Earlier this year I discovered a charitable organization unlike any other I had seen. It’s called Kiva.org and it allows individuals to make $25 loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordable working capital for the poor (money to buy a sewing machine, livestock, etc.), empowering them to earn their way out of poverty.
It’s simple to do and for the price of a dinner out on the town you can greatly help someone in need. I made my first loan of $50 in February to a woman from Ghana who makes beads. She’s already started to pay back the loan. Last week, I decided to follow the food theme of this site and loaned again, this time to a woman (also from Ghana) selling food. We spend so much time talking about food and discussing gourmet ingredients that we lose focus on how much we have.
Nana is a 27-year-old mother, married with 3 children. She has had no education at all. As a young woman she began to prepare local rice for sale to the inhabitants of her community. Over time, she has enjoyed good patronage and therefore changed to imported rice since customer preference shifted in favour of that. Her patrons include little children and adults as well. Nana seeks the KIVA loan to put up a small shed under which she can serve her customers.
You can view my profile on Kiva to read more about these two women or to browse Kiva for others in need. It’s truly a great program and I encourage all of you to consider making a loan today.
