Student Spotlight: Andy Cabasso

As told by: Andy Cabasso

As an undergrad at Northeastern, I was fortunate enough to take a seminar on microfinance. The seminar introduced me to this sustainable method of poverty alleviation, and I knew after the first class that I wanted to acquire as much knowledge as humanly possible on the subject. As a senior, I was able to develop a thesis and research the effects of microfinance in the Dominican Republic. For the thesis, I traveled to the DR to work with Esperanza International, a microfinance institution. I interviewed their clients - many single mothers, who previously were malnourished, had no sources of income, and were unable to send their children to school. Thanks to the newfound opportunity to access basic financial services, these women were able to feed and educate their children, providing them with a better future. This past summer, Northeastern sent 19 students and 3 faculty members to the DR to see how microfinance works, interview borrowers, and help Esperanza improve its services.

Recently, I was able to create a bank branch with Esperanza thanks to the help of the Honors Program and Social Enterprise Institute. Our bank is located in Ingenio Consuelo, a batey (sugarcane-growing community). On the Dominican bateyes, a population largely comprised of illegal Haitian immigrants works in the fields harvesting sugarcane for around 31 cents an hour. With microfinance, we can supplement the income of families living on the bateyes to help them earn a livable wage.

Today, I’m studying at Fordham Law School, very interested in international and human rights law. During my spring break, I plan on bringing a contingent of law students to the DR to work with microfinance institutions and Fair-Trade cooperatives. My ultimate aspiration is to work with foreign governments that prevent microfinance institutions from operating in their countries, and to ease these restrictions. Some governments are misinformed about the potential for microfinance to help improve quality of life for the poor and I seek to remedy that.

To read Andy's Honor Thesis about poverty alleviation in the Dominican Republic click the following link:

Microfinance Gateway>Poverty Alleviation in the Dominican Republic

Posted using ShareThis