My Kiva Loan Candidate

It was very hard, but I was finally able to choose a Kiva loan candidate. There are so many people who need help and just a $25 loan can go such a long way to helping those people. However, I did make my decision and here is her profile: www.kiva.org/lend/1025132.

When I made my loan over the weekend, she only had $50 loaned to her but when I checked today, her loan was fully funded! I am very grateful to everyone that gave her a loan so she can give her children an education. As I have been doing my research on El Salvador for my English assignment, I have found out that gang violence is a very big problem in El Salvador. I also found out that El Salvador is the country with the worst homicide rate and it is due to the gang violence. A lot of the reasons behind the youth joining gangs are because of poverty and acceptance. These children experience such poverty and with the gangs and the criminal activity, it's an easy way out of poverty. Therefore, education plays a big part and that is ultimately why I chose my Kiva candidate. She wants to give her children an education so they can have better living conditions. She knows the importance of education in making the lives of her children better, and I know education is what will help all children in El Salvador. With education they can, hopefully, get better jobs and end the cycle of poverty. I know it isn't a cure all, but education can go a long way to helping one of the poorest nations in the country.

Kiva

For our big English 112 assignment, we are learning and taking part in online activism. We are doing this through a program called Kiva. If you have not heard of Kiva, it is a program that gives entrepreneur's in underdeveloped countries around the world a chance to fulfill their dreams and provide for their families. Kiva specializes in microfinancing. What is microfinancing, you ask? Well, microfinancing is loans in low increments that are available for people who would otherwise be unavailable for traditional bank loans. A lot of the people that apply for these loans are from very poor areas so would not qualify for big loans. 

What is special about Kiva is they have field partners all over the world that submit loan applicants online and you can loan as low as $25 to these applicants, and truly make a difference in their lives. What is even more great about Kiva is that your $25 is not a donation, it is a loan that, when repaid, will be repaid right back to you. So you can truly make a difference, while at very little risk to you!

I had heard of microfinancing in my Economics class but had not heard of the Kiva program until this English assignment. I think what Kiva is doing is a wonderful thing and I believe they are truly making a difference. You can check out their website at www.kiva.org to get more information, and to read about some of the stories and even pick a candidate for a loan. That's what I get to do for my English class. I haven't picked a candidate yet, because there are so many people that deserve it, but hopefully I will have one picked by my next blog!