Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus, a social entrepreneur and civil society leader, once said, "Poor people are the world's greatest entrepreneurs. Every day, they must innovate in order to survive. They remain poor because they do not have the opportunities to turn their creativity into sustainable income." Yunus is a man who believes that every human being, no matter their situation, deserves equal opportunities in life. He is a successful Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist, and civil society leader who attended Chittagong College and Dhaka University. Muhammad Yunus is known for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. After Yunus had been removed from his position at the Grameen Bank, located in his homeland, Bangladesh, he has been travelling the world in hopes of spreading his message. Important events in Yunus' life include the starting up of the Grameen Bank, Grameen Shakti, creating micro financing and micro crediting, and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. For someone to be considered a hero, qualities they should have are generosity and a good work ethic. This means that they should be able to help others and work diligently towards their goals. Muhammad Yunus is considered a hero for his selflessness and hard work towards eliminating poverty, therefore making him an inspiration.

Muhammad Yunus is selfless because he is constantly trying to find different ways to eliminate poverty and help the impoverished. In an article written by The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, the author talks about Yunus' most successful establishment that aided the destitute: "In 1976 he began offering small loans, using his own money, to poor village women who could not qualify for conventional bank loans, creating what has become known as microcredit or microfinance. His efforts, which expanded in the late 1970s and early 1980s, led to the establishment of the Grameen Bank in 1983. The concept of microfinance has spread to many developing countries, allowing some of the world's most impoverished people the means to improve their lives through their own initiative; the borrowers continue to be largely women" ("Yunus, Muhammad."). Muhammad Yunus is selfless because he used his own money to create the concept of microfinancing through the establishment of the Grameen Bank. The Grameen Bank was able to help the poor immensely, especially women. His idea went on to help other impoverished countries. His generous and helpful work towards the poor make Yunus a hero. Soon after gaining a successful outcome with the Grameen Bank, Yunus went on to create another scheme. "To help those on the very lowest rungs of the economic ladder, he created what are known as the 'Struggling Members' loans. These are given out to beggars to help them buy a product, like a hen whose eggs they might sell door to door instead of begging; this has also emerged as a radical but successful concept that has aided some 80,000 destitute." ("Muhammad Yunus."). Muhammad Yunus is selfless because he didn't stop aiding the poor after making the Grameen Bank. He went on to create the Struggling members loans to help even more people.  Yunus continues to create ideas to help decrease the amount of impoverished people in Bangladesh. All in all, Muhammad Yunus spends endless amounts of time helping others, therefore making him a hero.

Yunus is hard working because he continues to come up with more ideas to help the poor even after having great success with the Grameen Bank. The author explains Muhammad Yunus as someone who is persistent and determined to help the impoverished, despite being stopped by others: "In 2011, Yunus was forced to leave his position as managing director of Grameen Bank, despite the fact that he founded the institution. The reason cited by the Central Bank of Bangladesh, who initiated commanded Yunus to vacate his post, was Yunus's age. Soon after leaving Grameen, Yunus was named Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. As Chancellor, Yunus has agreed to advise the university in all matters, and work with the university to find solutions to many of the world's problems" ("Muhammad Yunus."). Yunus is seen as hard-working because he chooses to spend his time trying to  improve the world and change it for the better. Even when he is stopped from helping the impoverished, he finds other ways to provide assistance to them. He used his position as the Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University to advocate and find solutions to problems affecting people worldwide. This shows that  Muhammad Yunus is a hero because he persistently puts in hard work towards eliminating worldwide difficulties. The author of an article by The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia provides details about other ways Yunus has spread the concept of microcredit throughout the world: "More recently, in a scheme aimed at eliminating poverty, he has called for the creation of self-sustaining businesses whose profits would be used to aid the underprivileged. Yunus outlines this proposed new economy in his books Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism (2007) and Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs (2010), and he has created a number of such ventures in cooperation with several major corporations"  ("Yunus, Muhammad."). Yunus is hard-working because not only has he constructed the idea of microfinance, but he also spent time to write books about his ideas and visions for the world. His books have  helped spread the word about micro financing and turning the world into a place without poverty. Yunus' hard work towards writing these books and spreading his helpful ideas all across the world make him a great hero. Overall, Muhammad Yunus puts in a large amount of time and effort towards improving the quality of life for the poor.

Muhammad Yunus is seen as an inspiration for assisting others and putting tireless efforts towards his goals. Yunus was able to come up with many successful ways to help the impoverished, such as, the Grameen Bank and the Struggling Members loans. He earned many awards for his great accomplishments, including the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Freedom Award ("CV of Professor Muhammad Yunus."). To this day, Yunus continues to help improve the world. Muhammad Yunus is an inspiration because he has already achieved many great things, yet he continues to set more goals and strives to keep changing the world for the better. Muhammad Yunus once said, "Making money is a happiness. And that's a great incentive. Making other people happy is a super-happiness." All things considered, being a hero means to be dedicated towards positively impact others.