Helping Others

A lot of us are compassionate people who would like to help others in need. Still, news clips of Darfur and Indonesia seem far away and unreachable. Even if we donate money or time to the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders, will it really get there?

Recently, there was an organization spotlighted on Oprah which hopes to help people in poor country help themselves and teach them the principles of capitalism at the same time. The concept is microfinance. Lending people in poor countries small amounts of money to start a business or improve upon their existing businesses. The organization is www.kiva.org. They work with local people across the globe granting loans of usually $1,000 or less. When you click on the website, each person requesting a loan has a photo, a biography, and the amount of time they need to repay the loan. (This is usually about a year.) For us, we make a loan of $25 to the person we hope to help. A team of people here in the U.S. all making $25 loans eventually makes up the total amount requested. You receive periodic e-mails from the business owner on how things are going with the business while he or she is paying back the loan. When your loan is repaid at the end of the term, you can choose to take your $25 back or reinvest it with another person who needs a loan. By making a loan rather than a donation, it makes these men and women entrepreneurs. The husband and wife who started this organization met while serving in the Peace Corps in Africa. They saw first hand how a small amount of money could change the lives of ordinary people in third world countries and decided to do something about it. It is really a revolutionary concept and $25 or $50 is an amount we can all afford to part with for a short time. The other important portion of this project is the empowerment of women. Kiva provides loans in many countries such as Afghanistan, Azerbijan, Cambodia, and other nations where women have not traditionally been business owners. By bringing women to the global table, we only make society more equal and progressive for all.

Visit www.kiva.org for more info and I hope you have all a great weekend. Cuidate.