In the long chill of our worst financial times I used a permanent marker to write affirming words inside our checkbook cover.
abundance ease hope purpose prosperity gratitude plenty
I also started a tradition of making a donation each time I paid our bills. I figured we weren’t truly in trouble until we couldn’t help someone else. Sometimes it was for a local fund-raiser, but mostly it was one of many carefully vetted charities aligned with our ecological and social concerns. Each donation wasn’t much, but I made them.
I’ve kept up with that tradition and started another a few years ago thanks to a non-profit which offers a way of making the same donation do a world of good, over and over again. It’s based on microlending. Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work, popularized microloans worldwide. These are tiny loans to the very poor, often in combination with other services such as healthcare, savings accounts, networking, and peer support. For decades, such loans have made a difference to people with limited access to financial services, particularly for women. Initially hyped as the solution to severe poverty, research shows the economic effects are more modest — resulting in the start-up or expansion of small businesses, more reliable sources of food and transportation, better educational opportunities, and higher overall wages. The improvement in individual lives is significant when nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day, with a quarter living on less than $3.20 a day.
Anyone can get started making microloans as small as $25 through Kiva, lending money to people a state away or continents away. When they pay the money back, you can loan it over and over again. You might loan based on what means the most to you; perhaps to women in agriculture or refugees establishing businesses or people working in the arts. Each loan request is accompanied by a snapshot and information. For example right now Tuli, from Samoa, makes elei printed materials and needs a loan to buy more supplies. Lidia, from Uganda, runs a restaurant and needs a loan to help her buy more plates, saucepans, and staples like maize flour. Safarahmad, from Tajakistan (who paid back a previous Kiva loan) is applying for support to begin a beekeeping business. Norma, from the U.S., seeks a loan to buy equipment to expand her housecleaning services.
Kiva loans, overall, have a 96.7 percent repayment rate of loans to people in 77 countries. Since 2005, Kiva has crowdfunded more than 1.6 million loans. A billion dollars alone have been loaned to women.
I got started with $25 and, adding what I could over time, I’ve built up my Kiva account to the point where I’ve made 52 loans (and counting). It’s astonishing to be able to offer others a portion the abundance I realize I’ve always truly had.
Thank you for the reminder. I have an upcoming tax refund and have been contemplating how to put it to best use.
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Wonderful idea. And just imagine, your tax refund can be used to help people over and over again for years!
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Thank you for this. I’ll be looking into it in the hope of finding a way to make a true difference to women who are still hopeful despite enduring a so much less fortunate life than mine.
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The biggest challenge for me is how hard it is to decide which projects to fund. That’s why I keep adding to my Kiva fund as I can.
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I shall probably also have a hard time, but every journey starts with the first step. I shall prioritise women, for starters!
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Kiva lets you choose your search by all sorts of categories. I’ve been concentrating my efforts on funding projects by refugees the last year or two (mostly women-led projects). It’s particularly heartening to see women’s collaborative efforts — artisan co-ops and mother-daughter farm projects.
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I love this Laura, thank you. Abundance is an amazing thing. When we are willing to give what we ourselves need, we are filled. I wasn’t familiar with Kiva, so thanks for the information.
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I cannot comprehend this world. How can click on news in my warm house to read about Syrian children freezing to death in what’s left of their bombed out homes? There isn’t enough I can do…
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I was not aware about Kiva either. It’s good to know that a difference can be made through the sharing of meaningful information.
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It’s the best use of $25 ever.
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Microloans are a great idea.
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Yes.
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