Dhanbir Chongbang has a story like many of the farmers in the hill region of eastern Nepal. Dhanbir is twenty-eight, married with two sons, who also cares for his two younger brothers after the death of their parents.  Dhanbir’s rural village is poorly developed, with difficult terrain, no reliable transportation, no telephones, high unemployment, and where farming provides  the only opportunity for any certainty of income.  Dhanbir’s family operates a modest farm, growing small crops and raising a few buffaloes, pigs and chickens for food.  Growing spices is the family’s primary source of their meager income.  Dhanbir is one of a few farmers who received specific training from Mercy Corps on developing business plans, improving harvesting techniques and negotiating for better prices when trading with neighboring countries.  This agricultural and sales skills training has helped create jobs, increase incomes, and has provided these farmers the tools necessary to lift their communities out of poverty.  Building on this success, The Mark Victor Hansen Foundation in collaboration with Mercy Corps will support additional farming communities in eastern Nepal with these same tools in order to improve the quality and marketability of their ginger harvests.

In many countries, public education requires families to pay fees for books, tuition, school uniforms, and other expenses. The Mark Victor Hansen Foundation is honored to provide on-going funding to support the Grameen Shikkha’s Educational Scholarship Program in Bangladesh. This scholarship program supports the costs of education to hundreds of children annually, who may otherwise be forced to discontinue studies due to their families' extreme financial hardship.  The Foundation's funding covers these fees so children of microfinance borrowers can attend school and have a chance to break out of the cycle of poverty. 

Fardinul Islam is in the seventh grade and goes to Gala Gon High School in Ghatail, Tangail. Grameen Shikkha provides access for Farsinual to this educational system, which would be unobtainable due to the family's finances.  His father, Helal Uddin, drives a van and his mother, Firoza Begum, is a Grameen Bank borrower. Unfortunately, the family does not own any cultivable land and currently earns approximately forty dollars per month.  Fardinul is a good student, and is ranked first in his class. He wants to be a doctor in the future.  Choiti Halder is another student attending Batra Premchand Secondary School in Agailjhara, Barisal. Choiti is in the eighth grade. Her father, Nirmal Halder, is a fisherman and her mother, Anita Halder, is a Grameen Bank borrower. The family earns approximately thirty dollars per month. Choiti is also ranked first in her class, and also dreams of becoming a doctor. The Mark Victor Hansen Foundation is honored to provide on-going scholarship funding enabling children like Fardinul and Choiti to receive their primary school education in Bangladesh.    (Photos above do not reflect the children named in this paragraph in order to protect the identity of the participating children)