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DHAKA: Former interim government chief Dr Muhammad Yunus has received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award at a grand ceremony held at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, yesterday. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the award to the Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank.
Four people were honoured with the award this year. They include Reema Nanavaty, director of India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and fashion designer Tory Burch, founder of the Tory Burch Foundation. Muna Sukhtian, board chair of Jordan’s Microfund for Women, received a special Georgetown Ambassadors Award.
Around 400 guests, including ambassadors from about 25 countries, entrepreneurs, university faculty members and researchers, attended the ceremony at Gaston Hall at Georgetown University.
The audience rose to its feet and applauded as Yunus’s name was announced.
Clinton said, “I have personally seen the work of Grameen Bank. The way women have become self-reliant and ensured their own security and empowerment is extraordinary. Dr Yunus has spread his work around the world, not just among women in Bangladesh.”
In his speech, Yunus said, “The event you have organised here will send an important message to Bangladesh. It will inspire Grameen families. Thank you very much for encouraging them.”
He added, “We have focused on women so that they can use their own strength, take responsibility for their lives and change their families’ circumstances. In this way, one family after another has been transformed—not just a few families, but millions of them.”
Yunus said another new element had been added to this long journey: entrepreneurship. The children of loan recipients were growing up but were also looking for jobs.
“We have told them to repeat this again and again: ‘We are not job seekers; we are job creators.’ To create employment, you need to come up with an idea. What kind of business do you want to pursue? Build your own business,” he said.
In his address, Yunus also discussed social business, initiatives in healthcare, and the goals and objectives of Grameen University. Source: Agencies.
