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Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Spring 2005 : Indian Widow's New Opportunity

Spring 2005

In this issue... GFUSA-Jameel Group Collaborate GFUSA Receives Awards Indian Widow's New Opportunity Philippines Experience Microfinance UN Int'l Year of Microcredit 2005 Microcredit Summit Measures Progress White Paper: Tapping Capital Markets Paul Maritz Joins GFUSA Board Dominican Republic Partner's Success Health Education Taken to Clients === Back to contents ===

GFUSA Lending Partner Gives Indian Widow New Opportunities

At age 27, Gowramma has ambitious plans for the future, thanks to her involvement with Grameen Koota (GK), one of five GFUSA microcredit lending partners in rural India.

Gowramma, a widow with two sons who lives in the small village of Rampura, has used small loans from GK to steadily build a herd of goats to support her family. In rural India, a successful business selling livestock is a classic approach to help families escape poverty.

She also has borrowed from her women’s savings group at Grameen Koota to assure that her sons can continue their education – a major point of pride to her since Gowramma was unable to finish school because of her poverty.

Next, Gowramma plans to build her own home on a small lot her mother owns in a nearby village. It will be the first house she ever owned – and in fact the first time since childhood that she has not had to live in crowded conditions with relatives.

“Gowramma’s story is not unusual in rural India,” says GFUSA Program Officer Chandni Ohri. “She was one of the many people who live on less than $1 a day and struggle constantly to survive. But through it all, Gowramma has saved what she could with her women’s group at Grameen Koota. She has used a combination of loans, savings and peer support to further her dream to build a better life. She demonstrates what the human spirit, and the power of microcredit, can achieve.”

Gowramma’s life has been hard and included a bad marriage that ended when her husband died at age 30. She’s facing medical expenses for a son who contracted typhoid. Through it all, she continued to save what she could and work to escape her background as a day laborer.

Now Gowramma is looking forward to taking a new GK loan to expand her herd and grow her business – living proof that tiny loans based on the principles of the Grameen Bank are a powerful tool to overcome poverty.

To read about other borrower success stories by hard working women like Gowramma, or to explore the many programs we offer and support around the world, please visit our website at www.gfusa.org.

Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Spring 2005 : Indian Widow's New Opportunity