Change The World

It’s a tall order, changing the world. How often have you wished you could do something that will make a difference for someone far away? I know I have. Starving children in Ethiopia; single moms in Calcutta; families surviving in poverty with no chance at education; wouldn’t you love to be there handing out hope.

Kiva is an organization that lends money to entepreneurs in third world countries. You can loan as little as $25. You can choose the recipient of your loan. Synergy is the magic that makes Kiva work. When my $25 joins your $25 and many others contribute their $25, there is enough money to create small miracles. When the loans are repaid, lenders can withdraw their funds or relend to someone else.

Consider Hannah Acquay who lives in Ghana and sells smoked fish from a stand. She buys the fish from local fishermen and then smokes them . She needs $700 to buy more fish. She wants to increase her income so that her four children can be educated. Hannah is 48 and married. She started her business four years ago. She has many customers. Some travel from other regions to buy her fish. Hannah will repay her loan over the next 7 months.

Consider 35 year old Hassane who lives in Southern Lebanon with his wife and child. Hassane has owned a garage for twenty years and works as a car repairman. Hassane has requested a loan of $2000 to buy tools. He is a skilled mechanic who works independently. He wants to expand his business. He will repay his loan over the next 14 months. This will be Hassane’s fourth loan. He has always repaid on time.

Kiva helps hundreds of people like Hassane and Hannah. This week 3,440 new lenders joined Kiva. This week $1,209,625 was loaned to 3,254 entrepreneurs funded by 14,541 lenders. At Kiva a new loan happens every 16 seconds. This is the magic of synergy.

How do you feel about changing the world? Kiva is changing the world, one person at a time. You can change the world too. All you need is $25. Check it out at Kiva.com.

Linda Garner