Thursday 28 May 2009

Website: kiva -'Empowering The Poor'


“Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.” kiva

“The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can re lend to someone else in need” kiva

I truly love -the Kiva philosophy. Kiva [it means "unity" in Swahili] is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website. It empowers individuals to lend directly to entrepreneurs around the globe. Many of Kiva's borrowers are fellow Ghanaian brothers and sisters like our brother, Cosmos A. -He is, “29 years old. He is married and the father of two kids age four and one. He lives with his family in their own house at Goaso, a farming community in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, where most of the inhabitants are farmers. Cosmos operates a pharmaceutical shop in his neighbourhood and sells various kinds of medicine like blood tonic, pain killers, malaria drugs etc. He requests a loan to top up his working capital so he can purchase more medicine to serve his community and, in the process, raise more income to support his family.”. Or our sister Asana A. She is, “forty-four years of age. She is married and has given birth to five children, one daughter and four sons. Some of her children are in the senior high school while others are in the junior high and the primary schools. She lives with her husband and children in a family house in a very busy commercial town called Goaso in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Asana is a trader. She sells maize. She buys bags of maize from nearby farming communities and sells in the community market. She supplies maize to food vendors in her community and also treks to other towns to sell. Asana has been in business for over twenty years and wants a loan to buy bags of maize in bulk. She hopes to expand her business and increase her profit margin so she can help her husband provide for their family.”

You will also find other worthwhile borrowers from across the globe. From the Philippines, -to Nigeria; Uganda, Tajikistan, Peru, Azerbaijan etc -you [the lender] can browse through the profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When you lend; using PayPal or a credit card, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of Kiva's micro-finance partners worldwide. From there -these partners distribute the loan funds to your selected entrepreneur. Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them. When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need. For more information or to donate please visit: www.kiva.org

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