A few years ago, I stumbled upon a wonderful organization called
Kiva. They connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva is the first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering people to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. The concept is simple, individually it can be hard to lend money to people in the third world. But through
Kiva, our money is pooled together to loan to aspiring entrepreneurs. Through their website, you can choose which entrepreneur you would like to lend to. When you make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve their quality of life. Once the loan term is up, the entrepreneur pays back the borrowed amount, and the money is returned to you. And then you can reloan your money to another person, if you choose.
Since becoming a Kiva lender,
Gorgeous and Green has loaned money to 4 individuals, from Peru, Cambodia, Senegal and Uganda. It is wonderful to see how our money can help change peoples lives. Pictured here is Sabe Niang who lives in Senegal. We loaned to Sabe so that she could purchase a special tinted fabric called 'Thioub", which is very popular in Senegal. She also purchased a horse and carriage for transport, for her retail venture. Since loaning to Sabe, she has repayed her loan in full.
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