After the last 1 1/2 or so years, my life has left me with a taste of just what it’s like to scrape the very bottom of life and almost lose everything including life.
Now that I am back to a self sustaining (and what I consider very fortunate) lifestyle and have money to do more than pay bills, I have an aching want to help others. I have been held back timewise from creating the non-profit organizations I have wanted to in the last year, though I still want to.
A great non-profit organization has come along which helps me out. Kiva is the name of the organization, and they have a website at Kiva.com. The idea of the organization is micro-loans to people in other countries who need that extra money to lift themselves up into money-making status such as business. It may sound batty and utterly insane to some (self-centered?) people but there is no interest rate to the loans.
Basically what happens is there are individuals who need a loan in order to boost the business they already have, or to build a business. The concept is a boost of moneys to get to the point of monetary sustainability. There is a repayment schedule, most times ranging from 10-14 months. The amount of money you loan is in increments of $25, so it’s not a lot of funding in our eyes.
So, I’ve made a decision to use Kiva.com to help others get ahead. I’ve deposited $50 in my first loan, and will deposit $25 each month. In the perfect world, the loan money comes back into your Kiva account which you can withdrawal… or leave it in there and loan it to another person which is what I will do. “Defaults” do occur, and I figure… if it happens, it happens. It doesn’t happen statistically very often with Kiva so the chances are low but it’s possible.
Some people put money into their church donation dish. I want it to go towards something good, instead. At least Kiva won’t ask the person getting the money if they’ve accepted the lord Jesus Christ as their savior 😛
So, figuring everything works great, $25 added monthly is equivalent to $300 added yearly. We as people blow more money on lunch in a month at times and all I’m doing is cutting back on eating out at lunch a bit. Also, it’s a good way to save money and help others as well ahah
The Sociopathic Mind of a Certified Eclectic 