I've been away for almost a week, and it seems, nobody missed me! But the first thing I did when I logged onto my reader today was to go through my favourite bloggers' feeds to see what I had been missing. Thankfully, the internet fiasco seems to have contained none. We struggle and we toil, but we post. It is an addiction. The blogosphere is like a junction of a happy family, every member of which, loves to have his/her two cents spoken!
December 25 does not just mean Christmas for Christians in Pakistan. It is a national holiday here because it marks the date of birth of the 'Father of the Nation', Muhammad Ali Jinnah. For me, personally, it calls for solemnity, everytime I think of my - now late - grandfather. They say, great people are born on the same day!
So, I'll just say a little about why I've been missing. If anybody here has ever wandered over to my profile, it has always been saying: "Not single, not looking. Unemployed, and looking." So yes, I have been chronically unemployed since graduation - partially owing to choice, and partially, to circumstances. However, thanks to a dear cousin (hello, Rabeea!), I've been given the chance of working on a project. It lasts for two months, but what is important is that it is! I had forgotten what organization in life was. I had forgotten the value of passing time meaningfully, and not just looking for endless ways to kill it, which, by the way, I have now excelled at, to the point of considering opening up a consultancy for the unemployed: of course, I'd advice them to stay unemployed and kill time. Killing is a human instinct - one just needs to send it sniffing in the right direction. Suggestions: time, mosquitoes, killers, poverty...
Ah, the project! I need to design a course on Microfinance for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. I've been told there's not a single one being offered on the subject at this time, in Pakistan. So it is exciting to be a part of this initiative taken by the Pakistan Microfinance Network. Has anybody here personally had any kind of experience in the area? It'd be interesting to hear you out.
And my back hurts now, after excessive hours of using the laptop with a bad posture. Aaaa-tichoo!
Copyright (c) 2008 Saadia Malik
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18 comments:
Woa! Congrats on the temporary job. I hope it leads to more jobs in the future.
I love the thought of microfinance and how it can make a difference. The first time I heard about microfinance was back in the 80's and I thought it was a stroke of genius, turned out the Nobel price committee thought the same some 20 years later.
Thank you, Kadri! I hope it leads to more jobS in the future, because my options are limited. I'm more of the work-from-home, freelancer kind, who likes to take up projects rather than permanent contracts. Experience, almost nil. Hence, the 'partially owing to choice' bit. :-)
When the word finance comes in, I feel like belonging to a different world. I love the prefix micro though :D
However I do know (for my curiosity) that Khalid Yunus did something in this field and won the Nobel Prize.
Good luck with your project!
You love the prefix, micro. Sweet.
Khalid Yunus. Sweeter.
You meant the man behind Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, is it?
Yeah :D .... at least Yunus to hai :P
And I love micro because of: microelectronics, microprocessor, microsecond, microcode, microcontroller etc.
Yes, of course. And I got the bit about micro. That is why we love scientists!
oh yes... i really missed you... the problem was that i was absent too... nursing my sick daughter... she had a cold... now i'm behind in the blog world... i'm catching up little by little...
love
So sweet. Thank you. And how is your daughter now?
Congrats for you project.
In India microfinance got a real boost after Yunus Bhai's ideas became popular world wide.Earlier such schemes were confined to women self help groups and some NGOs etc but now banks are involved and some universities offer courses in sustainable development,rural management and microfinance.
True. The Grameen model seems to have inspired many; and the Nobel Prize helped bring microfinance into the limelight. Could you suggest which universities in India offer good courses on the subject?
Will try and send you the links soon.
IFMR-INSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH
www.ifmr.ac.in/
Try this link
Many main stream MBA programs also offer microfinance as a subject I am told.
http://ifmr.ac.in/cmf/courses_workshops.html
http://ifmr.ac.in/cmf/courses_workshops.html
Thank you so much Vandana. Got your email too!
So, I did end up posting multiple messages.LOL
Hope some of the links help you find some useful info.
hi saadia!
great blog... i recently met Dipal Chandra Barua who's established Grameen Shakti in Bangladesh- a synergy of microfinance with sustainable energy, you can check it our here: http://www.gshakti.org/
good luck!
Gaia, that is awfully sweet of you. Thanks a lot!
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