Los Angeles, USA

11/22/2014
Its a great privilege to welcome Nobel Laureate, Professor Dr. Mohammed Yunus amongst us on this
auspicious evening. I also feel emotional for I grew-up in same community, watching & getting inspiration
from you being an lconic figure and role model.
Todays societal Darwinism in vast & varied world is dauntingly complex. Across the socio-political divide the
pacifist left to the populist right, or say, bleeding-heart liberals to dyed-in-the-wool conservatives, all have
their ideas, but little that give effect. In patronizing way they often over-promise, but under-deliver on the
top of that poor are insufficiently loved and excessively criticized. For all practical purpose less fortunate often
feel disenfranchised, if not outright dehumanized, and they all look for way out, right there you came calling.
You are the proverbial Knight in shining armor for those diffident debutantes. Encouraging them to withstand
the challenge of human nature, surviving rough Mother Nature, reality of Moores law and Murphys Law.
Your financial engineering conveyed the message loud & clear that - Every life is more epic than what one
programmed to believe.

Dr. Yunus, you have indeed been a great visionary of our times. Originally a Professor of Economics, a civil
servant, and a social worker -- a pioneer of global Micro-Credit, practitioner of new Social & Economical order
for the less fortunate. The knowledge that you imparted, micro-credit that you practiced, the opportunity that
you unzipped as alternative reality all that demonstrates the great power of ideas. Idea of economics and
society for reducing the poverty for countless millions, enabling them to seek a better life. Social business as a
non-dividend company dedicated to solving human problems, and that ultimately contributed to Human rights.
Your signature project, Bangladesh Grameen Bank, the first bank in the world owned by poor women, has 8.4
million borrowers 96 percent of whom are women, many of them are destitute. Dubbed as the Banker to
the Poor, you have also set up many other enterprises that offer an array of products and services to the poor,
to achieve your lone ambition of eradicating poverty from the world, or to say, sending poverty to the
museum. You are an extra-ordinary Great-heart. Courtesy of you, less fortunate cant make a difference is
now an orphaned idea. So greater world recognized you in many different ways, including that of Nobel Prize
(in 2006) that transcends geographic boundary. Your positive outlook, refreshingly contagious personality,
enthusiasm, perseverance and depth of knowledge, a mix that is very hard to find, harder to leave and
impossible to forget.
Finally, we all now believe in classic mantra: All is well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be
well. With that, I would say, we all love you and proud of you.
Russell M Baker