Microlending Miracles

Imagine being able to change someone's life entirely for just.....wait for it.....$25. Seriously, just $25! Now what if this person was a destitute entrepreneur in need of a little financial support? Doesn't that sound incredible? Well, now you can help save the world $25 at a time through Kiva, a nonprofit microlending website (www.kiva.org).

Have you heard that phrase, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life"? Rather than just handing out donations to impecunious citizens of Third World countries, you can ensure that their future is looking bright through a microloan. How do microloans work, you ask? Well, through a lending site (such as Kiva), you can choose an entrepreneur who is requesting a loan starting at as little as $125. Over the course of the next few months, you'll be repaid in installments as their business flourishes with the money you lent them. Often they use the money to buy more inventory or expand their business in a certain way. As you are repaid, you can reinvest your money again to another person in need and create a cycle of wondrous microlending (Yay!). By lending a person money, you give them a chance to become financially stable, to rebuild their lives, and to break the cycle of poverty. I told you $25 can do a lot! For example, you can lend to a secretary in Kenya who wants a new computer to a farmer in Cambodia who needs to buy a cow and now even to New Yorker who needs to buy a new taxi! The possibilities are endless I tell you, endless! A microloan is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

Feel free to check out my lender profile by visiting: www.kiva.org/lender/saloni

Another great way to help out Kiva: click your hearts out at http://www.smallthingschallenge.com/index.php

Now go explore Kiva for yourselves :)