An introductory note about Kiva.org: From the website, “Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.”
Last week on my Twitter feed I saw the Kiva.org tweet that April had been Kiva’ biggest month ever in terms of receiving donations for loans! I thought that was amazing, and very impressive seeing as the world is in the midst of an economic crisis. I followed the link on their tweet, and it brought me to their beautiful blog called Inside Kiva. And what I learned there blew me away. Check out the facts:
- In February, Kiva lenders gave $3.8 million
- In March, Kiva lenders gave $4.3 million
- In April, Kiva lenders gave more than $4.4 million
This means that Kiva lenders gave 103 big ones every minute of April…And there is a global economic crisis happening! Can you believe it?! I thought it was the most inspiring news ever. With so much suffering all over the globe, people seem to realize that suffering can be alleviated through community action, and they are giving like never before. I think the Kiva blog summed it up beautifully:
What does this tell us? That people care. That people want to support others in their businesses and that people believe in the ability of the poor to pay back a loan…What we see…is that the Kiva community has been unstoppable. At the start of every month hundreds of loans flood the site for funding (over 950 right now) and by the end of each month every single loan has been fully funded. We think this person-to-person stimulus happening on Kiva.org is giving us all the stories of hope that we need.
And it is. The more people that give, the more other people are inspired to give–because they see that it makes a world of difference. The Kiva lenders are instigating a domino-effect of goodness. I am lucky enough to know a kiva-fellow (volunteer) that has been working in Honduras and in Bolivia since 2008. She is inspiring and unstoppable in her quest to help. During her stay in Honduras she mastered Spanish and reached out to boat-loads of people in need of just a little start-up cash to help fund their entrepreneurial endeavors. She was able to fulfill so many of these potential entrepreneurs’ needs, and they were able to fulfill their potential and become entrepreneurs.
In Bolivia, she did the same, and even managed to begin learning the indigenous language, Ayamara, spoken by many Bolivians. Her story, like so many Kiva-fellow stories, is beyond amazing. She has written about her experiences here in her blog, and I promise you that reading it will change your life.
So now it is May, and let’s all hope and lend if we can so that May is the biggest month ever for Kiva, for the fourth month in a row!!
Kiva-sponsored entrepreneurs in Afghanistan
Kiva-sponsored entrepreneurs in Mali
Kiva-sponsored entrepreneurs in Paraguay
