Maumoon Foundation exchanges views with NGOs: 28 June, 2011
A delegation of the Maumoon Foundation of Maldives led by its Vice Chair Mr. Farish Maumoon, the son of the visiting former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and daughter Ms. Sonia Maumoon held a meeting with a group of NGO leaders at the Central office of the NGO Federation at Shyamoli in Dhaka on 28 June, 2011 afternoon. Wide range of issues including poverty, health, education, safe drinking water, microcredit, gender and social enterprise were discussed at length in the backdrop of long grassroots experiences of the NGOs of Bangladesh.
Accompanying the visiting former President of Maldives, who is the founder of the Foundation, the team evinced keen interest in what they called the innovations, wide and diversified experience and expertise of the NGOs in Bangladesh. Their Foundation, they said, would like to explore opportunities of cooperation with the sector and learn from the inner mechanism of the Bangladesh NGO sector which, they said, has made a difference in the lives of the poor.
Led by the Chair of the Federation Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, the chief executives and representatives of leading NGOs including BRAC, CAMPE, CMES, RDRS, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Padakhep, NGO Forum and RIC took part in the discussion lasting about two hours.
MF Repayment Schedule and Grace Period Revised: 11 May 2011
The grace period for microfinance loan repayment will be 15 days instead of 21 fixed earlier. The number of repayment of instalments for one year loan has been revised to 46 weeks instead of 50.This was decided in a meeting with the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) held on 11 May 2011 with the Executive Vice Chair of the Authority in the chair. The meeting was organised in response to the joint letter submitted by the NGO Federation, CDF and INAFI on 11 April 2011 to the Chairman of MRA/Governor, Bangladesh Bank urging to review some provisions of the MRA Circular of 10 November 2010 in the light of ground realities.A number of MFI representatives also took part in the meeting. The meeting also decided to further review the issue after one year.