It’s time for our monthly Kiva plug. I should mention, this is not a sponsored post. Kiva is just an organisation we, as a family, feel strongly about supporting and working through.
I sat down with Miss9 this evening to scroll through the available loans on the Kiva site and pick someone to help. Miss9 chose Madona I think initially because she liked her bright shirt and smile, but when we read Madona’s application and got to the bit which said, ‘it is hardly enough for food for the family’ Miss9 actually made an involuntary noise.
“We have to help her,” Miss9 told me. “We have to.”
We’ve found Kiva is a positive tool for teaching kids their privileged place in the world and reinforcing they can make a difference to the lives of others.
Here’s what Kiva says about itself and it’s role in helping alleviate poverty throughout this great, big, wonderful world:
“We envision a world where all people – even in the most remote areas of the globe – hold the power to create opportunity for themselves and others.
We believe providing safe, affordable access to capital to those in need helps people create better lives for themselves and their families.
100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes directly towards funding loans; Kiva does not take a cut. Furthermore, Kiva does not charge interest to our Field Partners, who administer the loans.”
So what can you do? Well, you can do what we do 🙂 We’ve opened an account with Kiva and through it we lend money in US$25 blocks to people in countries all over the world (we’ve helped people in 51 countries to date). Lots of people making these $25 loans come together to make up the total loan a person might be seeking. Because these are loans and not donations, the money is repaid incrementally over the term of the loans and we’re able to lend the money back out again. We started with three Kiva loans, but you can start with one – every single loan helps. Using our repayments and adding small amounts, sometimes as little as a dollar or two a month, we have turned $265 into $2350 in loans over the last couple of years.
Here are some extracts of what Madona’s Kiva application had to say about her:
“Madona has been renting out a commercial space, which is the only source of income for her family. It is hardly enough for food for the family. According to Credo estimations the family belongs to the subsistence poor category. Madona requested a loan from Credo to start-up a family business.
These rural poor people are regarded as “high risk borrowers” because of their low income.
With this credit, Madona will open a used clothing shop. She has space on the first floor of her house, where she will open a shop for used clothing. This will increase the income of their household.”
If you’d like to have a look at Kiva, and maybe even experience the process using a free trial they’re currently offering, hit on the Kiva link below 🙂
When not typing away over here and checking his stats every two minutes,
Bruce Devereaux hangs out at his ‘BIG FAMILY little income’ Facebook Page.
’raising a family on little more than laughs’