Natalie Portman Helps Poor Women
Natalie Portman is endorsing "life-changing" micro-loans for the world's poorest women.
The 'V for Vendetta' actress has been working with FINCA International, an organisation which gives small loans to impoverished people in developing countries, and is fully behind the project.
Natalie, 25, told US TV show 'This Week': "I have met mothers younger than I am who were forced to work in poor conditions for low pay because that was the only job they could get.
"Getting this loan enables them to start their own business out of their own house and be with their children. It changes the whole system.
"If a woman can't tell her child, 'I can feed you tomorrow, I can pay for your school', then what happens? What do they do? What do they choose?
"It's really trying to reach the poorest of the poor and offering banking services to them."
1 Comments:
I hope there will be serious regulation of this concept for her sake.
The poor are notoriously fleeced when it comes to "loans for the poor". (think "rent to own" furniture/appliance stores and HUD loans, for example) The poor are hit with outrageous rates of interest, fees, add ons etc. to the point where taking the money is heavily outweighed by the consequences and costs of borrowing it.
Who or what organization will oversee this? Who will have the power to regulate these loans? What will happen when unscrupulous lenders in third world countries end up taking what very little these people have left in repayment. how will undscrupulous collection pratices be monitored and prevented. Will unmangeable debt drag them further into devastating poverty?
This concept could backfire BIGTIME.
I think she should think twice before signing on to this one. It could end up being a fiasco, think "child sweat shop"
When things go south for this new idea, she will be blamed for sure. It could be a complete fiasco. Did she consider any of these issues. Do any of these celebs have attorneys or managers??
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