Scholarships and Higher Education Loans

      I had the opportunity to interview both a Grameen Scholarship recipient and a Higher Education loan recipient. The scholarship recipient was a 19 year old girl named Runa who was currently in her first year of university studying botany. Her mother was a member of Grameen Bank, which allowed her to apply for the scholarship. Grameen is paying for her school for the first year and a half and the higher education loan program is open to her after that if needed. She is the first one in her family to attend university and her mother and father are both proud of what their family has accomplished. She is currently applying to attend the new Grameen Nursing school where Grameen will be giving free nursing training to borrowers' daughters that are accepted into the program.

            The Higher Education Loan recipient I met was a 21 year old named Mahmudal Hossain. He is currently in his third year of medical school. His plan is to finish medical school, then work in the city for a few more years until he feels his medical training is complete and then move back to his home village to fulfill the need for a village doctor. He talked about his father’s influence on his career choice and how important it was to be able to serve his community to the best of his ability. When asked about how the Grameen loan has affected his life he responded, “Grameen Bank was the only thing I had to rely on to continue my education. Without the Grameen loan I couldn’t go to medical school, and without this medical training, I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my father’s dream for me to help my family and the people of our village.”