Prof abandons US to shape future of poor Keralites Kollangode, Kerala: For 22 years, Dr Prabhakar was an English professor in America. But 11 years ago, he decided to come back home to Kerala and replicate Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus' Grameen Bank concept by giving collateral-free loans to poor rural women to take on poverty, one house at a time. "Those problems are over. Now, people take us seriously. We've established credibility," Dr Prabhakar, founder of SRI Grameen Bank, says. In six out of Kerala's 14 districts, the Grameen Bank has managed to revive traditional trade in an effort to ensure self-reliance and empowerment of rural families through the women. Prabhakar's Grameen Bank firmly believes that women needn't always be on the back seat. And that they can shape their own fortune. "Basically, women-oriented micro-credit makes sense because poverty always has a feminine face. Women experience poverty more than men," Dr Prabhakar points out. The Grameen Bank takes loans from commercial banks and gives them to poor women, without asking for any payback guarantees. Yet, every loan that has been given out has been repaid. The secret of success of SRI Grameen Bank is a weekly ritual no one misses. The women account for every paisa they have borrowed and repay the loan in 50 weekly installments. Every woman in these groups is collateral for the others. In fact, the Grameen Bank run by the women has completely changed the banking system in Kerala. This has even forced commercial banks to come to the doors of these women. (Dr Prabhakar can be contacted on 09447422920. Website: www.sriprojects.org)