A fistful of dollars

Giving: money, services, ideas, time...are all ways of helping, but how about a solution that could boost someone else's business...and how about a very small amount...that will come back to you after its repayment is done?
And now how about lending money to someone across the globe?

Micro credit has been soaring for years and its outcomes are fascinating: millions of poor people around the world have been having access to financial aid and expanding their self-employment and improving their living standards.
Alleviating poverty should begin by keeping the target you are aiming to help independant from your direct support. Giving a loan is not an act of pity, it is not free and most of all it is working!

You are now sitting behind your computer and these questions are beginning to trigger your attention and you wonder if there were anything you could do from where you are to help a Bengali fisherman or an African farmer, perhaps?

A year ago, I've lent 25 euros to a woman called Carmen Ortega in Paraguay; she needed the money to expand her grocery shop there. Depending on the country's currency and on the projects of the borrowers, your loan will either be the only loan needed for this specific person or it would be part of other loans given from other people you have never met. The point is, a micro loan, is by definition a small amount of money and you won't be lending amounts higher than 25 dollars approximately.

How did I do that? On http://www.kiva.org/
Kiva is an organization that helps lenders choose entrepreneurs online, they later give a loan to one or to a few of them and then get repaid...it is as simple as that

When I gave my first loan to Carmen I was a bit sceptical, but I thought that if this system did not work, then at least I would have tried; I really wanted to get a feel of what it was like to give a micro credit, and I definitely wanted to see if it worked. The money I lent is now back in my kiva account, and I can either withdraw those 25 euros or re-lend them to another entrepreneur, how's that for a change?

There is a video that explains how a fistful of dollars makes its way from London to Cambodia through Kiva; you can check it out here:

http://vimeo.com/2769845?utm_source=jg&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=jg%5FKiva+Newsletter%3A+Coolest%2E+Video%2E+Ever%2E+%28227739263%29&utm_content=randa%5Felchemali%40hotmail%2Ecom

The part where the Cambodian borrower repays the local Micro Finance Institution is similar to what I have witnessed in Bangladesh with the Grameen Bank.

Take a look at the video, it is very well done and then you can even lend some money to change some lives! Enjoy this experience.