The BF and I were watching "Frontline: The World" and one of the stories was about micro loans and Kiva.
Kiva is an organization that allows anybody to loan money to those in the third world to start or expand their businesses. The loans are done in such a way that a lot of people can contribute $25 or more to one of many different types of businesses. After the loan is set up, then the repayment terms are decided. Per the program, they have 100% re-payment. I was getting tears in my eyes watching the story.
So this afternoon, I have put in my contribution. I am helping a man in Uganda to buy food to sell at a local market as well as expand a wholesale store. The great thing is that there is no "service charges" and you can choose to receive emails about how the business is doing as well as email the person who you've supported.
I encourage you to do the same. My friends and family are going to get emails about this org.
1 comment:
Hi Christina,
Thank you for blogging about your experience with Kiva. You've given your readers a unique chance to connect to something worthwhile, in a practical way. You're an excellent example to your community! The lenders now have the option of making their profiles public, allowing others to see their loan portfolio, loan statuses and even a mini-bio/link to blog. This further strengthens the relationship between the lender and, for example, the business man in Uganda who can now see where the individual loans are coming from. Thanks for your support!
Regards,
Tim (volunteer with Kiva.org)
tim@kivavolunteers.org
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