I visited a rural Bangladesh village as an unfamiliar 17 year old Chinese-American girl, and it completely changed the way I understood poverty.

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This summer, I came to Bangladesh for the first time to intern at Grameen Bank. I learned and observed the process of “group lending” and was fascinated by the bank’s ability to provide loans without traditional collateral. Seeing women build businesses and support their families through microfinance challenged my previous assumptions about poverty.

 

Part of my internship was going on a field visit to a village in Bangladesh, and I had the opportunity to visit the outskirts of Bogura, about five hours from Dhaka. As part of this field visit, I visited every borrower type that existed in this area, including a new entrepreneurship loanee, a higher education loanee... but the most memorable one was the woman we met for the struggling members loan.

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To provide some context, this loan targets individuals identified as beggars or those living in helpless or inhuman conditions. It is interest-free and has no repayment schedule. Repayment depends entirely on the borrower's own capacity and willingness.

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The woman we met was defined as one of these “struggling members” of society. Her right hand was paralyzed, making it impossible for her to work or start a business. Her husband had passed away, and her son had only completed Class 3 because her family could not afford further education. She lived alone under a fragile tin roof that barely stood straight, surviving by going door to door to ask for help. Grameen Bank had provided her with a 5,000 taka grant, winter blankets, and some financial support, but these interventions could not overcome many of the deeper barriers surrounding her life.

 

Seeing her situation left me speechless. I had studied poverty through textbooks at school, but I had never seen how real social circumstances, health, education, and economic opportunities affected a real person’s life. My mother and I decided to give her 2,000 taka to support her immediate needs, but of course, individual generosity could probably only provide her with temporary relief.

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This field visit remains one of the most memorable experiences from my time in Bangladesh, and I give huge credit to Grameen Bank for giving me the opportunity to broaden my perspective. I realized that a person's circumstances, perhaps influenced by disability, education, and social isolation, often require more than temporary financial assistance. Through a conversation with my supervisor, I learned that there are so many more people facing similar issues around the country, and this made me feel very helpless.

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My time in Bangladesh did not give me answers, but it gave me better questions, and those questions continue to shape how I think about poverty and development today. I hope this story offered you a new perspective on poverty and the realities many families in Bangladesh face.

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If you'd like to learn more about her story and the work of Grameen Bank, I invite you to watch the documentary I made during my internship!