An Inspiring Idea

This past week Brian and I went to a very interesting event in Seattle. It was an evening with Matt Flannery, CEO and co-founder of an organization called Kiva. His company is a not-for-profit lending organization focused on micro finance. It was a truly inspirational evening.

Are you aware that for MOST of the world outside of the United States people survive on less than two dollars a day, and that a loan of $25 can change an entire families prospects? $25 dollars is the difference between scraping by, and doing well. It is the means to start a small business that allows children to attend school, allows a mother the dignity of a better living for her children, buys a bus ticket for a woman to go directly to the lake to buy fish from the fishermen, instead of using a middleman, who make a huge profit, while she makes only enough for necessities, but not enough to get ahead.

I sat during his talk and did quick calculations in my head. I spend around 25 dollars a day, just feeding my family. I don't "own" my own home, so there is a daily living expense to add, I put gas in my car to run my kids to preschool, music lessons, McDonald's... things I feel very blessed to be able to have and do. But there is NO WAY my family could live on less than $2 a day. Not even less than $10 a day. We are considerably lucky, and it's time to let others know.

Please go to www.kiva.org and look around at the people who have gone to a lender in their area, and who qualify for a micro loan. People who could benefit from our wealth. 98% of this money gets paid back with in a year. Really. It is for us, the people lending, a donation we would get back. You can choose to with drawl your money when you get repaid, or redistribute the funds to someone else who could benefit. There is no interest earned. This is a non-profit group. All of the people who qualify for a loan are screened and hoping to start legitimate businesses, people who just need a little help to make their lives better.

I'm making an effort to "find" some money. Please join me. Make someones life easier.