Should we bring micro-lending to American, and would I work?! I would probably be a first to say that I would have some doubts in bring the system that we worked with in Belize to the United States. The program that BEST has along with Yunus’s ideas and program, it would be hard to see something like these succeed in the US.
In Belize we saw a lot of families working for themselves, producing income for their families to live on. In the US, how many families own their own business today?! Not many. I am not going to be a critic and put down the US and say that something like micro-lending would never happen, because according to our books it has happened. I just think that America would need to reassess their attitudes and goals in life.
There are a lot of poor people in America, and micro-lending would help a great number of these people. It would required Americans to look inside them and find a talent that is hidden, something that would take away from the lifestyle we are all accustomed too. I also feel that if this program were brought to the US, it would need FULL government back up and support for every part of the process.
For a program to work in a supposed “rich” country, Americans need to get off their high horses and accept help in this form. I believe in the hearts and minds of America, but for so long things have just been given to them. If someone is on Welfare, they don’t have to work hard to keep having the money come in, and if you want a job just go work for the multiple business owned by corporations down the street. Bringing a Micro-Lending program to the US, you entail a lot of patience, and willingness to wait for a response. Once one person has a great idea in the community many more are to follow, they just need a leader to start.
It would be interesting to see and follow a loaning bank like this. At first it would be hard for the people to grasp, since loans in America are so difficult to get. But after awhile I believe people would really benefit from a program like micro-lending in the poor communities in our country.
Being in Belize really opened my eyes to the types of business and the difference between there and home. In Belize, there are so many family operated and owned, people out working just to help support their families and put food on the tables. I am not saying that Americans don’t work hard, it is just been awhile since I have seen a family run business in a city, and most people don’t want to risk it with the economy that we have. It was interesting to put an idea like micro lending in America out there and contemplate and read about it. It would definitely bring about a different United States of America.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Cultural Difference is huge in nursing
I have included some of my favorite pictures!! Take a look! It is only a small view of the amazing week I spent in the country of Belize!!! Thinking back over the week spent in Belize, it is really hard to put in to words the experiences gained from the trip. First things first, the over all trip completely exceeded my expectations! It was so great to see us come together and share laughs and get work done!
This week we were asked to compare our observations and experiences to our personal majors and career aspirations. At first I was struggling with this, as we did service and such but really nothing to do with nursing. After pondering on the topic for awhile, I realized that, yes our trip dealt with a business aspect, but it had a component of nursing in it.
My total compassion for others is what lead me to nursing. Helping people become better and live a better life. This is exactly what we did in Belize. I would consider it a community nursing atmosphere. As a group we were able to help a family in need, prepare a better life and expand a business. It also helped in many ways to communicate to someone who does not speak the same language as my self. I am going to encounter so many different cultures while being a nurse that it is always good getting experience, and become more comfortable in this situation. Going on to my career aspirations, I want to be the kind of nurse that is competent in every aspect of my nursing degree, to deliver kind, compassionate care to every single person I come in contact with and to always deliver my care with a smile and a warm heart.
There are numerous things each of us can learn by immersing into a different culture. And even though I only received a small sample of the Belizean way of life, it was enough to embrace the culture at hand and take the experience in to my practice as a nurse after I graduate. I am very grateful for the opportunity to broaden my horizons!! :-)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Faith and service, #3
“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…I was naked and you gave me clothing…Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25)
I have grown up with a strong Catholic background, and one that always centered on service. The quote above is one of my favorites from the bible, and something I tend to live by in my life. I was raised on the values of helping other people, not for the fact that I would gain anything out of it, but that it was just the right thing to do.
I strongly believe that my service is rooted in not only my faith but also my personal beliefs. Service is just a part of who I am, and what I enjoy to do. I am a person that sees the good in all situations and can see God’s face peering out behind someone struggling for help. My beliefs all stream back to the bible verse above, that when each of us reach out a hand to someone in need, we really are helping a member of God’s family and in turn helping him. I believe that the project we are helping with in Belize fits perfectly in to the mold of service and faith. We are going down to Belize to lend a hand to those less fortunate then us, and we are going down there to make us or Bellarmine look good, we are going to better the lives of the people and families that live there.
Recently in my Theology class, which is based on the journey/ path to God, focuses a lot on the finding of our inner spirituality and connecting it with the world and people around us. Our teacher, who is a Baptist minister helps guide us that to find our true path and calling to the growth and deepening in our relationship and faith in God that we need to simply look around us, and see what we can help with and be a service too. It is in the situations of service that we are truly called to journey closer to God and our path that he has laid out for us. We talked about the development of spirituality, and how experience in what drives us, and what we feel by our emotions are the keys to the complete development and growth in our faith. It also goes in to how we define ourselves and see ourselves in the world. God calls us to help others, whether they are poorer then we are or not, we need to stick up for our fellow man, keep the dignity of humans alive to make the world we live in a better place!
I have grown up with a strong Catholic background, and one that always centered on service. The quote above is one of my favorites from the bible, and something I tend to live by in my life. I was raised on the values of helping other people, not for the fact that I would gain anything out of it, but that it was just the right thing to do.
I strongly believe that my service is rooted in not only my faith but also my personal beliefs. Service is just a part of who I am, and what I enjoy to do. I am a person that sees the good in all situations and can see God’s face peering out behind someone struggling for help. My beliefs all stream back to the bible verse above, that when each of us reach out a hand to someone in need, we really are helping a member of God’s family and in turn helping him. I believe that the project we are helping with in Belize fits perfectly in to the mold of service and faith. We are going down to Belize to lend a hand to those less fortunate then us, and we are going down there to make us or Bellarmine look good, we are going to better the lives of the people and families that live there.
Recently in my Theology class, which is based on the journey/ path to God, focuses a lot on the finding of our inner spirituality and connecting it with the world and people around us. Our teacher, who is a Baptist minister helps guide us that to find our true path and calling to the growth and deepening in our relationship and faith in God that we need to simply look around us, and see what we can help with and be a service too. It is in the situations of service that we are truly called to journey closer to God and our path that he has laid out for us. We talked about the development of spirituality, and how experience in what drives us, and what we feel by our emotions are the keys to the complete development and growth in our faith. It also goes in to how we define ourselves and see ourselves in the world. God calls us to help others, whether they are poorer then we are or not, we need to stick up for our fellow man, keep the dignity of humans alive to make the world we live in a better place!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Yunus' ideas!!
I would like to first say that I wish I had more time to write in my blog, but I am still so excited that our trip to Belize is quickly approaching!!!
I find Yunus’ ideas fascinating, just the pure fact that he saw something terribly wrong going on around him and he was that one person that made a change, and bettered the lives of thousands. He is the prime example that one person can make a difference in society and the world.
I am intrigued that he focuses on the women of Bangladesh, he brings attention to the skills that they have and turns them in to actual income raising productions. He allows women to stand on their own two feet and come out of the shadows of their husbands and better their family needs. As he says in Chapter five, just teaching the women how to write their signature, opens a new world for her and she is ready to take other great leaps in to self-sufficiency. J
I also find it interesting to read about all the separate businesses that the Grameen have opened. All of them have produced many employment opportunities as well as new services for the people of Bangladesh to have luxury items that we take for granted like telephones, a stable roof over our heads, and safe fishing ponds. These numerous different businesses have created many new outlets for the people that they serve!
Now, to the question of connection between what Yunus has done and philanthropy and service is quite easy. In my mind it is a combination of both of these. By definition, philanthropy is to increase well-being to human-kind by means of charity aid or donations. The idea’s that Yunus brings to the table is to provide a service to the people of Bangladesh and raise their living conditions to help rid them of their poverty stricken lives. His ideas are not that of charity or donation, but of providing employment and job opportunities through monetary loans to help the lives of the people become better then what they were.
All of his ideas sound amazing, and the fact that through statistics he can show that they are actually working is even more amazing! My hope is that other countries can adopt or have adopted the ideas to help benefit their own people and end the world of poverty! We shall see down the road…
In reading Yunus’ books, it has opened my eyes to the program at hand, and it is easier now to see how we will help the people of Belize start to live better lives.
I find Yunus’ ideas fascinating, just the pure fact that he saw something terribly wrong going on around him and he was that one person that made a change, and bettered the lives of thousands. He is the prime example that one person can make a difference in society and the world.
I am intrigued that he focuses on the women of Bangladesh, he brings attention to the skills that they have and turns them in to actual income raising productions. He allows women to stand on their own two feet and come out of the shadows of their husbands and better their family needs. As he says in Chapter five, just teaching the women how to write their signature, opens a new world for her and she is ready to take other great leaps in to self-sufficiency. J
I also find it interesting to read about all the separate businesses that the Grameen have opened. All of them have produced many employment opportunities as well as new services for the people of Bangladesh to have luxury items that we take for granted like telephones, a stable roof over our heads, and safe fishing ponds. These numerous different businesses have created many new outlets for the people that they serve!
Now, to the question of connection between what Yunus has done and philanthropy and service is quite easy. In my mind it is a combination of both of these. By definition, philanthropy is to increase well-being to human-kind by means of charity aid or donations. The idea’s that Yunus brings to the table is to provide a service to the people of Bangladesh and raise their living conditions to help rid them of their poverty stricken lives. His ideas are not that of charity or donation, but of providing employment and job opportunities through monetary loans to help the lives of the people become better then what they were.
All of his ideas sound amazing, and the fact that through statistics he can show that they are actually working is even more amazing! My hope is that other countries can adopt or have adopted the ideas to help benefit their own people and end the world of poverty! We shall see down the road…
In reading Yunus’ books, it has opened my eyes to the program at hand, and it is easier now to see how we will help the people of Belize start to live better lives.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Expectations
Expectations, it is a word that just gets ran over in my mind for classes. I have gotten in to such a groove that I have stopped making them separate, they have all blended together. The expectations that I set for my freshman year have sat in the same place for the last three years. And honestly the only on I can remember is receive good grades. When the question of expectations came up in class I had to think hard and it got me no where. After a few days of pondering, this is what I came up with, work hard not just in class but out of class. Learn, fully, what micro-lending really is, since my major is in the medical field, and put my heart in to everything we talk about and learn about. I feel that if I give my heart in to a project or a class it makes it so much more worth while in my mind.
One of the big expectations is keeping an open mind, a lot of times we all come in with the preconceived notions and our own personal opinions, I believe it is important to look into others ideas; they in the end might enlighten you. In writing this blog, I have come to the strong conclusions that my expectations for the class and trip fall hand in hand together. I would like to think that the ones that I have laid out above will not just account for me but for everyone in the class and trip.
I am really excited for this opportunity to go to Belize and help the people there. As of right now I don’t really have any concerns or questions, but I have no doubt that they will arise as we are immersed in the class, learning about the service we will be providing as well as the culture we are getting to know.
What will I bring to the table of Team Belize… let’s see like in the elf…I just like to smile, smiling is my favorite! :-) I will bring a positive attitude, an open mind, and different ideas to share with everyone! Also I will contribute my full and complete effort of making the trip a success!
I cannot wait to work with everyone on this Team! It is going to be amazing to see everyone come together, become friends and go out and make a difference in someone’s life in Belize! I am super pumped about everything that is to come with this experience! :-)
One of the big expectations is keeping an open mind, a lot of times we all come in with the preconceived notions and our own personal opinions, I believe it is important to look into others ideas; they in the end might enlighten you. In writing this blog, I have come to the strong conclusions that my expectations for the class and trip fall hand in hand together. I would like to think that the ones that I have laid out above will not just account for me but for everyone in the class and trip.
I am really excited for this opportunity to go to Belize and help the people there. As of right now I don’t really have any concerns or questions, but I have no doubt that they will arise as we are immersed in the class, learning about the service we will be providing as well as the culture we are getting to know.
What will I bring to the table of Team Belize… let’s see like in the elf…I just like to smile, smiling is my favorite! :-) I will bring a positive attitude, an open mind, and different ideas to share with everyone! Also I will contribute my full and complete effort of making the trip a success!
I cannot wait to work with everyone on this Team! It is going to be amazing to see everyone come together, become friends and go out and make a difference in someone’s life in Belize! I am super pumped about everything that is to come with this experience! :-)
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