For those of you who know me, I really enjoy finding ways to help people out. About a year ago my good friend Tom pointed me in the direction of Kiva.org. This organization is amazing! Essentially people from all over the world, looking to better their lives, are looking for that simple jump-start that we all need at one point or another in our life. These micro-loans allow for these people to not only quickly boost their ability to feed themselves and their families, but also allows for their communities to grow and be self sufficient. Simply put, a person who might only receive $200 in a loan has just been able to do something for themselves that would have taken years to save towards; potentially keeping them from every finding success in their life.
I am proud to say that to date I have disbursed a dozen loans, and many of them have already been paid back. When they are paid back you then have the ability to withdraw your funds, or re-loan the funds to another person in need.
So if you are up for it, take my Kiva challenge. Choose one loan to fund each month for one year. Pick something that is important to you; mine is the arts in South America. Do this for one year, let the money reinvest itself and you have just set up a sustainable micro-charity that you manage.
Kiva.org-The charity of the future.
