Hi folks, this week we are meeting at Hugos in Tynemouth, meeting from 8.00pm. This weeks reflection comes from Martin.
Shared Interest: the Art of Enabling
Hot topics’ in recent years in the news have included:
- The environment and threats to it.
- A decade of austerity after the Lehmans-triggered crash (we’ll leave a critique of free capitalism for now!)
- The Brexit debate.
- Mental health issues.
- The Wonga debate.
I’ll venture that they may be all interconnected by the ideas of responsible human flourishing, living in community (local and global), and use of resources. [You may make your own connections, I’ll not labour it!]
Into that mix, may I introduce the work of ‘socially-responsible’ banking, which might be thought of as international relatives of Credit Unions. Websites of two examples (with which I am involved) are below:
In contrast to ‘giving to charity’, these organisations function as banks which lend to people/groups, often in ‘developing’ nations, to ‘pump-prime’ businesses with small loans. These may be to purchase equipment such as a sewing machine, or farm tools, or to fund training for new skills.
The donor accepts that interest’ (which would normally accrue in a bank account) may be forfeited, but because of the shared risk of many loans capital is fairly secure. Thus one can loan to enable others to flourish by using their skills: a mutual use of ‘talents’. This seems to me a responsible use of ‘spare resources’, and a small contribution to global neighbourly-ness. Does that make sense?
Martin Hood
This post is written by one of our many friends. At BeachcomberFX we love to hear what others have to say and are always on the lookout for people who want to share their thoughts or stories with us.