Micro-Loans save lives

This article by E. Pankey of Diseducation.com

Would you believe me if I told you that you could dramatically improve the lives of others in the developing world for free? Well, you should. Let me explain…
Grace, a woman in Uganda supported herself and her four children by making and selling peanut butter. She grounded the peanuts by hand, a labor intensive process. Grace could only make small batches of peanut butter because she had no way perserve the product before sale. A loan of $475 revolutionized her business and outlook on life. She was able to buy an electric grinder and a refrigerator to store her peanut butter before sale. With the new technology, she was able to expand her business, increase her profit and better the opportunities for her children. Grace was able to pay back her loan in full in only 6 months.
This endeavor was made possible through Grace’s determined spirit and micro lending. Micro lending is a relatively new practice which seeks to connect entrepreneurs in developing countries with investors from developed countries. You might say, “Isn’t that what the World Bank does?”. Well, "Yes", but the differenc is one of scale. The loan amounts are small, $200 to $2000 and the interest rate is 0%. This allows individuals like you and me to participate in the process as underwriters with loans as low as $25. The middle man is virtually cut out, so you don't have to worry about corrupt governments diverting funds.
"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.Teach him how to fish and he'll eat forever."
The reality is that there are literally millions of men and women like Grace, who are just waiting for the opportunity to help themsleves, but they need our help to do so. Micro lending offers loans to those who otherwise would have access to loans with prohibitably high interest rates, or no access to loans at all.
KIVA, http://www.kiva.org/, is an internet clearinghouse for entrepeneurs from across the developing world. You can go to the site, read about loan requests, the individuals making them, and place a loan via credit card with PayPal. The loans are followed by a loan officer and you can track the progress of the recipient via email updates. As the loan is paid back, you can either withdraw your money or better yet, reinvest it in another project.
Micro lending gives fortunate people like ourselves the opportunity to better the lives of others with little risk, through a transparent organization. Micro loans for peanut butter, grocery, cattle and fishing business aren’t “sexy”, but they are vital. We can effect change and watch as it happens for less than the price of dinner and a movie. That’s powerful.
As the holidays approach, I can think of no better way to spread goodwill to my fellow sisters and brothers in distant lands than with the opportunity to make their dreams come true.
Currently KIVA is active in Africa, Central America, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“Put your money where your heart is and get your money back”
Check out http://www.kiva.org/ for yourself.