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One of the more effective ways of helping people take steps to get out of poverty for good is to lend money to entrepreneurs and enable them work towards economic independence.
Kiva is a website that connects people willing to loan/donate money with projects that need microfinancing. We’re talking projects like the one that supports Nashravan Husneyov, a farmer in Azerbijan who needs a loan of $1,500 to buy two dairy cows (he’s currently got over 80% of the loan pledged), or the one that supports Ni Putu Mili, a pig farmer in Bali who needs $550 to buy piglets and feed. There are hundreds of projects on the site.
The way it works is that Kiva lists the projects. Visitors donate money using their credit card. once the full amount needed is raised, Kiva sends the money to the field partner that makes sure that the money gets to the entrepreneur. The field partner then collects the monthly repayments and at the end of the loan period the loan is repaid. You can then decide to use the money to fund a new project or withdraw your money.
This is such a rewarding way of helping. The field partners are very good at feeding information back to the website and to the lenders, so once you have contributed to a loan, you get updates on how your chosen entrepreneurs is doing. And, ultimately, you know that your money is really making a difference in lifting people out of poverty in a way that empowers them.
