GSLP: Kiva

(Precis) Fight Global Poverty $25 at a time!

2009-05-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

“Poverty is not created by the poor. It is created by the structures of society and the policies pursued by society. Change the structure and you will see that the poor change their own lives.” Banker to the poor

Muhammad Yanus, Grameen Bank, Founder

The above quote provides evidence that people in impoverished countries are essentially economically and socially immobilized because they have no way to change their condition of mass poverty. The social hierarchies limit people from changing their situation financially and inevitably create a cycle in which generation after generation is destined to the same fate. Global poverty is the current world crisis demanding international attention and is one of the many catalysts for other global crises such as disease, world hunger, and even the cause of some human rights crises.

Four billion people live on less than $3000 per year according to a recent study by the International Finance Corporation. Taking a step to fight global poverty is a worthwhile ambition that helps to alleviate social, political, and economical pressures that often times govern a community dominated by immense poverty. The challenge of our generation is to find a way to incorporate the impoverished into the global market while building sustainable communities. Microfinancing is a sustainable solution to global poverty. Kiva, a microfinancing organization, is a leader in this new method of solving the issue of global poverty. Kiva’s goal is to “connect people through lending for the sake of reducing poverty.” Kiva is taking a step to fight global poverty by allowing lenders to have direct contact with the entrepreneurs. Not only is Kiva unique in the fact that the lenders are connected electronically to the borrowers, but also because the money is given back to the lender. Kiva makes a distinction between the impersonal nature of investing and the personal nature of giving. This system is more than just throwing money at people, or sending food to other countries, but rather a responsible system that establishes a sustainable cycle that will continue to exist beyond the entrepreneur and beyond the lender.
Kiva has inspired me to fundraise for an entrepreneur in Lebanon, Souad. I chose to lend money to a woman not only because a financial increase can transform daily life from survival to planning for the future, but also because by supporting women’s economic participation, microfinance promotes gender-equality.
My global service learning project consists of an electronic awareness campaign describing the value of microfinancing and how microfinance is a method of reducing global poverty. This awareness campaign is networked via e-mail and internet (my blog: http://gslpkiva.blogspot.com). Flyers have been posted at the library along with fact sheets describing microfinancing and how the community can get involved. A fundraising event, a yard sale, will be held on Church street on May 23 in order to fundraise the needed $200 to fund Souad’s ambition to buy more efficient sewing equipment to expand her business.

Benchmarks 6-7 (The Process)

2009-05-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

For the past three weeks I have been essentially spreading awareness about microfinancing and the microlending organization, Kiva. I have been advertising by posting flyers in various locations around Damariscotta, including the Skidompha Library and I have e-mailed the link to my blog to forty people. I am preparing for a yard sale on May 23 to raise money to invest in Souad's sewing business. The profits I make from the yard sale will be given directly to Souad through Kiva.

About the Entrepreneur

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Name: Souad
Location: Sabra, Lebanon
Primary Activity: Sewing
Loan Amount: $500.00
Loan Use: To purchase an electrical sewing tool
Repayment Term: 14 months - View details below
Lenders Repaid: Monthly
Date Listed: May 1, 2009
Date Disbursed: Apr 3, 2009

Entrepreneur: Souad

2009-05-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

Souad is a 40 year old woman who lives in Bourj El Barajneh, in the southern suburbs of Lebanon with her husband and their three children. Souad has been working as a seamstress for four years. Her clients are her friends and neighbors.

This is Souad’s third loan cycle and she has always paid on time. Her previous loans helped her to improve her work. When she first started her business, she didn’t face difficulties. Souad decided on starting her business because she wanted to supplement her family’s income. In the future, she plans on expanding her work.

Souad has requested a loan of 500 U.S. dollars from Al Majmoua in order to purchase an electrical sewing tool.

2009-04-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

GSLP-Global Poverty-Kiva

2009-04-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

My Global Service Learning Project centers around raising awareness about global poverty and focusing on concrete, responsible solutions to this growing global problem. From my research I have found that the most sustainable method to fighting global poverty is to help people help themselves so that the poor can prosper even in the abscence of the donater. The central thematic question that hovers around global poverty and circumbscribes fundamental human rights is - what responsibilities do we, as members of humanity, have toward other people in the world? Kiva answers this question by creating an electronic network of lenders linked to a network of entrepreneurs in other countries needing money to help their business.

How Kiva Works

2009-04-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Kiva is a non-profit revolutionizing the perspective towards global pverty and giving hope to many self-employed entrepreneurs in developing countries. Kiva enables people to connect with and make personal loans of 25$ to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world.

How Kiva Works: (The following information is from kiva.org)
Choose an Entrepreneur, Lend, Get Repaid
The below diagram shows briefly how money gets from you to a developing-world entrepreneur, and back.
1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, our partners also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur's chances of success.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.

FRONTLINE-World-Kiva

2009-04-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

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Kiva: Loans that Change Lives

2009-04-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Kiva is a non-profit organization that is fighting global pverty by allowing lenders to have direct contact with the entrepreneurs. Kiva is a microfinancing organization that links lenders and borrowers electronically so that giving money becomes a more personal process. The unique aspect to Kiva is that the borrower, or entrepreneur, returns the exact amount of money borrowed to the lender. Kiva's goal is "to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty." This is a responsible system that establishes a sustainable cycle that will continue to exist beyond the entrepreneur and beyond the lender.