Grameen Foundation : Get involved : What Friends are Saying : The Tiens' Story
Alan and Mae-Ling Tien's Story
We hope this event will be the seed for community involvement in microfinance in China.My wife Mae-Ling and I had been donating to Grameen Foundation for several years, always requesting the funds to be used in China. In response to our first donation, Alex Counts (President of Grameen Foundation) actually responded himself. Since then, Grameen Foundation has been very proactive in contacting us whenever the organization has visited China.
During Grameen Foundation’s last visit, we sat down for coffee and brainstormed different ways we could help. One of the ideas was to involve the Shanghai expatriate community because it’s a very tight group who we believed would be very interested in learning more about this Nobel-Prize winning idea, especially as it relates to where they live.
This idea gathered steam when we found out that Alex would be visiting China and could be the guest speaker. We rallied the various ex-pat organizations and magazines/newsletters to promote the event. We also found a suitable location to hold about 100 guests. As the day drew nearer, we were able to find companies willing to donate money or goods, even one who gave 6 cases of wine! With the help of Grameen Foundation, we found volunteers to manage different aspects of the event logistics, such as registration. Finally, the day came and we ended up having a packed house for both lunch and dinner. The enthusiasm was tangible. We hope this event will be the seed for community involvement in microfinance in China.
See Susan's Story for more information on Grameen Foundation volunteers in Shanghai and write to china@grameenfoundation.org for more information on how you can get involved.
Grameen Foundation : Get involved : What Friends are Saying : The Tiens' Story
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
+1-202-628-3560 www.grameenfoundation.org
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