Wanna Help Buy a Goat?
Last week, I visited Kiva.org in search of a Kenyan business to support. If you haven’t yet heard of this organization:
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
Once I landed on the site, I found that with an amazing influx of funding (thanks to publicity from Oprah, NBC and others) there were no registered businesses anywhere left in need. This was incredible news!
Upon visiting this week, Kiva has since scouted for more and I was drawn to help Yudaya, a 42-year-old widow with five children. Yudaya is seeking funds to help stock her hardware business where she sells equipment and supplies. As with any business, one hopes for profits and Yudaya’s dream, beyond running a sustainable business, is to buy a mortocycle (a boda boda).
Group Name: Kamuli C1 (c) Group
Group Members: Irene Kutesa , Roseline Komugisha , Sophie Nalubango , Dorothy Nanfuma , Yudaya Dorothy
Location: Kireka, Uganda
Primary Activity: Hardware
Loan Requested: $1,650.00
Repayment Term: 12 months - repaid monthly
Loan Use: To stock her hardware store
Date Posted: Jan 20, 2008
If you feel inclined, you too can support Yudaya’s needs and follow her progress, or visit Kiva.org to choose a different business. Help buy a goat, sell clothing, fund a mini-bus shuttle service.
Because the number of lenders continues to exceeded available business prospects, Kiva has temporarily restricted loan amounts to $25. While $25 may seem insignificant, this restriction has provided an interesting opportunity. Sometimes it’s not about the money. It’s about having the grand force of positive energy and of many individuals who believe in you and your dream. It feels good to be one of the supporting team, no matter how small the role.
Filed under: Consumer Support, Financial Aid, Humanitarian Effort, Micro-lending, Technology, Volunteer to Volunteer | Tagged: Africa, Kiva.org, loan, microlending, small business, Uganda
I’m relatively new to WordPress and located this post after loading Kiva.org into tag surfer. I’m surprised there are not more posts related to Kiva. Many of the Kiva lenders feel a more direct connection with what is now happening in Kenya. Some on KivaFriends.org have initiated some aid programs to help clients they have lent to.
Thanks for the insight into KivaFriends.org. I’m eager to investigate!
Performing a quick tag search after reading your comment, I too was surprised at so few posts about Kiva.org. When I deleted that search and used “Kiva” without the “.org,” the number of results increased exponentially. Give it a whirl. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.