Author: Tom

Born in 1940 in a Bangladeshi village, Muhammad Yunus has consistently challenged current economic theories and created new ways to empower the poor and underserved. After receiving his PhD from Vanderbilt, Yunus returned to his home country, Bangladesh, in 1972.  At the time, a famine was sweeping through the nation and Yunus saw the people… Continue reading The Father of Microfinance

In honor of Philippines Independence Day on June 12, it is important to look back on the trajectory of the Philippines. The history of the Philippines is marked by an uneven journey for self-determination. The first European to make contact with the Philippines was a Portuguese sailor in 1521 named Ferdinand Magellan who was exploring… Continue reading Brief History of the Philippines

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted major inequalities in standards of living and access to medical care between the global north and global south. The countries Wisconsin Microfinance operates in, Haiti and the Philippines, have had incredible struggles in fighting both the medical and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. These countries are continuing to deal… Continue reading COVID-19 and the Developing World

In this week’s blog, we are going to look back at the lives of some of Wisconsin Microfinance’s loan recipients in the Philippines. These two stories are representative of the stories of loan recipients from around the world.         Lezanne is the mother of one from Bohol, Philippines. She was working at the Carmen Multi-Purpose Cooperative,… Continue reading Sharing Stories