Kiva Launches in the US

Today marks a huge day in the world of micro lending. Kiva has opened up residents of both New York and California to receive micro loans. So many small business owners would love to expand, but can't because they cant get the funding necessary to do so. Thanks to Kiva, now there is a way. By the time I got out to Kiva.org today the lending was well underway! According to Kiva's twitter feed, today 866 loans have been made to US borrowers totaling $29,700. It is amazing to see how generous people can be when in our daily lives we don't see these things in the people around us. Perhaps that is just people being modest and not bragging about their philanthropic ventures. But no matter, every now and then I come across some fact or figure that suggests that there is more good in the world than I would have previously thought.

Anyway...

As I have already made my Kiva loan for the month, I had no intentions to actually make a loan until I started looking at who was out there. I'd estimate that half of who I looked at were people in the Bay Area. Many of them are fundraising for money to grow their child care businesses, which I absolutely support. Decent child care is so difficult for so many people to find and afford that allowing these small businesses to grow only seems like the right thing to do. However, the one person who struck a cord with me was a woman named Serena. She lives in Mountain View, she attends SJSU, and she teaches yoga. I love yoga. She needed a micro loan to finish her schooling to get her certification so that she can expand her services to include more expansive personal fitness training. So she got my second loan for the month. I may or may not have shed a tear. To impact someones life who lives half way around the world is a wonderful thing to do, and such a small amount of money can make a huge difference. Yet to help someone who lives in my own back yard improve herself and the community that we share is an entirely different experience.

Here is a short video (8 minutes) that does a great job describing the purpose and mission of Kiva. It's a little old (pre US launch) but entirely relevant in every way.