Microfinance/Microcredit

This is the industry I want to get in to as soon as I graduate (in the last post I spoke about cad/development, but microfinance makes the most sense to me). Most MFI's (Microfinance Institutions) are based on the successful model of the Grameen Bank (started in Bangladesh). The point of microcredit is to empower the poorest of the poor with a loan (which is repaid in 95% of all loans) to start an income generating business. Microcredit combines banking, entrepreneurship, and the social mission of helping the poor help themselves. I got a lot to learn to learn about the models and the industry, but I am excited. Boy howdy.

Posting Frequency

Just in case you have not picked up, I write a new entry about once every two weeks. It works for me, so stayed tune...

Life Update

Canyoning in the Blue Mountains over Easter break was amazing. First thought: I never thought that I would have reason to rappel down a waterfall... but I did and it was amazing. Second thought:the landscape was amazing and the pictures taken do not do it justice. Third thought: the water was freakin cold (and I was wearing a wetsuit with a set of thermals underneath). Time to expand on thoughts one, two, and three.

For a quick explanation of canyoning just use Wikipedia, but if you are too lazy. My definition:you bushwalk for a few hours to get to a remote location, put on your gear (wetsuit, helmet, harness), then jump into a cold river in the base of a canyon, next walk/run/jump/swim/climb/rappel in order to navigate down the river, eventually find a point to exit the water, then start the long hike back out of the canyon and to your car. On a few occasions it was necessary to rappel down a waterfall and let me tell you that freezing cold water pounding down on your face and entire body generally never fails to make sure that you are awake.

As mentioned earlier, the pictures do not do the landscape justice. During the experience it is also difficult to appreciate the beauty of the natural world. In the canyon you can be focused on safely navigating a white water section, double checking safety precautions, or preoccupied with how cold you are and daydreaming about how good the warmth of a camp fire will feel later that night.

Hypothermia is a real concern in canyoning, and we prepared accordingly. We knew that the water would be cold so we each had a wetsuit and thermals. We ate heaps of food and drank heaps of water in the canyons. But when you have a large group it takes time to rig up the ropes for rappelling and get everyone to safely clear the section. While one person is on the rope, the rest of the group is effectively staying in one place waiting (either at the top or bottom). You feel the cold the most when you are waiting. You try to do movement exercises and maintain blood flow, but it is not an equal substitute for being fully on the move and generating continuous core heat. That being said, everyone got cold at different point of the trip but no one came down with hypothermia.

Easter. I celebrated the Easter Vigil mass in the small country town of Blackheath. I rocked up in my rainpaints, fleece, and teva sandals (the only clothes that were dry at the time). It was strange to not know a single person in the church, but I found comfort in the familiarity of the liturgy. I think the universal aspect of Catholicism is freakin sweet. The structure of the liturgy has been consistent no matter where I travel: San Antonio, Nicaragua (in Spanish), Ghana (in Fante or Sissala), St. Louis (in English...), and a small town in Australia. So yeah, a unique Easter experience.

Life Updates:

So I am now a marketing intern at Crossfit Victoria. In return for my work, I will be able to train at no cost. This will probably be one of the few times in my life where my boss/es are in better shape than I am. I think I like picking unusual internships (last summer in Ghana and this summer in OZ).

I have an idea of what I want to do after graduation... So most readers of this blog will know that I questioned the point of my business education and thought a few times about dropping out of school and immediately doing work that would help people. Sometimes it feels like time spent in college/classrom is a waste and you are not doing anything/enough things of substance. While this can be true, college is a time to develop and mature. In the paraphrased words of Fr. Michael Himes (author of Doing the Truth in Love ), college functions as a time for spiritual and personal development so one can better serve others throughout his/her life. I decided to stay in school and complete my business degree because I saw it as the best preparation for service. I want to use my knowledge of business to help empower those in need.

I want to work in community assisted development/international development in Latin/Central America. Why? Everyone should have food, clean water, shelter, access to decent educaiton, and access to health care. It is important not to a "savior, know it all mentality" when working with disadvantaged people. Most know what they need and most are pretty darn smart. I want to become fluent in Spainish. That may sound selfish (and it is), but it is a life skill that I want.

Rest of life: Need to start working on my final papers for uni. Crossfit is good. Frisbee will pick-up soon. Starting to get into climbing again.

A side note, my top three books in life: Bible, Doing the Truth in Love, Hope in Troubled Times. These books make sense to me. They bring together God and the important stuff in life. So I would highly recommend these, and it will give you a better understanding of my thought process in life.

So yeah, that is my life in nut shell (or blogpost). Let me know how you are doing with things.

Easter Trip

So I am leaving in 8 hours to go up to the Blue Mountains (they are fairly close to Sydney). That being said I am writing this on my next door neighbor's computer and will probably not experience the joy of sleep for at least a few hours. Go on... (copyright@ Gabriel Murphy)

I am on his computer becuase mine is under control of some nasty spyware/ possible virus, so yeah I will deal with that once I get back.

So I have an essay proposal due tomorrow for my macroeconomics class on the topic of my choice. Luckily I have already done the bulk of my initial research. Now I just have to organize everything and clean it up. My topic: What are the negative effects of globalization on developing countries? The short answer: alot.

Condensed version: Prior to the last wave of globalization, developing countries began to shift their resources and focus on the production of a concentrated (1-4 in most cases) number of goods that had high export value (either raw materials or commodities, which are extremely volatile in price). Then other developing countries begin to invest in the same/ similiar goods because they saw that money was to be made. Then globalization enters the picture and the combination of over supply (simple supply and demand dictates that an increase of supply without an increase in demand lowers the price of a good) and opening up markets led the bottom to fall out of these formerly lucrative goods(no longer have any price protection). So these commodities now have dropped heavily in value. The developing countries that invested so much in the production of these economies can no longer sustain themselves (lower price equals lower revenue). So they turn to the World Bank/ IMF for loans.

The prevalent ideology was the Washington Consensus which included the conditions that the country fully open their markets and push towards privatization (very poor overview of Structural Adjustment Policies>SAP). The problem is that pushes the developing country into an even worse position. It exports its goods at a relatively low price and imports its needed goods at a high price. Then the country has to spend what little revenue it has on servicing the debt from the loan. This money is then not able to be spent on health, education, and infrastrucutre. The spiral continues and gets much worse. By almost any measure (appx 7 ways to measure income distribution) the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. Joseph Stiglitz, a former head of the World Bank decried these unilateral trade practices (starting in 2000).The World Bank has just released an official review of policy and determined that it needs to change course. In contrast, the IMF pushes for more of the same. So that is a brief overview. The big question is what is an effective solution to this problem, researching to see what others have already put forward and seeing if I can add anything useful to that.

So I have to actually right the proposal now and pack for my trip. Timer is at 8 hours, yeah I am a procrastinator.

Stoked for my trip. We will be doing a lot canyoning. Well most people are thinking what is canyoning? A sport where you start at the top of canyon then rappel, swim, run until you reach the bottom. This is my first time, but I am excited for it.

Then I fly back friday afternoon and then friday night I jump into start up camp. Basically, business people and programmers are brought together. In 48 hours, your team brainstorms, designs, and launches an internet busienss then pitches it to investors. So excited for that.

Crossfit has been going well. I found three churches semiclose to where we will be so I will be in one for Easter. Yeah I am going to go work now, cheers.

Happy Easter, please keep me in your prayers.