Kiva - Loans that change lives

The whole notion of how far my money would go elsewhere in the world was brought to my attention a several years ago. My parents were living in Pakistan at the time and were supporting a native Pakistani family that was on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. My parent's monthly donation was about $70, and was 1/3rd of their entire monthly needs. This concerned my dad because he worried that when they could no longer donate due to logistics, this family would have to seek new givers to make up that difference. That's eventually what happened. Flash forward and I think Crusade now can more easily accommodate giving of this nature, but back then nothing of the sort was in place.

A colleague in California sent a link to me today that got me thinking about it again. Kiva.org gives folks here in the US who (let's be honest) have more money than we really need to lend money to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them rise above poverty. Many charities we donate to allow organizations to care for the orphans and needy without overtly stressing the needs of the greater economy. Kiva.org looks like a great opportunity for us to get involved in helping there now too.

Kiva - Loans that change lives

Worth checking out.