Activity Description: Grameen Bank, pioneer of the village phone model in rural Bangladesh, has recently set its sights on improving the condition of the thousands of rural beggars with little or no means of making a livelihood. The new project makes loans of mobile phones and airtime to beggars as a means of generating additional income. The cost of the mobile phone is 8,500 taka (US$143), repayable over two years in interest-free installments. Airtime, which subsidized by the bank, costs 152 taka (US$2.57) per month. Grameen also provides 500 taka (US$8.46) to some beggars so that they can sell various sundries on the street. Any additional loans carry 10 percent interest. The program targets rural beggars rather than urban ones, because rural beggars have lower average incomes. Grameen Bank hopes that, armed with the tools to make a living on their own, beggars will give up their old occupation.