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Grea
t Pea
cemakers
Like Y
ou and Me
The accomplishments of great peacemakers are described below. Complete each table by explaining what
qualities you think the individual possesses, enabling him or her to work for peace.
accomplishments
Muhammad Yunus was born in 1940 in a village
When he saw how this tiny amount of money helped
near Chittagong, Bangladesh (then Eastern
the people pay off their old loans and enabled them
Bengal). His biggest influence was his mother, who
to start earning a better living, Yunus knew what he
always helped any poor people that knocked on
had to do. Yunus continued to give out “micro-loans,”
their door. This inspired him to commit himself to
and in 1983 he formed the Grameen Bank, meaning
ending poverty.
“village bank,” founded on principles of trust and
In 1974, there had been a terrible famine in Bangladesh.
solidarity.
Muhammad
Muhammad Yunus, now a university economist, led
In Bangladesh today, Grameen has 1,084 branches,
some students on a field trip to a poor village. He met
with 12,500 staff serving 2.1 million borrowers in
Yunus 42 basket weavers who between them had borrowed
37,000 villages. Grameen methods are now applied
a total of $27 from loan sharks who were demanding
in projects in 58 countries. Yunus and Grameen Bank
repayments with very high interest. Yunus lent them
won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
the money to pay off their expensive loans.
“Extreme pover
ty is
not something
qualities
consis
tent with
stable pea
ce. Pe
ople
need dignity
;
people need t
o
take care of their
basic needs”
accomplishments
Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) Green Belt Network, through which similar projects
in 1940. During a pioneering academic career, she have been launched in Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi,
became the first woman in East and Central Africa Lesotho, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and other African
to earn a doctorate degree. She was active in the countries.
National Council of Women of Kenya between 1976
and 1987. During this time she founded the Green Belt
The Green Belt Movement went on to campaign on
Movement, to mobilize poor women to plant some 30
education, nutrition, and other issues important to
Wangari
million trees.
women. In 2002, Professor Wangari Maathai was
elected a Member of Parliament in Kenya with 98%
Maa
thai

Her idea was to produce sustainable wood for fuel of the votes. She was appointed as a Kenyan deputy
and combat soil erosion, two critical environmental environment minister in 2003 and was awarded The
issues. The initiative has grown into the Pan African Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
“When I firs
t s
tar
ted
working with the
qualities
women… I w
as t
old,
‘you canno
t plant
trees if y
ou don‘t h
ave a dipl
oma.‘
I said, ‘F
orget it
:
you can!‘“
Resource B1 – Great Peacemakers Like You and Me
50
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