Better than handouts: Doing it for themselves

"It makes me proud to be a Bangladeshi" said an SMS that a friend received from Bangladesh. In case you missed it, Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank have been awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Microfinance, as pioneered by Yunus and the Grameen Bank, treats the poor as competent people who can make use of the same services as anyone else, (including credit and savings accounts) and with hard work, can improve their own lot.

That's development as it should be.