Today is Blog Action Day ’08, a day when bloggers all over the join to discuss a single issue. This year’s issue is Poverty, and so I thought I would mention a little something Raelene and I are doing to try and help.
Recently Raelene and I, thanks to our friends Marsha and Oprah, joined a community called Kiva. Through Kiva, we are able to loan people in developing countries money to help them do things they might not otherwise be able to do. Over time we recieve updates on the people we’ve lent to, and as the loans are paid back we can use the money to help others as well. The idea is you don’t need to be a millionaire to fund good works, and that by pooling your $25 with a handful other other people’s $25 you really can make a difference.
Our current Kiva loan is to a construction working in Nicaragua who needed money to repair the roof on his house. The 9 month loan was funded at the end of July, and so far we’ve already been 25% repaid. Ten lenders from around the world (including Raelene and myself) pooled their money together to make the loan. This is really, really cool. You should check it out.