It's my birthday! Some people hate their birthday. I never understood this. I've always *loved* my birthday. I've gotten so many gifts and so much love for my 35th (yikes!) that I decided to share the wealth and give another $50 in microloans at Kiva.org to a couple of very deserving people whose loan needs were posted today.
The first woman above is Reyna Leiva Tafur of Peru who has a mobile business selling umbrellas and other merchandise and the second is Grace Nsamba of Uganda who has a retail store and livestock.
Here's my Kiva lender page. I've given $200 since July to 8 people all over the world and none of my loan recipients have been late or missed a payment. Half of the original group are almost 50% paid back already, so I figure by next summer I'll be able to reinvest the loan money to other entrepreneurs.
Kiva.org partners with existing microloan institutions and allows you to loan money directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries. By sponsoring a business on Kiva, you're helping the world's working poor become more economically independent. Loans are usually paid back within 6-12 months and you get email journal updates from your loan recipients. The system is very transparent and when the loan is repaid, you get your loan money back. Here's more on what Kiva.org is and how it works.
Here's a 2-min clip of President Clinton "On the Record" with FOX News about Kiva.org courtesy of Newshounds whose slogan is "We watch FOX so you don't have to"--LOL.
There's been so much press about Kiva.org lately that traffic to the site is hitting new records and they've had to limit donations to $25 per business. Just this week:
- $710,275 loaned
- 1,103 businesses funded
- 267 businesses finished paying back loans
- 8.6 hours to fully fund a business
Don't wait until your birthday to make a difference!
