kiva – Loans That Change Lives

I’ve always wanted to do some volunteer work since I was little.  It started when my elementary school teacher showed a video to us in a class:  the video was about kids in Ethiopia.  The reality in other countries shocked me.  As a Japanese, I could eat anything at anytime since I was a baby, and I thought it was normal thing.  Apparently it wasn’t.  In other countries they have no food to eat and many people die everyday.  Kids can’t go to school to learn.  They don’t have any facility to do anything.  Is there anything I can do to such people?

I tried to find out what I could do, but there was no actual chance for me to go to the country and help them out.  School, work…  I didn’t even have that amount of money anyway.  Then, I found this website- kiva

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.  You can choose someone to lend to from this website, and then make a loan. Help a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community.  It is a loan, so of course you will get your money back after the period, or if you wish you can re-lend to someone else in need.

There are many interesting businesses, Grocery Store in Afghanistan, Beauty Salon in the Dominican Republic, Taxi driver in Lebanon etc…  I made a loan to a restaurant owner in Peru.  You can choose the amount to lend in increments of US$25.00 up to the total amount they are requesting.