In order to expand microcredit services to the Poor. Grameen Foundation USA has provided $425.000 in funding to Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA), a Grameen replication located in Tamil Nadu in South India that currently serves more than 17,000 borrowers. A study supported by the Ford Foundation conducted on behalf of ASA, revealed the positive impact of microcredit on the lives of women borrowers. The following are the highlights from the study:

	ninety percent (90%) of women reported greater self-confidence and a greater ability to plan for their future. Sixty-five percent (65%) are now able to make decisions that affect their lives (allocation of household income, education of children, etc.). Only 23% made such decisions prior to receiving a loan from ASA - the remainder were entirely reliant on their husbands.
	in a nation where hundreds of millions of people live in hunger, 95% of ASA clients reported an increase in the amount of food they eat. In other words, as a result of ASA's services, over 16,000 families now have more food.
	ninety-four percent (94%) of clients who previously were not comfortable talking with people of other castes, can now sit together and talk to other community members regardless of their caste.

Overall, the study showed a substantial increase in the socioeconomic status of ASA members. To read the complete study visit the GF-USA web site at www.fusa.org/asastudy.

For more information's on ASA or GF-USA's India Initiative, please contact Sharmi Sobhan
Phone: (202) 628-3560 x104
Fax: (202) 628-3880
E-mail: ssobhan@gfusa.org.