Loans that Change Lives!
My Son and I were given a great gift this Christmas from my mom. She gave us a donation gift certificate for the lending organization Kiva.The gift allowed my son and I to choose people from around the world to lend money to in an effort to further their business aspirations. The interesting thing about this concept is that they will in time pay back the loan. No handouts. Help people help themselves. My son and I chose together how much we would loan(minimum $25 dollars). This gave my son a great feeling of empowerment to be able to help people. Check out the website to see more info. You will get your donation back. After you get your donation back from the organisation you can choose to be repaid or re-lend the money! If you are interested in donating, press the 'lend' button on the kiva website to see who needs money. This is a great thing! Here is the link.Info from Kiva website:
Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Pendo Luisi, 27 years old, borrowed $175 to open a cafe in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.
Kiva was born of the following beliefs:
People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.
Kiva promotes:
Dignity: Kiva encourages partnership relationships as opposed to benefactor relationships. Partnership relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect.
Accountability: Loans encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.
Transparency: The Kiva website is an open platform where communication can flow freely around the world.
As of November 2009, Kiva has facilitated over $100 million in loans.
