Nightingale 0 #1 December 7, 2007 http://kiva.org/ I heard about this and thought it was really cool. It seems like a fabulous alternative to just handing out food and clothing to the poor in other parts of the world! Kiva lets you lend money to an entrepreneur in a developing country. $25 goes a lot farther there than here, and they combine a bunch of $25 loans into meeting whatever that person needs. You get to choose who your money goes to, so you can pick the person or cause that you feel is best. The default rate for most of these loans is zero. The money is virtually always paid back within the specified time, and the person gets to start their new business, expand their old one, and feed their family through their own hard work. I really like stuff like this. It's not just a handout, but it gives someone the means to improve their situation and stimulates economic development in the region. The people receiving the money have to have a solid plan about what to do with it, and they know they have to work hard to repay it. Has anyone else heard of or participated in programs like this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #2 December 7, 2007 Quote Has anyone else heard of or participated in programs like this? Concur heartily. Efforts like Kiva are fantastic! One that I personally support is Parwaz Microfinance, which means “to fly” or “to rise up” in one of the main Afghan languages. Conceived and organized by an Afghan woman, Parwaz extends credit to women in Afghanistan, prioritizing widows (who under Taliban control could not work and only means to support their families was by begging while in a burka). They incorporate business training into their program, which important & is a huge challenge considering most Afghani women aren’t literate. Per their 2006 annual report, in 2005 they had 100% repayment and 99.4% repayment in 2006. The average size of a loan is $120. Their staff:client ratio is lower than other microfinancers. The Grameen Bank is another example, which btw got Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. A couple years ago, PBS did a fantastic 4-hour series on “social entrepreneurs” or folks pursuing the ‘hand up, not hand out’ model around the world: The New Heroes. In addition to featuring the founder of the Grameen Bank, it also highlights 13 others folks from around the worlds, including Mimi Silbert, who founded Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. The US govt’s Millennium Challenge Corporation was supposed to do that kind of thing on a larger scale – programs designed & developed by the recipients to “reinforces good governance, economic freedom and investments in people.” They just got a less than glowing review in the International Herald Tribune: "U.S. agency's slow pace endangers foreign aid". VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
