Empowering People to LIft Themselves Out of Poverty
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This is something that I came across on CNN and am currently looking at the specifics of online at the moment. It's an organization called "Kiva" and they allow people to connect with pre-screened entrepreneurs in developing countries that are in need of short-term loans to facilitate their business ventures, allowing them to rise out of poverty on their own. It's a fascinating concept, and a really interesting program to consider if you're of the mind to take a gander or if you're just curious about new ideas related to assisting those in developing countries carve out a livelihood through social networking: http://www.kiva.org/app.php Hopefully this will be received in the spirit that it's being shared, I have absolutely no stake in providing the link or sharing the info.
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Good idea if they can get financial aid directly to people in need in developing countries, by-pass the corrupt politicians and governments. I hope it does well. Btw - Cool avatar image, Opie!
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Thanks Torie ... your avatar always makes me smile. I looked into this and was rather impressed with how it seems to be working. They've partnered with a few major players, like Paypal (they provide their services free of charge to the process), so 100% of the funds go to the recipient. I haven't seen anyone asking for more than $1200 thus far, and most are asking for loans under $1000. You can do this with as little as $25 ... and it's to be paid back within 6~12 months. The funds are either given back to you, or you can put them back into play with a different recipient. You get a personal profile to allow you to see how things are going on the side of those that you're involved with ... and they have people in the field that are keeping things ontrack as well. You get to choose who you loan to, and have access to information related to their credit standing as well. I actually ended creating an account after doing some research on it, seems a little more relevant ... and useful, than just blogging about this sort of thing right? Google is involved, MySpace, Microsoft ... and surprise, surprise so is Starbucks. Fairly impressive team of people involved behind the scenes too.
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Opus, my friend. We saw the same story. I went and made a donation after I saw it. I don't care if I ever get my money back. It just makes me feel good. And I gave to someone in Iraq. We tore up the country and I feel the least I can do is to help rebuild it.
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I think that's great, thanks for sharing that ... I'm glad that you decided to get involved and I respect your rationale in deciding to go in the direction that you're going in with it. I'll probably end up going with some that aren't in as high profile a location, like eastern Africa ... although I don't want to lock myself into only looking at one sort of situation, regions and history might come into play though. I've noticed that some of the lenders have setup a sort of criteria that's based upon gender for example ... say 66% of those they lend to are female, and 33% are male (interesting, because it appears that their goals are to empower women entrepreneurs in that way). I suppose there are many ways to do this sort of thing, and it really depends upon the individual. Still fascinates me about how much can be done by these people with ultimately such a small amount of capital (given the economic state of the locales that they're contending with). I mean to say that, for example, for the same amount of money that many on this board are more than willing to pay for the double-CD version of "Memory Almost Full" ... you can become a microfinancier to someone in the developing world, and help change their world ... can't you.
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Actually, Opus, I've been thinking of giving to someone in Africa, too. I have a dear friend who works with AIDS in Africa and it would make me feel good to do something to help someone there. I have helped his charity, but this goes to an individual. And great minds thing alike, Opus!
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Opus:
I mean to say that, for example, for the same amount of money that many on this board are more than willing to pay for the double-CD version of "Memory Almost Full" ... you can become a microfinancier to someone in the developing world, and help change their world ... can't you.
Good point, my dear. Thanks for posting this, and for sharing this thought...
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And I have made a decision to make a monthly donation. It's the least I feel I can do to help those who are way less fortunate than I am.
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Opus:
This is something that I came across on CNN and am currently looking at the specifics of online at the moment. It's an organization called "Kiva" and they allow people to connect with pre-screened entrepreneurs in developing countries that are in need of short-term loans to facilitate their business ventures, allowing them to rise out of poverty on their own. It's a fascinating concept, and a really interesting program to consider if you're of the mind to take a gander or if you're just curious about new ideas related to assisting those in developing countries carve out a livelihood through social networking: http://www.kiva.org/app.php Hopefully this will be received in the spirit that it's being shared, I have absolutely no stake in providing the link or sharing the info.
Hi Opus, Thanks for sharing this
This looks like a very interesting idea.... I will definitely keep this link. It's nice to see the actual people who will be helped and surprising to me how little money they are asking for to start their businesses. 
Fantastic!!! Cheers 
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Poverty will not end until people stop having children that they can't afford. You can give every penny that you have and it won't make a bit of difference.
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thankyouverymuch:
Poverty will not end until people stop having children that they can't afford. You can give every penny that you have and it won't make a bit of difference.
Yes, birth control and education can help ease over-population problems world-wide. (Personally, I do not have children.) But . . . could there be other factors? I once read an article, (Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the author or the title.) but in this article, the author stated that referring to a country as "developing" or "Third-World" was very rude and disrespectful. Furthermore, he went on to ponder the question: Is "under-development" a stage towards "development" or the result of the "neo-colonialized" relationship that so-called Third World nations have with industrialized nations? He went on to explain how people in countries like the United States, Germany and Japan use up 75% of the world's natural resources. While people living in these so-called "Third World nations" don't utilize not even a fraction of that. The people of Africa and Latin America never begged for food until the "discovery" of gold, silver, diamonds, fruits and vegetables, petroleum, natrual gas, minerals, and timber. How is it that they are so rich in natural resources, yet still they are hungry? Why is it that the world's richest man in the world lives in Mexico? The 4th and 5th richest men live in India? The 8th richest man lives in Brazil? How can that be? http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/richest-man-in-world-2010/ No, donating 2o dollars to some charity won't change the immense problem, but for that hungry child,on that day, you will be their Super Hero!
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This is what happens when poor people try to "empower" and "lift" themselves out of poverty (Scroll down to Nicaragua and the Sandinistas): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_of_the_Ronald_Reagan_administration
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Hi All, This is my first post, so please be gentle with me
Like many of you here, I struggle daily with my outrage over what has happened and what goes on daily on this planet. I grew up during the Cold War and the Reagan era -- I saw what happened first hand to many of my friends as a result of his policies. However, unlike the poor people in many places around the world, I have a family and I have friends who help me, and I help them too. My method is to start local (although I have given to Doctors Without Borders when I can afford it). For instance, when my husband and I got married a few years ago, some relatives gave us gifts, and we offered the option of giving to charities as well. So when we got married, my relatives gave to Seeds of Peace, which is a camp here in Maine to foster peace between teens of different areas from the Middle East, and the American Red Cross, which my dad's cousin (now retired) has dedicated his life to serving with. We have a nice community group online in Southern Maine, run via Yahoo Groups. We post things back and forth to help others. So when a lady needed a wheel chair, I gave her ours, as it was sitting dusty in the basement. My hubs used to be a ballet dancer and had some hip surgeries, so it was there from his physical rehab. Still looking for someone to give the walker to, and hoping no one needs a walker. Grateful that I don't need the walker. I have to take care of my family, and my husband has been without a job since last June. I have some illnesses that prevent me from working full time. But as my grannie used to say, "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride." 
Do what you can, even if it's a kind word to someone, like a cashier at a grocery store, etc. If you lift someone up, maybe they'll go home and be happy, as opposed to stressed because some customer was crabby at them. We're waiting on a bunch of things right now, and it's hard to watch what goes on in the world, but no doubt it will all work out soon. Maybe today, even. Because my glass is always half full. I have my friends, my family and I am loved by many people. Spread the love in any way you can, because success is the best revenge against the warmongers and greedy corporate folks. Not hate. Don't waste energy on jerks when you could be spending your energy on helping someone. Loving my new Fireman album, got it from Amazon last night and love my Beatles and Paul McCartney tunes on my iPod. That's what keeps me sane every day, so thank you so much. I heard that Lyndon Johnson once said that the only thing he liked about the 1960's was the Beatles! That's so cool. And the night they played on the Ed Sullivan show, the crime rate almost went to nothing. I was just a little baby, a few months old, but wow, can you imagine?!? That must have been so cool. And that's what I aspire to every day. To be something even one millionth like that energy, think if we all did something like that, every day, for even 5 minutes, what this world would be like. I'll get off my soap box now, thanks for listening and hope you all have a fantastic day! I have to go jam to my Paul McCartney and dance around the yard and enjoy the lovely Spring weather we are having here in Maine. Rock on! Love, ~~Marie 
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