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What a great year for all of us in Grameen Bank ! What a great year for the whole nation ! What a great year for all of the poor people of the world. We got the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 !
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Thank you Nobel Committee for choosing us as the laureate for 2006. You gave a powerful message to the whole world - poverty is a threat to global peace; sustainable peace cannot be achieved when over a billion people are left in abject poverty; microcredit is an effective tool to overcome poverty.
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When we began our work in 31 years back in the village of Jobra, we had no idea that this would grow into a global movement. We had no idea some day we would receive Nobel Peace Prize. We got more than we ever dreamt of. Not only did I receive the recognition, Grameen Bank, which is an institution built with the love and dedication of thousands of its staff, and owned by over seven million poor borrowers, has also been honoured by the Nobel Peace Prize. It gives enormous pride to the people of Bangladesh that Bangladesh can create and run an organisation worthy of receiving this Prize.
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Year 2006 has become a historical year for all of us in Bangladesh. It has lifted the image of the country to a level which was not reached before. Now it is our responsibility to keep it there and lift it to still higher levels. If Bangladesh has already given leadership to the world in finding effective methodology to reduce poverty, now it is our turn to show that Bangladesh can remain at the forefront of reducing poverty. Not only can Bangladesh reduce poverty by half by 2015, she can eliminate poverty completely before most of the other nations. Let us make it our mission to make Bangladesh free from poverty very soon.
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We received thousands of congratulatory messages from all over the world when the Nobel Peace Prize was announced. Kings, Queens, heads of states, heads of governments, ministers, high officials, CEOs, businessmen, academics, journalists, global celebrities, microcredit practitioners, bankers, friends, people from all walks of life sent these messages. We are overwhelmed by the love and friendship expressed through their messages. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and sincere appreciation to all of them.
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We have come a long way. Nobel Peace Prize provides us with the most significant milestone in our journey. Today microcredit has reached 80 per cent of poor households of Bangladesh through the combined efforts of Grameen Bank and the NGOs; 7 million of these households have been reached by Grameen Bank alone. We wish to reach 100 per cent poor households in Bangladesh by 2012. Grameen type programmes have been introduced in at least 175 countries around the world. We are looking forward to the day when microcredit will become an integral part of the mainstream financial system.
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I congratulate all the poor women of Grameen Bank for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, for sending their representatives to Oslo to stand before the whole world to receive the prize and make Bangladesh stand very tall with pride.
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I congratulate all the staff of Grameen Bank for creating an organization which made the whole nation proud. You are great sons and daughters of this nation. You have made it very clear to the nation that nothing is impossible when young people like you make up their minds to make it happen.
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One more round of congratulations - Grameen Bank has earned a profit of $ 20 million in 2006, the highest ever; and for the first time in its history it is giving dividends (100%) to its shareholders. One more important reason to celebrate the year.
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| We promise, in the light of what Grameen Bank has achieved in 2006, that we shall march on to achieve more successes in the years to come. |
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Mohammad Yunus
Managing Director
Grameen Bank |
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