Kiva.org

It has been some time since I have posted anything of a more personal note, so here goes...
Several months ago I was speaking with a friend and in our seemingly random way, our conversation stumbled upon humanitarian aid and the needs of the world. He is a huge U2 fan and thus supports Bono in his (RED) charity. He also mentioned another area that he directs his charitable contributions.

Kiva.org is a place where you can go, search through the listings of people, and then help fund a micro-loan. The entire process is so personal that I was really excited when we found someone that we wanted to help.

There are several things that set this site and its methods apart from other agencies that I have come across over the years. With Kiva you can choose exactly who you want to help. You read their story, what they want the money for, and how they intend to repay the loan. You are able to help each person in $25 increments, which makes you a partner with many other people throughout the world. The terms of repayment range from 6-12 months typically and when the loan is repayed you have three options. The first is to reinvest in another micro-loan. Second, "send" a gift to someone you like by investing in another micro-loan. And third, you can pull your money out and move on your merry way. There are also giving teams that can be set up so that families, churches, businesses, nations, and any other conceivable collective can take pride in giving together.

Tennille and I selected Komla Agbetikor from the nation of Togo. He is using the loan to increase the products that he can sell from his shop. Truth be told, we selected a lot of people, but there are a ton of people out to help on a Saturday, so by the time we read the short bios, the person already had their goal met. If you select a group, the group is then responsible for the entire debt, increasing the chance [which is already pretty good] that the loan will be repaid.

Right now, Mr. Agbetikor has repaid 8% of his $1,125.00 loan, amounting to $2.09 returned to us.

If you would like more information, we can send you an invite and help you get started. If you do, we are looking for someone else to help out and would love to join in with you on whoever you select.