Day 22: 40 days 'til 39

OK, so I was a day late on this one. Oops. But it's the spirit of the thing that counts. Today we were donating to a charity of our choice. Yeah, not all of our daily things are narcissistic, hedonistic, etc. - just most of them :).

I decided to donate to www.kiva.org, which gave me a blurb to put on my blog so I didn't even have to type it. You can read more about it below - I like it because it's a loan to someone who really needs the $ and who will repay it. Then you get to loan out the $ to someone else who needs it - it's really fun! The photo is of the Tanzanian woman who is getting the loan I'm helping to finance. She's a clothing seller, 32 years old, and widowed with 2 kids ages 12 and 5. Wow. I am in awe of her from here, and I hope that the loan makes a big difference in her life.

Here's the blurb about Kiva:

*****

I just made a loan to someone in the developing world using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Mwantum Bwatwana in Tanzania. They still need another $175.00 to complete their loan request of $250.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Mwantum Bwatwana too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=90064

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a
sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.

Thanks!

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What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'
-- BBC

'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'
-- CNN Money

'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'
-- The Wall Street Journal

'An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity...All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.'
-- Entrepreneur Magazine