point that providing the poor with microcredit results in asset creation, employment generation, economic security and empowerment of the poor, particularly the women. We have reaped enormous benefits from microcredit in improving our social sector indicators . . . The International Year of Microcredit in 2005 will present us with an excellent opportunity to highlight the efficacy of microcredit in combating poverty." - Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Chairman of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) More quotes

Grameen Bank gives beggars phones instead of cash. Grameen Bank is empowering the poor by arming beggars with mobile phones so they can sell a roving service for cash. Beggars would need to be a member of a Grameen Bank project to be eligible to get a mobile phone. Each mobile phone will cost USD143. The bank will also provide 500 taka (USD 8.41) in cash to each "cell-class" beggar so they can sell snacks, chocolates, cookies and nuts for additional income. Read the full story.

Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Prize winning Foreign Minister of East Timor mentions Grameen Bank as a model on ABC, Australia Jose Ramos-Horta was on Andrew Denton's Enough Rope on 10th of May 2004 and when being asked what he did with his Nobel Peace Prize money, he said he used it in a Grameen replicator programme in his native East Timor. Read all about it at Jose Ramos-Horta on Enough Rope

Grameen Micro-Credit & How to End Poverty from the Roots Up By Paul Sinclair (One World One People for Peace) 29/10/03 The facts and figures in this article are updated regularly.

Corruption, Bangladesh and Switzerland "And interestingly, in the adjusted CPI, Bangladesh is no longer the so-called "most corrupt country" any more. In 2002, Bangladesh is better than Pakistan, Senegal and Haiti. In 2003 Bangladesh is even doing better, ahead of Syria, Belarus, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Iraq, Mali and Madagascar. The bottom line is Bangladesh is still one of the most corrupt country in the world, but whether it is the "most corrupt country" is still a myth and not supported by TI data." - Read an analytical submission to gramBangla's forum topic Corruption, Bangladesh and Switzerland by Tanvir Hossain from Canberra, Australia.