n. 사업가
In 2006, Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, became the first conomist ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
worthy
a. 가치 있는
The fact that Yunus was an economist is worthy of comment.
concern
v. 관련되다
Economics has rarely been so concerned with peace.
committee
n. 위원회
The 2006 Nobel committee praised Yunus and his Grameen Bank “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.”
encourage
v. 북돋아주다
Yunus’s parents encouraged him to join
the Boy Scouts as a way to explore the world.
enroll
v. 등록하다
Yunus took the lesson to heart and in 1957, at the age of seventeen, enrolled in the Department of Economics at Dhaka University.
manage
v. 관리하다
He decided to major in economics so that he could help people manage their money.
eventually
ad. 결국
After studying in Dhaka, Yunus continued his education in the United States, where he eventually became a university professor.
turmoil
n. 혼란
Although he was happy in the United States, Yunus worried about the political and social turmoil in his home country.
declare
v. 공표하다
In March 1971, East Pakistan declared itself the independent nation of Bangladesh.
accompany
v. 수반하다
The war and a drought, with its accompanying famine, had devastated the newly formed country.
starve
v. 굶주리다
Villagers in Bangladesh were starving without food and fresh water.
trudge
v. 느릿느릿 힘겹게 걷다
Parents, with their barefoot children in tow, trudged along dirt roads toward nearby fertile hills in a desperate search for something to eat.
stool
n. 의자
Sufiya wove beautiful bamboo stools and sold them at the market.
loan
n. 대출
At the Grameen Bank, borrowers could take out loans of very small amounts of money at low interest rates.
precarious
a. 불안정한
They did not want to risk making loans to people who lived a precarious existence.
ridiculously
ad. 어처구니 없게
The moneylender lent her the twenty-two cents she needed to buy the materials to make the stools, but charged her a ridiculously high rate of interest.
debt
n. 빚
By the time she sold her wares and paid back her debt, Sufiya was left with only two cents, which was not enough for her family.
poverty
n. 빈곤
Ignored by the local banks and in debt, she
existed in a cycle of poverty.
be reluctant to
~하기를 꺼리다
The banks were reluctant to lend her a small amount of money.
sustainable
a. 지속적인
It would have been easy for Yunus to lend them the money they needed as an act of charity, but he realized that would not have been a sustainable solution to the problem.
self-sufficient
a. 자급자족의
He was looking for a way to make them self-sufficient.
launch
v. 시작하다, 출시하다
He decided to start a new bank that would lend money to the poor, so he launched the Grameen Bank in 1977.
microcredit
n. 마이크로 크레딧, 소액 대출
Providing billions of dollars in microcredit around the world, Yunus became known as the “banker for the poor” and has never stopped fighting for them.
solidarity
n. 연대
The system was built upon trust and solidarity rather than on written legal contracts.
mutual
a. 상호의
Yunus believed that by organizing borrowers into groups, he would create a mutual support system by which an entire group would be responsible for the success of each member.
microloan
n. 소액융자
In less than six years, Yunus was able to make thousands of microloans and supported the advancement of more than 28,000 villagers.
approximately
ad. 거의
As of 2015, the Grameen Bank had more than 2,500 branches, serving approximately eight million borrowers in Bangladesh.
overwhelming
a. 압도적인
Of the borrowers, an overwhelming percentage (97%) are women.
unprecedented
a. 전례 없는
More than 97 percent of the loans are repaid, an unprecedented recovery rate in any other banking system in the country.
branch
n. 지점
The branches have already lent the equivalent of more than ten billion U.S. dollars in microcredit.
advocate
v. 옹호하다
In doing so, they have advocated for and empowered the poor, especially women, who often have limited options.
guarantee
v. 보장하다
He still dreams of a world where all human rights are guaranteed.