The latter presents the community in a new light and may inspire creative new ideas that would not be visible if social entrepreneurs looked at needs alone. For instance, in researching the Bangladeshi villages, Yunus and his students found assets, such as the entrepreneurial spirit of village women, which helped them generate the core idea behind Grameen Bank. While the idea generation process should not be constrained by the resources readily available, understanding the tangible and intangible assets in a community can lead to the development of promising ideas. Though both McKnight and Yunus are primarily concerned with neighbourhood or village development, the concept of asset mapping can be applied more broadly to fields of activity, communities of practice, and even to specific organisations. For instance, Community Wealth Ventures (CWV) is a consulting firm that specializes in helping non-profits find new sources of earned income. CWV encourages organisations “to think about their assets in a new way - as valuable commodities that can be leveraged to create wealth.” Challenges or frustrations, or societal ills, become a training ground that fuels individuals to confront community ills and has a propensity to greatness if
Precious Nyarambi is the founder and publisher of Vessels of Virtue Magazine, and can be found here
thoroughly analysed and dealt with. One must not perceive challenges from a victim mentality but as a victor. When you go through a challenge and overcome it, you become a master of it. Yunus addressed the challenges the community faced, and a bank was formed. It is the hard days, the times that challenge you to your very core, that determine who you are and, in turn, improve the communities we live in. In the instance of Yunus, going through the challenge of a lack of support for women’s small businesses in India led to the formation of a bank through thorough research and community engagement.
Your perception of a matter becomes justified and
fulfilment and is not necessarily satisfied by money, but by lives being improved. The beauty with purpose is that once one starts to pursue it, it attracts resources towards itself. Things begin to align. I always encourage myself and other people that the most important thing in life is to just begin rather than contemplate it. As you begin to pursue, some energy is building towards your purpose and that decision. As you feel it, begin to work around it. Most times, you will realise many are mistakes, but that is how you begin to perfect them and have a tried and tested model that can begin to develop and sustain itself.
authenticated after overcoming a challenge. The many challenges
our communities face are opportunities waiting to be exploited by citizens, and
ultimately becoming solutions and revenue streams. I challenge us to be intentional in solving problems in our communities. Purpose will push you even when there are no profits being realised. Once there is a deep conviction and a clearly defined need, purpose amplifies and gives direction. Purpose is something deeper that adds to
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