Published by Drew Meyers on 29 Jun 2008
Archive for June, 2008
Published by Drew Meyers on 25 Jun 2008
The Girl Effect
Can you imagine a girl living in poverty? If not, maybe the Girl Effect will help.
Published by Drew Meyers on 21 Jun 2008
My Latest Kiva Loans
Most who know me know that I’m a huge fan of Kiva. I’m still amazed that technology enables me to help entrepreneurs all over the world improve their lives for as little as $25 and a couple clicks of my mouse. I thought I’d take a moment to highlight the entrepreneurs on Kiva that I loaned to this past week.
Comite San Bernardino II Group
Published by Drew Meyers on 18 Jun 2008
Hitting the Microfinance Links – June 18th
Published by Sammi Fredenburg on 16 Jun 2008
Our Excess, Their Subsistance
You should see my stash. I hadn’t taken much more than a passing glance at it for a while.
I used to love to knit, crochet, sew, serge, bead, tat, weave . . . . I still have a room full of the equipment, supplies, yarn, bolts of fabric, boxes of beads, etc. There is no time to mess with it anymore, but I have it. A room full of good intentions. I just can’t let it go. Someday . . . . .
Women in third world countries could use these things. Were it not for ridiculous details like shipping, paying duty, English instructions, parts replacements. But thing is . . . . . I spent my mad money on this excess. Millions of women in the world are wishing and praying for something to make something from so they can feed their kids, let alone a bite for themselves. Just not fair. My excess could be their substance. My back basement could be their Disneyland.
I’m saying this to reflect that I don’t know much about microcredit. I believe in it, I lobby for it, encourage Drew and Jerry and many other good hearts who are passionate about it and who have seen lives changed let alone saved first-hand, by the smallest of offerings. I’d known of KIVA since its inception and were proud of friends who were on fire for it. I’ve known people in leadership at RESULTS’s Microcredit Summit Campaign, at Oikocredit, and many other organizations. My tiny mind can only go in so many directions, some days not many directions at all. Each day, 27,500 children under five die everyday from adverse effects of extreme poverty according to Save the Children. And when you’re the mom, one is too many.
But even though I no longer dabble in this stuff, I put more than the minimum investment for a loan into things like, say, an espresso card. Or pizza night. I could wimp out and say things like the gas tank or the groceries, couldn’t I? But that would be just another excuse.
Bottom line: I don’t know much about microcredit and I over-process it too much, it’s really probably quite simple. I don’t need to know about electricity to know that a switch will turn the light on. Or that my $25, in the hands of a microcredit organization, can be more lasting and satisfying than even a free evening in my craft stash. I can even choose who I would like to contribute to, so if I see a crafter, sewer, or beader that I can relate to, I can do so. I used to crochet prayer shawls . . . . . I could set aside hunks of time to stitch Linus blanket squares or preemie hats for Save The Children, or one of many other worthy causes. But were I not to, I would still eat, as would my son. And get my almost-daily mocha. Just a matter of recalibrating my priorities and being a little less unselfish. I’ve seen many a microcredit loaner become addicted to it . . . . there are worse things!
But like so many other opportunities, we have the hard work done for us. Others have researched it, located needy people, laid the details out for us, set up secure payment options, and gotten Charity Navigator ratings, which is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on charities. Drew and Jerry here have rightly put this on our front burners — thanx guys. I just need to throw the switch to turn the light on.
Out of excuses here.
Published by Drew Meyers on 15 Jun 2008
Hitting the Microfinance Links – June 15th
- Power elates…..YEAH IT DOES!!!
- Mujer y Sociedad Parte 2
- On the Road to Kenya (and links)
- Thanks for the link Erik!!
- Open Source Micro Finance
Published by Jerry Ostradicky on 13 Jun 2008
From Bangladesh To The World
Microfinance has been around for decades, but no country has benefited from it more than Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the most populous countries and has one of the highest poverty rates in the world. I have known about the great stuff that Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank have been doing in Bangladesh, from the original Grameen Bank to some of the newer branches such as Grameen Danone (affordable nutritious foods for the poor) to Grameen Kalyan (Health and welfare services). However, recently I was reading an articles in Forbes titled “Is Bigger Better”, that was talking about another great microfinance institution called BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). In the article, Forbes talks about the success of BRAC in Bangladesh and whether or not Fazle Hasan Abed will be able to transfer the success over to Africa.
There has been a lot of great progress all over the world to alleviate poverty, however, it seems that most of the advancements are in pockets. It will be interesting to watch all the different microfinance pockets around the world come together to help eradicate poverty worldwide.
Published by Jerry Ostradicky on 12 Jun 2008
Forbes’ Top 50 MFIs
Here is a really interesting article that I found in Forbes — The 50 Top Microfinance Institutions
It is a great starting point for looking into microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world.
Published by Jerry Ostradicky on 12 Jun 2008
My First Kiva Loan
Back in November, when I first heard about Kiva, I went to the website and I felt like I was a kid on Christmas morning. The very first time that I browsed through all of the different loans, I was so excited; I mean, where do you start? Who do you decide to give a loan to? Do you choose by country, amount, repayment period, male/female, or sector? There were so many options, I didn’t know where to start. Eventually I decided to donate to Dilrabo Toshoeva of J.Rasulov, Tajikistan.
I really liked her story, so I decide to loan to her, and that is where my journey began.
A few days ago I logged into my account and found that Dilrabo had repaid all of her loan. I was ecstatic. Even though I don’t know Dilrabo, I felt really proud to be a part of her success.
In addition to being linked to Dilrabo, I really enjoyed being a part of her lender community. It was really interesting to be able to see all the names and faces of the other people who were going through the same experience with Dilrabo as me. I found myself constantly clicking on other peoples profiles to see what other people they were lending to. It got me wondering, will I see these people in other lender communities? There are a lot of entrepeneurs on Kiva, but I found that most people give multiple loans, not just one. It’s sort of like an addiction, you feel so good about yourself, you just what to keep lending. Additionally, I found that lending is like the gift that keeps on giving. Once you loan once, you most likely will not take your money and leave. When one loan is up, I get to start the exciting process all over.
If you haven’t had a chance to look at Kiva, I suggest you give it a try. Even if you don’t end up lending to anybody, just browsing through the Kiva community and field partners is a great experience. It’s great to see how many people are out there making a difference.
Published by Drew Meyers on 11 Jun 2008
Kiva Gets a Billboard (Sponsored by Paypal)
This is very cool — a billboard for Kiva (paid for by Paypal)!
