On a Positive Note - KIVA.org

A reader and friend here in Colorado informed me that the blog has fallen into a perpetually depressing publication - and that I should at least mention, from time to time, the positive happenings - such as the birth of the neighbor's kittens... Unfortunately, as I told him, Obama's "Pro-Choice" act included Feline Females, and my neighbor's cat regretted her one-night-stand with the stray Tom in the Alley, and subsequently aborted the litter of kittens with help of the Federal Government... Sorry - No Kittens.

Alas - There is always a fall back for a positive and uplifting story - My involvement with KIVA.ORG.

KIVA.ORG is a micro-lending service which provides loans to individuals and groups in troubled countries, in an attempt to spread entrepreneurship and create wealth by funding innovation and dedication. The individual lender is requested to contribute $25 to one loan - which is usually paid back over a one year period (depending on the term of the loan at the other end). The rate of loan default is so low on Kiva, making this pro-active "investment" low risk.

The Kiva loan is completely repaid to the lender, who is free to re-lend to another individual, or withdraw after the loan has been repaid.

I started with 3 loans last year, totalling $75.

The first loan went to Bahtiyer Odilmatov, a Tajik farmer (from Tajikistan) to invest in livestock during the slow months, when prices were reduced. He took an 8 month loan, which has since been repaid in full. After making the loan, I also did some research on the lifestyle of Tajik peoples from the region in which he lives. It was a fulfilling experience, which excited me to engage in a second loan.

The second loan went to a group of women in Uganda, Total 2083(b) Group, who run a business of Charcoal Sales. Now, the selling of charcoal is controversial because it leads to deforestation - however, it is necessary for heating and cooking in the region... more information I was able to learn in further studies of the destination of my loan.

My third loan went to Amal in Lebanon, an investment in her clothing sales operations... Of course, Lebanon is in the conflict ridden middle east - which is why an investment in entrepreneurial activities is so important - it acts as a stabilizing factor... those who have something to lose are less likely to pursue radical or extreme measures.

As the loans have been paid back over time, I have shared the experiences with friends and family, encouraging them to make similar loans - or at least letting them take part by redistributing my funds that have been repaid... giving them some stock in the lives of others.

The mission of KIVA is to change lives in uncertain regions of the world... but at home, the impact of investing - even $25 - is so strong and fulfilling that you cannot help but want to share it with others.

I encourage you to visit Kiva... make a $25 loan... track the success of your investment... and share your experiences with others... you do not need to move mountains to change lives...

KIVA - Spreading Free Markets and Supporting Personal Responsiblity

The key behind truly upholding the ideals of Liberty and Freedom is the understanding that it is the self, not the government, that is best equipped to care for the individual.

There is a non-profit movement that I was introduced to some time ago, and which I am greatly supportive of, that serves to spread freedom and self reliance far more than any donation possibly can.

The organization is called KIVA.

KIVA's goal is to provide sources of finance where traditional US style loans are not available (in third world countries where governments are shaky at best, and there is no such thing as a stable economy). But these sources of income are not hand-outs... they are hand-ups.

KIVA is a micro-lending company, where you are allowed to invest in a third world entrepreneur $25 US dollars at a time. These are not donations, but loans that will be fully paid back to the lender over the agreed to contract time. The risk is low, but the benefits are enormous... especially for the individual obtaining the loan.



These loans represent a new head of cattle, new inventory in their store, expansion of a privately owned business, betterment of the lives of the lender and the improvement of the society around them.

There is a new front on the global war on poverty. It is the spread of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... the spread of freedom. Not by toppling governments, but by emboldening people to live better lives and provide a future for their families.

What better way to use $25 than to spread freedom and hope?

And remember... you'll get that $25 back... so reinvest!

I currently have three loans out that are being repaid: One to a cattle farmer in Tajikistan who wanted to buy new cattle in the winter, when prices were down; One to a woman in Lebanon who wanted to expand inventory in her western style clothing store; and One to a group of women in Uganda who wanted to expand their charcoal sales business.

I challenge my readers to provide one $25 loan, and leave a comment telling me what your investment went towards, and who it helped. I know I get about 30 unique visits a day... if 1/3 of my readers made one loan today, we could help change the lives of 10 folks directly and hundreds or thousands indirectly.

How will you help?

I can change the world...

We hear about it in songs, we hear about it on the campaign trails, we even read about it to our children in their story books... being better people and making changes in this world.

As children, our imaginations run wild with fanciful ideas of a Utopian society... and somewhere along the way we grow into cynical old buggars, seemingly incapable of compromise or so overwhelmed that we find no use in attempting to make a change...

But what if it were simple... What if reaching out to help our fellow man was not any harder than acting on someone elses suggestion.

Take for instance "Do One Nice Thing" - a website committed to the simplest life changes that can help the earth, or putting a smile on someones face by sending a warm and fuzzy sweater to an Iraqi family.



The power of a smile can change the world in which we live.

And what about spreading freedom and democracy? War seems to be an interesting way to invoke peace... What if we led by example? What if there was a movement that put the power of the free market in the hands of the people around the world, in hopes that they will learn to stand on their own two feet and build a better life for their family, their community, their world?

Kiva.org is a great website, focused on micro lending. No more than $25 per requested loan is allowed per lender... and your $25 teamed with a few other folk's $25 gives the opportunity to someone in a poverty stricken third world country... be it a cattle grazer in Lebanon, or a fruit stand owner in Peru... In countries where traditional loans and banks do not exist, you can be part of the change in their society.



And what's better... your $25 is a loan, not a hand-out... More of a Hand Up! The individual receiving the loan has promised to pay you back. Free market at it's best!

I would highly recommend clicking on the link to KIVA.ORG, let them know that I sent you (to show that the word is being spread). You'll need my e-mail, and it is available in the "contact me" link.

I currently have three loans out. I challenge my readers to sign-up with KIVA and find an entrepreneurial spirit to support.

If you have ever been moved to make a change, this is as easy as it gets.

I fully support KIVA, and I endorse the micro-lending program. With this forward thinking helping hand, we can have a positive business minded impact in parts of the world we hardly knew existed... and make someones life a little easier.



My lender page.