Nurse Sean (dot) com

I’m not sure if anyone has noticed, but I added a link to Kiva in my sidebar. I wanted to take a quick moment to promote Kiva in my main blog as well. Just so you know, I’m not getting anything in return for promoting Kiva, nor was I approached to promote this program. I’m simply doing this because I think it’s flippin’ cool and deserves some link love.

Here’s a description of themselves from their website:

We Let You Loan to the Working 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 in the developing world.

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 relend to someone else in need.

So, basically, you go to the website and are presented with a list of struggling entrepreneurs from third world countries. Each one is asking for a small business loan to help them create or improve their business. They are looking to drastically improve their quality of life.

Once you have chosen who you would like to help, you then decide how much to lend toward their needs. I typically lent around $25. Once everyone’s pledges add up to the total amount needed, the loan is dispersed. Then, over time, the entrepreneur slowly pays back the loan, which goes directly back to you!

Did that make sense? If not, just check out the website for a better and more extensive description.

The absolute fun part is going through and reading these people’s stories. I love browsing through their businesses to see what they are doing for themselves. I love feeling like I’m truly making a difference in someones life–and I like that I’m doing it with a loan, rather than a pure gift.

Anyway, I hope you’ll check out Kiva and give it a go!

Blogged with the Flock Browser