Last Christmas Josh gave me a gift certificate for Kiva.org. I went to the website and saw that I could choose a specific entrepreneur somewhere in the world to specifically donate the money to. I think my first donation went to a barber in south america. Since then I’ve donated to a few more people, now I choose women, in countries I find interesting. A woman in Samoa got my last donation.
It’s really an ingenious and simple company. They partner with microfinance institutions (MFI) all over the world. An MFI is an organization that provides microfinance services, ranging from small non-profit organizations to large commercial banks. Kiva has found a way to making donations to fight poverty, which is a very faceless, general thing to do and made it more personal. They have write ups about the different entrepreneurs and you make the decision about who deserves your money.
Kiva has really got me thinking about what I want to do with my life. Thanks Josh. I have a finance degree, but have not found a single job I think I would be happy doing in the world of finance. Until now. I think micro finance is a beautiful combination of many of the thigns I love in life. Money, numbers, fighting poverty, other cultures and places, connecting people, organizing partnerships and relationships and getting things where they need to go.
I’m looking in to a couple different microfinance companies. One is Global Partnerships which works with MFI’s in Central and South America and is based in Seattle. There is also the South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), and MFI, which works out of and in Samoa and the Pacific Islands. And then of course Kiva.
Kiva has a fellowship program where they send you to work with one of the MFI’s somewhere in the world. You spend your days interviewing entreprenuers, blogging, relaying information to be put on the website and living in the culture. It’s a 4 month or more commitment and I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I know I’m home and settled, but I just feel like there’s a lot more I could do and doing a fellowship would really get my foot in the door to the world of microfinance and see if it’s something I’d like to spend a career doing.
Check out kiva.org. Think about donating to an entrepreneur or giving kiva gifts certificates as Christmas gifts! After you make a loan you slowly get paid back. And as the money is paid back you can decide to re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate your funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw your funds to your PayPal account. Everybody wins!
www.kiva.org
