kiva.org

ok, so i'm taking this class, a university requirement for non-majors, thats about global interdependence. my prof is really cool, he's pakistani and he knows a lot about economics and global economy and politics. he's a really nice person, and you can tell he feels passionately about the subject. the material is a little boring to me, but ya know, thats just how it goes.

anyway, we just were talking about poverty and hunger in the last couple lectures. it was really depressing and hard to actually want to pay attention because its so depressing. i know there are a lot (how about that understatement?) of people in the world that suffer from poverty and hunger for many different reasons. it's hard to sit in a classroom, in a university that i pay thousands of dollars for, and try to connect, when i know that i really can't do anything.

well, i am wrong. i can do something, and i did. i heard about this site Kiva a couple months ago, thinking that it was a such a good idea. but then i went on with my life. then, as i was watching Brotherhood 2.0, that i mentioned in my last blog, they talked about it. throughout the project they have been talking about change and what people can do to decrease world suck.

this was just what i needed to try to feel like i've helped someone. so i went to the site, and it's incredibly easy, you click "lend", and then you have your pick of specific entrepreneurs from around the world. basically its a loan system. you lend a minimum of $25, and eventually that person will pay you back, so really, it doesn't cost anything. these people work really hard to bring themselves out of poverty. so that's what i've done. i lent to a woman in Tanzania who has a food market. kiva will send me updates on how my loan has helped. i'm pretty excited.

now, i know that poverty and hunger will probably never be solved or gotten rid of completely. i guess you could add this to Stuff White People Like, but i think that this site is a really great way to decrease world suck. and if world suck is being decreased, its a better place for us all. so if you feel like lending, i highly recommend it.

ETA: here's a really great video from one of the brothers, Hank, that pretty much sums up how i feel about microfinancing.