For the past year, carol & I have been in the banking business. Reading Clinton's Book on Giving, I came across a discussion about regular people making micro-loans to people in other places of the world. One of the web sites listed was www.kiva.org and I decided to give it a shot. We made 2 small loans to a person in Togo (Africa) and another in Mexico. Over the past year I get regular updates, when they make a payment. After the loan is paid off my account is credited for the amount loaned. i can then get the money back or loan to someone else. Unlike real bankers, we charge no interest. Since I have been reading a book about Pakistan, yesterday I made two loans to two women who own their own businesses in Tajikistan. One owns a food store and one makes yarn. The part that gave me insight into banking was that when I decided to increase my loans, there were 25 pages of requests from all over the world and I had to decide who received my help.
Another cool aspect of these loans is that you can see who else is loaning to the same people. The lady that owned the store was also being loaned by a couple in Bartlesville. All who loan give to a pool managed by a local agency. No money goes to middle men.
Because of books like "1000 Splendid Suns" and "3 Cups of Tea", we are at present only loaning to women. In third world countries support like this is not available in their communities.
Check out KIVA. Loans can be made for $25 or more.
No comments:
Post a Comment