Kiva is a microfinance website. There’s a few of them around the place. I chose Kiva because it seemed fairly transparent and accountable and the interface was straightforward.
I’ve been on Kiva since June 2009. For 101 things, I decided to get my Kiva loans to a level where the repayments would completely sustain new loans. I thought 20 active loans (loans currently being repaid) was a nice round number and would take me a while, and probably meet that goal.
It did meet my goal, and it didn’t take all that long. The “rules” were that I was to lend new money once a month and re-loan (and top up to $25 if needed) once a month, which made for a new loan every fortnight. Over the year that I’ve been on Kiva it’s added up to a reasonable amount, but each time it feels like small change. For me, that’s the power of microfinance.
There’s a lot of discussion about the role, benefits and disadvantages of microfinance. I take the view that it’s one of a range of tools I can use to expiate my white middle-class guilt help people who need help. I also make a regular donation to Plan, and I buy the Big Issue. There’s a whole bunch of stuff people attach to things like charity, aid, giving – like guilt, obligation, morality, blah blah blah. I try very hard to stay away from those things. I do what I do because I think it’s good. Other people think different things are good. Each to their own.
But if you think you’d like to try microfinance, Kiva’s not a bad place to start.
And thanks for putting us onto it.