Kiva Update

Hey! Remember how I told you about Kiva, a website that partners with microfinance institutions? (There's a little widget over there to the right... see it?) They make it possible for individuals (like you and me) to work together to loan to small business entrepeneurs around the world

A Kiva fellow recently visited Resituta Bago in the Phillipines and posted this video update on youtube. Besides it being very cool to see Restituta in action, my picture appears at the end of the video alongside the list of other lenders that contributed to the $300 loan. (^_^)



Isn't she great? I wish I could try some of her food!

Here's the hard sell coming up... if you haven't checked Kiva out, I really encourage you to do it. You can loan in increments of $25, and when the loan is fully repaid, you can either withdraw your money or lend to another entrepeneur. Chances are you can find $25 somewhere in your budget (skip going out to dinner or a movie? hold off on buying that shirt/book/cd for another month?).

These small loans make a huge difference in quality of life for someone who has been struggling to get by. The people who use microfinance are folks who can't get a loan from a regular bank, since they are unable to guarantee their ability to pay back the loan in a way the bank will accept -- but Kiva's repayment rate is above 98%! Isn't that incredible?

We don't often think about the fact that those of us in North America are incredibly, luxuriously rich. If you (like me) have a good roof over your head and a front door, a few sets of clothes and some shoes, electricity, clean water, and enough food, you are wealthier than most of the world. I'm grateful that something like Kiva exists that makes it so easy to share the wealth.

Give it a try! And feel free to ask questions if you're not sure how to get started.