PROVO, Utah — Padma Venkataraman headed a lending effort in India before the term "micro-loan" was a buzzword, said Becky Douglas, founder of the charity Rising Star Outreach. Not only was Venkataraman a pioneer in the movement, but she offered the loans to a segment of the population believed to be the least likely to repay them.

"Nobody thought leprosy-affected people could take money and do something with it," Venkataraman said.

The daughter of R. Venkataraman, the former president of India, spoke Thursday at a David M. Kennedy lecture at Brigham Young University about her humanitarian efforts.

Creating a successful, sustainable micro-lending program in any population has its challenges, but helping those with significant deformities who have spent their lives begging was particularly ambitious. Many had lost fingers, hands and feet to the disease, making work difficult, Venkataraman said.

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