`DECISIONS' BANKS ON BANGLADESH

Author: BY HAYLEY KAUFMAN Date: 05/04/2000 Page: E3 Section: Living
GO! THURSDAY Cambridge filmmaker Gayle Ferraro studied economic development on paper at Harvard, but saw its power at work in the fields of rural Bangladesh. A year and a half ago, Ferraro, a former WGBH researcher, traveled to Dhaka to document the work of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, a Vanderbilt University alum and the founder of Grameen Bank. Over the past 25 years, Grameen has extended micro-loans - from $20 to $200 - to 2.5 million impoverished Bangladeshi women. The effect has been nothing short of inspiring. In her new documentary, "16 Decisions," Ferraro follows Selina, an 18-year-old woman, who, like so many, was sent away to work at age 7 because her family couldn't feed her. Married at 12, the girl seemed destined to fall victim to the same cycle, but a small loan enabled her to start a business, keep her children, and, miraculously, enroll them in school. "16 Decisions" screens at the Museum of Fine Arts tonight at 6 and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Ferraro will discuss the project after both screenings.