The Power of Small Things

Tom Bevan is a part of The Green Children opens in a new tab music group and foundation.  The Green Children plan to support Whole Planet Foundation opens in a new tab's project with Grameen Trust opens in a new tab in India with funds raised from their upcoming CD. As a young boy I’d often watch the early evening news whilst waiting for my favorite television show to start. I remember being shocked and confused by some of the harrowing images of human poverty I saw around the world.To this day I’ve never coped well with seeing these types of images. I believe in focusing on positive solutions and that’s why I’m such an avid supporter of microcredit.I believe that small things change the world and there is no better example than microcredit to support this.The pioneer of microcredit is Professor Muhammad Yunus, his idea was simple, give the poor a chance and they can help themselves. In 1976, he lent $27 to 42 poor Bangladeshi villagers. He later established the Grameen Bank, which now serves over 7 million women, all of whom have used their loans to develop income-generating businesses.Known as ‘the bank for the poor’, Grameen gives people the opportunity to use their ability and secure their own future.One of the biggest moments in my life came when I met my song-writing partner Milla. We worked on a project whilst studying at a music school in Liverpool and have never looked back. It quickly became clear that we had a shared passion for world issues and a determination to make a difference in any way we could. We were overjoyed to discover microcredit as a shining example of real positive development and embraced it immediately.One of the primary reasons for our enthusiasm was the resulting empowerment the loans had on women. After reading and watching all the material we could find, we felt compelled to travel to Bangladesh and see the process first hand.It is hard to describe the profound affect our first trip made. We were overwhelmed with the pride displayed by the women borrowers. Poverty was finally off their back and they had made it so. It wasn’t long before we returned to Bangladesh with a song inspired by the women we met. We traveled to the villages to shoot a music video in 100-degree heat, an amazing and challenging experience! The video will be released on Universal Records in 2009.Since then we have been doing our best to spread the positive message of microcredit through our medium of music. We have been very fortunate to travel to Africa, China and India to see the success microcredit is having around the world.At the end of 2007 we were honored to visit the projects of Whole Planet Foundation opens in a new tab in Costa Rica and Guatemala. The video above tells the story of this incredible trip, please share this video and help bring some positive news to others.I truly believe in the power of small things. We live in a world often judged by size and scale, but change starts with a small ripple of which we are all capable of creating!Please check out our website opens in a new tab if you are interested in learning more about our foundation work.  Help us spread the word - Become a Green Child Today!Tom BevanTom Bevan is one half of the musical group The Green Children. Tom and Milla Sunde established The Green Children Foundation opens in a new tab to support microcredit, education and healthcare. The Green Children are donating proceeds from fundraising sales and activities to further the positive contribution microcredit is making to poor people around the world.