Easter in Ordinary

Mature, public conversation about issues that matter is foundational for democratic society. I am delighted that Mark Zuckerberg's " A Year of Books " offers such an opportunity. To contribute to that dialog, I will offer commentary on each of the readings proposed by Zuckerberg. I take it simply as truth that most people, rich and poor, spend most of their time earning money, spending money, and worried about money. Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day , authored by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven, delves into the economic lives of the poor with the science of economists. Portfolios of the Poor assesses more than 250 financial diaries of people who live on $2 a day from South Africa, India, and Bangladesh. Their methodology is sophisticated. Their investment of time with these families is significant. Their treatment of these poor, more importantly, is profoundly respectful. They capture the thri...

Currently, I am seeking work. This period of time between my life in the Congregation of Holy Cross and a new labor has also afforded the opportunity to read. I have long been interested in micro-lending and the work of Muhammad Yunus. I had time this week to read two of his books: Banker to the Poor (BTTP), written in 2003, and 2007's Creating a World Without Poverty (CWWP). Reading chronologically, I began with Banker to the Poor . Briefly, Muhammad Yunus, a Muslim from near Chittagong in what was then the British Raj, earned a Ph.D. at Vanderbuilt University, taught in the U.S. early in his career, and returned to teach at Chittagong University after Bangladesh achieved independence. He rose to be chair of the economics department. Amid an enormous famine in 1974, Yunus "kept trying to bring the academic world and the village together" (BTTP, 37). Eventually, he discover micro-lending as a means to improve the plight of actual poor people he met. Muhammad Yun...