Happy Holidays!! The season of giving. The season of Love. I think we’ve all humbled down on the materialistic gift giving these past 3 years as our economy went into turbulence. I see it as a beautiful thing for our souls, as we are putting more effort in buying experiences and creating memories instead.
Non-profit Organizations are another wonderful gift to give, to loving strangers across the world, creating a better overall energy. Creating World Unity. This week, I will introduce you to Kiva.Org, chosen as one of Oprah’s favorite things in 2010.
The twist to Kiva is that you are lending money to Entrepeneurs across the world who are less fortunate to start up their business, instead of donating money. Kiva has facilitated over 100 million $ in loans by November 2009.
Pendo Luisi, 27 years old, borrowed $175 to open a cafe in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
From the “About” Section::
Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.
Kiva was born of the following beliefs:
- People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
- The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
- By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.
A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.