Day 921

About twelve months or so ago I joined Kiva which is a not-for-profit organisation set up to help people in poverty raise money to start their own businesses.  


I was particularly attracted to Kiva because I would like to help as many women as possible avoid sexual slavery (and therefore teach their daughters to avoid the same fate) in Asian countries. I was saddened by what I had read in "Half the Sky" but also uplifted by how people can actually make small contributions with huge effect.  I wrote about that  400 days ago. 


Anyway, I came across Kiva and we made just one loan to a woman in Cambodia (Somreang Suy) who is a widow with five sons and two daughters.  She applied for a loan to help with her daughter's grocery store by purchasing more grocery items for resale and she also used a part of the loan to buy weaving materials for her weaving business. Somreang buys weaving materials from local markets, creates fabrics and sells her finished fabrics to garment producers.  All I had to do was loan $25.  That's all! Other Kiva loaners also loaned $25 and Somreang successfully got her business underway AND paid us back at around $2 every couple of months.  That's right. It is actually a loan ... not a donation ... but a loan.  It's really quite simple.


Back on Day 514 I wrote the following: So often we read about the plight of others, of communities, of entire countries and we think "what can I do? What difference will it make?"  So we do nothing.  Then there are those that do something. Just a little something that helps one single person, which in turn helps that person's family, which in turn may actually help their next generation.


Well, I did a little something and it feels good. So I've decided I might just do it again! And double it. Perhaps triple it. Might even quadruple it.  


If you are interested in finding out more about Kiva go to www.kiva.org.  Signing on will definitely make a difference. 

Somreang Suy - for the cost of a lunch date, you can make a whole world of difference.

If you would like more inspiration pop on over to Edenland to hear how one Mummy Blogger is making her own huge world of difference with World Vision.