Blog 5

I think that micro-lending could work in certain parts of the US. I see it working well in rural areas where small businesses are more likely to make a profit than in urban areas. I think the welfare system needs to be revamped in order make micro-lending successful. People rely on welfare sometimes rather than trying to better their life through other opportunities. This is certainly not the case for every person on welfare and many truly do need what the system provides but others are abusing the system. In Banker to the Poor it talks about how some micro-credit programs have worked, mostly in rural area like Indian reservations. While in the urban city it has been harder to get a reliable program started. In Louisville specifically, I don’t think micro-lending would work because we live in a big city and rely on bigger organizations for most of our goods because its cheaper. Started a small business would be difficult and costly depending on the area in which the business is located. Yes, the poor in Louisville deserve a chance to better their lives, but at this time I am not sure exactly what type of program would work here. I think the persona of people and the willingness to try to better their own lives was much higher in Belize. People we met just seemed more devoted to what they were doing and worked hard to get what they have. In the US, its hard to find people with that type of attitude. Most just want to take the easiest way out and not work to get what they actually need.

Blog 4

In Belize, the health of everyone is somewhat in jeopardy. They have an unclean water supply, meat is not the healthiest it could be, and the living conditions provide entry way to multiple bugs and bacteria. When working on the grocery store I observed the women cooking. They didn't wash their hands before touching the food and the refrigerator in the grocery was unplugged for pretty much the whole day while we worked, letting all the food in there spoil and I saw them pulling dough out to make tortilla before we left. This unclean preparation of food leads to the spread of bacteria and diseases. When talking to Dr. Kane and Dr. Cooper about the healthcare system and hearing that the only ICU in the country was in Belize City was shocking, considering pretty much every hospital here has an ICU. The living conditions at some of the client’s homes were very unsafe, especially for children running around barefoot. I know they don’t really have access to a good health care system so when one does get sick it hurts the whole family, as it did for the client that had to stop her business to take care of her husband. It was nice to see the team of medical personnel out at the market doing a free clinic for the people in Belmopan. I think this is something that I would like to do in the future. Maybe if Dr. Kane and Dr. Cooper take students done for a medical trip, I will be able to join them as an alumnus. I think that would be fun and interesting.