Continuing from the above excerpt:

She told us that her husband became jealous when she joined Pro Mujer [a microloan co.], and wanted her to quit. But her daughter and son-in-law defended her. “My husband said, ‘How is it possible that there is a group that allows a woman to feel so independent? What is this group doing?’ ” She laughed. “It’s the machismo—they want a woman here,” she said, pointing to her knee.

She smiled even more broadly, looking around the room at her admiring guests. “I wish my husband could be here, to see me being interviewed,” she said.

An interesting note is that a large percentage of those loans are made out to women. The key to moving economies forward is women and further educating women in impoverished countries.