As of June 2, 2009, membership in our microfinance program exceeded 1000 members. A total of 1153 women in 44 Village Banks are now part of the Northern Thailand Microfinance Programme. These statistics are a 53% increase from our April numbers.

During April and June, staff had been busy expanding our operations into new area which including Mae Wang and Mae Chaem. The goal is to position ourselves in regions with high levels of ethnic minority (hilltribe) villages. Common Interest has a goal of reaching deep into the hill-tribe communities within the next few years.

Many hill-tribe groups are very skeptical of outsiders. Cultural and liguistic differences make it an even more challenging task. Our goal is to establish our programs in villages near hill-tribe communities. Over time, we hope that we can build trust and confidence so that we can expand into their villages as well. We are already seeing this happen in Phrao with several Lahu and Lisu villages. It is a slow but exciting process.

By the end of the year, Common Interest expects to have between 2000-3000 members. At the rate that we are moving now, we believe that our goal will be met.