By Nava J. Thakuria
The lone Nobel laureate of Bangladesh, who is popularly known as banker to the poor, Professor Muhammad Yunus has been awarded with Karl Kübel Prize of Germany for his extraordinary and multifaceted commitment to families all over the world. The Karl Kübel Foundation for Child and Family honoured the Bangladeshi economist, who conceptualized the small loans to women borrowers without any collateral, with the prestigious award in Bensheim on 30 September 2022.
“Prof Yunus had made it possible for the children and families of his female customers to lead a better life. He is truly a game changer and hope creator,” said Dr Kerstin Humberg of Karl Kübel Foundation, adding that the creator of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh is a great source of hope in times of global crises spanning from the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming to new wars.
Pointing out parallels between philanthropist Karl Kübel and Muhammad Yunus, Dr Humberg stated that both pursued social goals through entrepreneurial means as early as the 1980s and deliberately focusing on helping people to help themselves. Yunus and Kübel are pioneers in entrepreneurial development cooperation, she added.
Founded in 1972 by entrepreneur Karl Kübel, the well-known foundation for children and families, works according to the principle of helping people to help themselves and supports disadvantaged people in Germany and abroad. Headquartered in Bensheim, the foundation has been supporting children and their parents worldwide for the last 50 years.
Speaking to this writer from Dhaka, Prof Yunus reiterated that poverty must vanish from society, and it should be taken to the museum so that the coming generation can study various issues related to poverty in their classrooms’. If the human race can develop so many things with modern technologies, it can definitely create a better world for the millions of poverty-stricken families, if it wants.
- The writer is a northeast India-based senior professional journalist
