kiva...

... is a non-profit I have been supporting for a couple of years. Making loans to people who are trying to improve their lives, and provide for their families. How it works: www.Kiva.com  (501c) serves as the 'middle man',a go-between that connects the haves with the have-nots. The individuals, or possibly groups of people, in places who do not have the means or access to traditional banks, will contact Kiva and provide information about themselves. And share plans/goals they have for their small business or cottage industry.

These individuals, the people asking for support, will be doing things like operating a lawn maintenance business, or running a small store from the front room of their homes. Maybe wanting to start raising livestock: chickens, pigs, beef, rabbits to sell to neighbors as a source of protein, and need fencing and food for their animals. Possibly wanting to purchase yard goods for sewing clothing, or an industrial sewing machine to produce goods faster.  But needing financial resources to get the tools for success.

I think I have loaned out the same $25 eight or nine times, and it keeps coming back. It's kinda' like "Flat Stanley" and his travels: my money has been to Samoa, Peru, and Kenya in Africa. I get a notice when my funds have been repaid, with the Kiva team asking me to put it back in circulation and send it out again. I tend to loan to females and often filter to find people who are sewing or doing native crafts for sale. Just personal preference.

I need to give credit to my kids for telling me about Kiva. I have long been interested in the principle of  micro-loans. I also believe that women with dependents, who are trying to run a business to provide for their families are likely to be reliable, dependable, and smart money managers. My twenty five dollars that has circled the globe several times is less than lunch money for the week. I say: why not brown-bag it, and put your funds into a Kiva loan?

We are so amazingly blessed, living here in under the protection of the US Constitution. In warm safe homes, with electricity and clean potable water on demand. Lots to be thankful for...