Kiva

I got this site from my daughter's blog this am. Kiva is an organization that connects people willing to make small loans to people in developing countries in need of business loans. She had loaned $25 last spring and it had recently been repaid. The people can borrow interest-free to fund start-up small enterprises. I am going to loan $25 to a pig farmer in Cameroon who is 55 and has five children to feed. He will raise food, sell the manure to farmers etc. Many times the poorest pay exorbitant usary interest to loan sharks which worsen their economic condition. This is easy for me to do and may make a huge difference in someone's life. It is good to give to people, but it is possibly more empowering for them to receive a loan and pay it back. There have been many stories of an enormous lift to people's lives when they have gotten that small hand up. I have not researched this site beyond Mary's story. There are many more places that offer similar borrower/lender connections. $25?? Impact for me is about the same as what we would spend on eating lunch at a restaurant. Impact for someone in a poorer economy?? Who knows.
link: http://www.kiva.org/