Kiva.org is a powerful organization – in the good way.
Kiva is a worldwide network of micro-lending organizations and lenders who are collaborating – sowing peace – in a very big way.
Kiva.org is a non-profit that is revolutionizing the fight against global poverty by enabling people to connect with and make personal loans—of as little as $25—to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. Most of the poor in
developing countries are self-employed entrepreneurs and a small loan to purchase business-related items such as sewing machines or livestock can empower them to earn their way out of poverty.
Revolutionizing Philanthropy
Unlike any other organization, Kiva allows individuals to fight global poverty in a personal and sustainable way by enabling them to directly connect with low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. A loan through Kiva is not a hand-out: it is a source of empowerment for both the giver and the recipient. Kiva users are not donors; they are lenders in “peer-to-peer” microfinance, a process based on mutual respect and trust. Kiva lenders see exactly who their money goes to, what the recipients are doing with it, and how it is making a difference. For the entrepreneur and their family, one small loan can change their lives—and their whole community’s future prosperity.
Read more about Kiva.org or join our Kiva Team
Join our Kiva Team and share your resources to sow peace around the world.
——————————–
I (aka. somethingelse) first learned about Micro Finance about 12 years ago, in Vancouver BC. I was a new entrepreneur, with lousy credit but a lot of desire & great intentions. The local credit union posted some community-based advertising (posters on coffeeshop walls) about this new thing called micro-lending… where you get together with a few other entrepreneurs and borrow a smaller-than-usual loan, say $5000, that you borrow together and share, and then payback together.
It sounded interesting… i went to a couple meetings. Due to my previous experience with credit, i opted out in the end, because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to meet the criteria, and I was skeptical of my ability to keep the financial commitment. That’s a big deal. If i couldn’t confidently borrow PART of $5k, what was I going to do when I needed to buy a car, or a house? maybe i’d never do those things!!! yikes. that’s hard on the ego.
So… fast forward 12-13 years… and i’m on the other end of the stick. Having now got home-ownership and car-ownership out of the way, owned a couple different businesses – one virtual and one bricks & mortar – and dealt with much larger sums for credit, i have a different idea about it all.
When I came across Kiva a couple years ago, I was very enthused to participate. At the time, tho, I didn’t feel like i could “afford” it. Silly, eh? Can’t “afford” $25 to loan to an unknown human thousands of miles away… and yet, without more than a couple moments thought i had no problem GIVING money to the local liquor store, or movie theatre, or restaurant (well, i generally got something in exchange, but nobody was raised out of poverty by the transaction.) I made my first kiva loan in early 2010. Since then, i’ve reloaned that same initial amount 3 more times, and added a couple more to the cycle. It’s extremely gratifying… to be able to help in such a small way, and know that it’s making a big impact at the other end. Figure, a $500 loan in bangladesh is on par with a $5000 loan here, economics being what they are and all.
There are many many people at home and abroad whose circumstances would change dramatically with just that small hand up to get their lives to a new level… and the emotional/intellectual impact that has is even MORE dramatic! The self-esteem and self-confidence that comes from borrowing and repaying AND successfully applying that loan to your goal by growing your business or improving your life is HUGE!
Unlike here in North America, where we tend to think of credit as free money, borrowers in developing nations are far more likely to treat it as gold, and “get” the value from it. The Grameen Foundation states, “Microfinance clients boast very high repayment rates. Averaging between 95 and 98 percent, the repayment rates are better than that of student loan and credit card debts in the United States.” (avg student loan repayment rate in the US hovers around 80%)
Microfinance is primarily accessed by women in developing nations. I’m not sure yet if that’s a purposeful construct by the Micro Financing Institutions (MFIs) or just the natural order of things. According to Grameen, “Why women? Studies have shown that women use the profits from their businesses to send their children to school, improve their families’ living conditions and nutrition, and expand their businesses. The fruits of their businesses not only make an impact on themselves and their families, but entire communities.” Don’t think it really matters WHY it happens, as long as it keeps happening.
What do you think about the concept of micro-lending? Share your comments, ideas & questions!
