Kiva (www.kiva.org) is one of those actionable ideas that I fell in love with when I first heard about it early this year. It’s simple, yet it can be life-changing.
If you’re not familiar with Kiva, it’s a non-profit organisation that allows anyone to lend money to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. Lenders can choose specific individuals/entrepreneurs based on Kiva’s listings.
And yes, you don’t need gobs of money to help a fellow entrepreneur in a struggling country. You can lend as little as $25, to make a difference in someone’s life and help people out of poverty.
Kiva works with various Field Partners, who look for deserving individuals trying to find a way to make money in their chosen businesses around the world. And, it can about any industry, doing any type of work to make a living – farming, baking, or sewing. Once the individuals start paying off their loans, lenders can get their money back too.
I’m highlighting Kiva today, as part of Blog Action Day ’08. And, as part of this event, I would like to donate a $25 Kiva Gift Certificate to a JMMO reader who wishes to be part of the solution to poverty as well.
To be eligible to receive the gift certificate, just leave a comment in this post with the answer to this question: “What does poverty mean to you?”
Also See:
- b5media Team @ Kiva – Join the team and make your contributions count.
- My Lender Page – This is where you’ll find me on Kiva.
Image source: Kiva.org
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Hi Shai,
See we both went down the same path. Why I love Kiva is that it empowers the individual which in turn can take the whole family out of poverty. I also found 2 more micro lending organizations http://shrunklink.com/bdbi on the same principle and in different countries.
So what does poverty mean to me? Poverty to me is not having food, shelter or clothing, not having health or education. Poverty can also be about your thinking- is it poor or is it abundant?
Thanks for asking
Suzie
Poverty means not having enough to meet the needs of your family. It does not mean you don’t have an iPod or that your shoes come from K-mart. It means your family doesn’t have a place to lay their head or food to fill their stomachs.
I believe the word “poverty” should be stricken from our language. If everyone who has been fortunate enough to have their needs met gave a little of what they have to help others, we would have no use for the word.
I agree, Rachel. In our society where we have everything in abundance we lose sight of what poverty truly means.