PROVO — The first time Muhammad Yunus met Brigham Young University students at a microcredit conference, professors say the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner was shocked at their interest.

"He was blown away that we were there," said Warner Woodworth, a BYU professor of social entrepreneurship. "All these ... kids, none of whom had been to Bangladesh. These students had ... their eyes wide open, saying, 'We want to help do this. We believe in changing the world.' He was blown away by that."

That was the start of a beautiful relationship between Yunus, the pioneer of microcredit, and eager students at BYU, Woodworth said.

Yunus founded the Grameen Bank, which gives small loans to impoverished women, enabling them to start their own businesses without having to take loans from loan sharks and pay astronomically high interest rates, Woodworth said.

Loans range from as small as $15 to as large as $300.

To date, the Grameen Bank has loaned nearly $5.72 billion — with a 99 percent repayment rate.

Since their first meeting in the late 1990s, Woodworth and his students have worked with Yunus at branches of the Grameen Bank, hosted him during multiple visits to the university and gleaned wisdom from his approach to ending poverty.

They've even created similar service projects, reaching out to help at Guatemalan villages and Philippine fishing ports.

Last summer, a group of 91 students traveled to Indonesia for five months of work, rebuilding tsunami-stricken areas. This summer, another group visited Ghana to build schools and work in orphanages.

These projects begin with basic humanitarian aid, then grow to allow the creation of village banks, micro-loans and, hopefully, financial stability.

"Microcredit is empowering the individual to be in control of their (life)," said Sarah Carmichael, a graduate student and executive director of Empowering Nations, a nonprofit organization created by BYU students and faculty. "Instead of us coming in and saying, 'We have the answer,' (We say), 'Here's a program, here's something we can do to help you.'

"All we're doing," she continued, "is providing kind of the help and they're running with it. It's amazing what just a small amount of money does for people in other countries."

BYU has established 16 nonprofit organizations over the past 15 years that work in poor villages and communities to establish microcredit programs and provide education, Woodworth said. They've also handed out 460,000 loans for a total of almost $8 million.

Much of the loan money came from donations from BYU alumni and affluent community members who wanted to be involved.

"I've said for years (Yunus) is the Gandhi of the modern world," Woodworth said. "He doesn't take a vow of poverty ... but he lives on a few hundred dollars a month."