Lend $25; Change the World

Lack of money to loan is keeping poverty and hunger at higher levels than need be. This is what the World Bank discovered when they asked microlending organizations around the globe what most limited their ability to do good.
Kiva is solving this problem, brilliantly.

  Mrs. Awora's final report gives us an understanding of how modest economic gain has transformed her family and her status within it. (Go to the top of the page to see her photograph.)
   Women are often sought out as potential borrowers by microfinance organizations as a means of promoting health and education for the whole society, and not coincidently, steps toward gender equity.
  To see how Mrs. Awora's business has gained in standing in her village and the benefits that is bringing her community, read the whole of the journal entries.

Mrs. Athieno borrowed five hundred dollars to develop a produce business. She is a woman of particular courage. Here's her story. Read the next section, too, to understand why it took more than the usual amount of strength for her to risk taking this loan.

  Here's a good snapshot of how the Village Enterprise Fund, Kiva's local partner, works to help people become successful entrepreneurs. His final report is another moving account of what a large
 difference small financial accomplishment can mean for a family.

This is what I have to say about Kiva.

  Here are the pages where current entrepreneurs are posted. To take a closer look, you know what to do. If you decide to become a lender, Paypal will process your loan with no fee, so 100% will go to the borrower.
  The average wait for borrowers to have funding here used to be about 2 days, but since Oprah featured their work, a few hours seems more common. If you're attracted to a project, jump in!  
  There is new information on each borrowers page about the intermediary microfinance  organization. It tells about it's length of relationship with Kiva and it's lending record. This allows lenders to choose higher or lower risk loans, at their preference.

This Frontline video clip introduces us to Grace Ayaa, a peanut butter vendor and community organizer. We see her leading a meeting where the group decides who will get the next loans. We also meet the couple who founded Kiva.

The interview gives a look into the inner workings and future aspirations of Kiva.

Microfinance is not a panacea. Here's an overview that gives a bit of historical context and starts to address some of it's limitations. However, it offers great promise to allieviate significant poverty and hunger. I'm content to work with an imperfect solution rather than fail to embrace any solutions.
  I recommend Mohammed Yunus' Banker To The Poor, for an inspiring story of the development of microlending in Bangladesh. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for this work.

Post Script: This is a blog entry by one of Kiva's co-founders, Matt Flannery. It's a letter that came to the Kiva office from a visitor to Kenya who was checking out thier work there. He adds additional context.