Help Kiva with Third World Micro Loans

A long time ago, actually about 8 months ago, I joined up with Kiva to support entrepreneurs in developing countries.

I joined because it isn't a charity, the money I put into my Kiva account is money I put into micro-loans and I get it back once the loan recipient repays their debt. The way it works is that I give money to Kiva and I get to choose which entrepreneur I want to loan the money to.

Way back at the end of last year I chose to give $25 towards a $1000 loan to a family in Asia who wanted to buy a young dairy bull so that they could impregnate their cows, and even offer their bull to other local farmers.

My $25 isn't very much, but the $1000 raised has helped this family generate a monthly income that means their children have books and pencils for school, and gives them an asset for their local business that will just continue to improve their finances in years to come.

Kiva's micro lending partners in each country insist on proper contracts, and they mentor the loan recipients in basic budgeting, and this kind of support is way more valuable in my opinion than charitable donations, and of course once I'm repaid I can either withdraw my $25 or add it to another loan.

Well, a couple of days ago I got an email saying that $12.50 of my original $25 has been repaid and that the family is expecting to repay the entire loan on time. What a great feeling, and if you have a few dollars in your Paypal account that you're not using can I suggest you also give something towards a micro loan. This is the way to help entrepreneurs in the developing world, and who knows, your loan may also help them employ other people.