Did you notice the Kiva ad on the right side of my page? I didn't put it there to earn any commission or anything like that. I stumbled across their site and looked into it. It's a non profit organization that helps impoverished people all over the world obtain small loans for business or home improvement needs. You can look through all of the profiles and pick someone you'd like to help. Then you donate as little as $25. After a bunch of different people contribute and fulfill the requested amount the loan is completed for that individual. Then over a predetermined amount of months they repay it and your $25 goes back into your Kiva account. At that time you can choose to help another person or withdraw your $25. Their repayment stats are very, very good. I contributed to a loan for a young man in Tajikstan (where the heck is that?) who supports his mother and siblings with a taxi service he provides with his car. He needed money to repair his car. It was so inspiring to watch his profile over a couple days time. People from all over the world joined in and the loan was fulfilled by the next day. What a great idea this program is. Check it out. What a fun and inspiring way to make a difference.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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2 comments:
I checked out this website the first day you put this on your website. I'm positive that this was the group that were on Oprah a few months ago. I was so fascinated by the idea of being able to make a big difference in a little way. I went through the site and picked out many who I wish I could help. I think Jeff and I will each commit to choose someone and contribute $25. to our person. That would be a fun family home evening. My girls love looking at stuff online with me. So.. we may have to do it!!!
I am so glad they were on Oprah. Many times I thought that Oprah should have them on. That's probably at least partly why they fund loans so amazingly fast. I love it. I think it is a great idea and it is rewarding for the giver too.
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