We help a 21 year old mother in Kyrgyzstan buy livestock

Our 32nd KIVA loan is going where none of our loans have gone before – Kyrgyzstan.

Now Kyrgyzstan, for those even less traveled than myself, isn’t misspelled. Apparently they had a pile of unpopular letters sittings around and thought they’d make their country’s name out of them.

Aigerim has asked for $750USD to help increase her herd from one to more than one. Here’s Aigerim’s story:

“Aigerim is 21 years old, married and has a 2-month baby. Animal husbandry and crop-farming are the main sources of income for Aigerim and her family. As of today, Aigerim’s farm counts 1 cow with a calf, 1 horse and a 1.4-ha plot of land where Aigerim grows potatoes and maize.

In order to further develop her business, Aigerim has turned to Bai Tushum & Partners for a loan of 35,000 som (KGS) to purchase young livestock. Aigerim is planning on investing the earnings from the loan into further business expansion.”

KIVA helps people to help themselves by providing the funds for small microfinace loans which they would otherwise be unable to access. We loan out in lots of $25USD (lots of lenders put together to make up each loan) and the money comes back in dribs and drabs so we can then lend it back out to someone else.

If this sounds like a great idea (and it is 🙂 ) then here’s a link to KIVA so you can see how it works for yourself. There are some free trials on offer at the moment, meaning you can get in and see first hand how the process works without using your own money. Link to KIVA site