学友IPASA首届反贫困论坛闭幕式顺利结束

2009年5月13日星期三晚上学生反贫困论坛闭幕式在北京大学二教505顺利举行。主持人首先介绍了演讲者——沛丰公司的夏黛柏女士。她介绍了关于小额信贷的有关情况。
小额信贷可以分成两块。一类是政府，放非常小额的贷款。第二类是银行等金融机构，贷款额较大，但是很多银行都不知道如何进行小额信贷工作。而且在扶贫的过程中有很多争论，比如说小额信贷是否应该以盈利为目标等等。小额信贷应该是灵活多变的，根据各个地方的不同的情况来。比如说财务报表工作，这是在没有金融服务的地方推广金融服务。可以让农民放开他们的思维，这时需要我们去指导。小额信贷是需要资金的，小额信贷的公司也是要进行评估和分析的，不愿意将钱贷给不可靠的对象。银行也是可以有评估的。
夏女士紧接着又介绍了沛丰及其在中国的工作。
沛丰公司的总裁非常关心贫困人民，他碰到了尤努斯教授，获得了关于小额信贷方面的信息介绍，觉得这会对穷人大有帮助。所以决定开展这方面的业务。沛丰中国是在2002年于北京成立，目前是一个非政府机构，肩负着金融和扶贫的双重职责，主要是在西部，如云南、甘肃、宁夏等进行工作。现在正在进行争论：是直接给他们钱呢，要帮助他们建立事业？我们扶贫办认为，贷款这种形式可以克服直接给予资金的被动性，因为建议或指定的用钱方式可以更好地发展个人。当然，夏女士也强调社会保险不包括在其中。
夏女士在介绍的过程中询问中国政府是否支持小额信贷的发展，王曙光老师给出了详细的解答。根据介绍，中国政府整体上是支持小额信贷的，但是地方政府之之间的执行力度还是有差异的。比如说宁夏省的小额信贷发展情况比较快，而一些其它省份，如河南等就较为滞缓。目前来看，小额信贷公司的发展速度也是比较快的，仅08年就又新成立了几百个小额信贷的公司。
那么，沛丰如何展开自己的工作呢？
据介绍，沛丰的资金来源就是申请各种项目，通过寻求政府帮助等等。我们喜欢从妇女展开我们的工作，因为妇女更倾向于把钱花费在孩子和其它生产性活动上。夏女士给我们看了一张妇女的照片，照片上的妇女拿着一双鞋，灿烂的微笑溢满脸庞。她只是一名普通的农村妇女，上过职业学校，所以有缝纫技术。在小额信贷公司提供给她一份信贷之后，她说服了其它4名妇女，将她们五个人得到的小额贷款放在一起，买了缝纫机开始她们的事业。随着她们的不懈努力，订单越来越多。到目前为止，这名伟大的妇女已经成功培训了约一万四千名妇女，这也让我们看到了小额信贷的伟大力量。
其后，学友经济研究社代表发言。学友经济研究社和IPASA是相互合作，相互支持的。学友经济研究社主要关注的是实践方面，曾经到西部地区去考察，而且今年暑假还会组建实践团队去宁夏考察，为我国的反贫困事业做出贡献。
IPASA会长李俊也讲述了他的观点。IPASA是一个新成立不久的部门，很多事业都急需完善。在学术方面，我们会更加关注学术方面的讨论，在实践方面，我们今年暑假会提供30-40个实践机会，给北大的同学更加了解贫困问题的机会。我们会努力发展会员。IPASA学术部部长对整个活动做了总结。从百人反贫困大签名，到精彩的学术讲座，我们聆听，交流，合作，思考，这次活动促进了我们对贫困问题的认识，让我们对贫困问题有了自己的思考。
最后，北大的同学和夏女士在小额信贷方面进行了热烈的讨论。反贫困论坛闭幕式顺利结束！

Time-Sensitive: ASAP International Internships

Dear IPASA'ers,

The organization which we are affiliated with, the Alliance of Students Against Poverty, has a couple of international internship opportunities which they could provide for IPASA members to participate in. The opportunities are in Haiti (in the Caribbean) and Bangladesh. If you are interested, please email me (Jon)before the end of Thursday with an English copy of your resume, and a cover letter in English, expressing your interest in one of the opportunities. I will be forwarding them people's resumes on Friday.

Unfortunately, because we were late to communicate with ASAP this time, we will not have access to the partial fellowships which they would have provided. So, interested members would have to be able to pay for their whole travel to and living expenses in the country.

See below descriptions of the opportunities.

ASAP 2009 Summer Internships in Haiti

The Alliance of Students Against Poverty (ASAP) is a global campaign to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide by mobilizing the idealism and talents of today’s students.

ASAP knows that a united body of students will have the power to generate and implement creative solutions to eradicate extreme poverty in their communities and throughout the world.

Furthermore, ASAP seeks to inspire, educate and prepare young people to become the future leaders of civil society, government and the private sector, ensuring they put extreme poverty where it belongs—in our history books

ASAP is looking for interns to participate in its 2009 Summer program in Fondwa, Haiti. Students will work closely with this local community of rural Haiti and students from the University of Fondwa on development projects in the area of education, agriculture, and sustainability. In addition to helping implement key development initiatives, students will gain rich field experience useful in future careers in poverty-relief or sustainable development.

Students with a passion for working in impoverished communities are encouraged to apply. While there is no requisite amount of work experience, we ask that applicants be willing to adapt to changing environments and/or responsibilities as projects are subject to change with local needs. A certain degree of patience is useful and students should be physically fit for manual labor.

The internship will take place from June 15th to July 31st and ASAP will provide up to $500 to cover airfare or living expenses.

ASAP Internships--Summer 2009

Alliance of Students Against Poverty interns will provide a great service to ASAP’s partner organizations by performing ethnographic interviews of women living in extreme poverty and recording their stories through audio, video, and photography. Our partner organizations are some of the best microfinance institutions and non-profit organizations in reaching the poorest of the poor through livelihood development, skill training, and other preparatory programs. Not only will ASAP’s partner organizations then be able to use these materials on websites and in publications, but ASAP interns will gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the life of individuals living in extreme poverty. With this understanding and enthusiasm, interns will organize chapters, mobilize students, and spread the ASAP message in the United States and in the countries where they serve.

Interviews will focus on how our partner organizations have benefited the lives of the women. In order to communicate effectively with the clients, each intern will pair up with a local student who will serve as a partner and interpreter. Throughout the intern’s time in country, he/she will be responsible for keeping a daily journal of his/her experience. These journals will include the written story of each client, as the intern’s thoughts, feelings, and daily activities. The client’s stories and media files will be given to the partner organizations to be shared with donors as well as to promote their programs and client success stories.

In addition, ASAP interns will have access to the stories and will be able to share them with friends and family to educate them on the lives of those living in extreme poverty. ASAP will use the stories and journals collected by ASAP interns on our website to educate and inspire students throughout the world. Each intern will also be responsible for working with their local partner/interpreter to create a local ASAP chapter in the host country.

ASAP interns will be responsible for the following:

Pre-departure:
ASAP requires its interns to educate themselves about the issues of extreme poverty through reading online training materials and articles so interns are prepared to serve most effectively upon arrival to the country.
Interns must purchase security and medical assistance insurance through “International SOS”, have health insurance abroad, obtain a passport and Visa, and get vaccinations and a physical exam. Interns will also need to get malaria prophylaxis where necessary.
Alliance of Students Against Poverty internships are available for high school graduates that are 18 years or older.

Upon return:
Becoming involved in the leadership of a local ASAP chapter or starting a Chapter where one does not exist.
Presenting experiences and knowledge gained to high school, middle school, and elementary school students to educate them about extreme poverty and the effective programs and solutions that are reaching and serving the poorest of the poor.

Logistics and Requirements:
Students will be deployed in Teams of 2-3.
Internships will last approximately one month.
Students are responsible for purchasing airfare and travelers insurance.
Each student selected must attend a mandatory 2-3 day training at the end of May in Washington, DC, and will be responsible for all related expenses.
Each student will keep a daily journal of his/her experience.

Internship Host Country:
Bangladesh: BRAC, Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) Program, http://www.asap2025.org/page/bractargeting-the-ultra-poor

Qualifications:
International and language experience is a plus.
However, the most important qualification is a passion for ASAP’s mission and desire to be involved in the ASAP movement.
Undergraduate or Graduate student at an accredited University.

欢迎大家加入fund-raising~~

大家好！我是fund-raising部共同部长裘蕾洁~~在这里真诚欢迎大家加入我们部~~
fund-raising部旨在为我们的组织筹集资金，这些资金将主要用于为一些小额信贷公司提供进行小额信贷的资金，所以，我们会与国内外著名的企业以及各级政府部门打交道，通过他们直接或间接的获得资金来源，来推动中国反贫困的进程。
在我们部，大家可以获得与高层人物交流的机会，开阔视野，并且获得与各种人物接触的技能，可以说是十分锻炼人的哦~~欢迎大家积极加入哈~~

The Beauty of Microfinace

When people ask me about my experience in China, one impression stands out above all others: the enormous, largely untapped human capital possessed by the world's most populous nation. China's human resources are vast, but the country still lacks the soft infrastructure to allocate these resources efficiently to the cause of sustainable development. Nowhere is this gap more serve, or more evident, than in China's vast, impoverished countryside. Rural entrepreneurs fueled much of the growth of the 1980s, but in subsequent years educational, medical, and economic policies have made it increasingly difficult to access the vast, latent store of human capital among China's rural poor. I believe microfinance will be crucial to tapping this important resource, by giving the rural poor the freedom to improve their lives through creating businesses and, eventually, accessing educational, health, and other social services. The beauty of microfinance is that it invests in individuals- something China still does too little of, meaning a great store of human capital remains untapped.

By Scott Moore