Emails hit my phone at a rapid pace. Last night I glanced at a few, my wife Katrina peered over for a second to see what I was reading.
She asked what Kiva was – so I explained it’s micro loans around the world. It’s helping impoverished nations expand through entrepreneurialism – one by one.
She thought it was interesting. The email I had said I had a credit and money was waiting to loan out. I asked her to pick the next loan.
She ran through probably 30 different individuals and groups seeking money. The conversations in her head must have been really interesting, because the conversations each one generated were interesting enough on their own!
Seamstress looking for a sowing machine, barber looking to buy a new chair, and a single mother of five – a farmer – looking for funds to put windows on her what appeared to be a mud hut. We even learned what a ger is – I doubt you’ll recognize a “ger” as a mongolian felt cone shaped tent.
Kiva is really interesting. What’s even more interesting is listening to her rationale for making a loan versus my rationale. She didn’t like long payback schedules – those don’t bother me. As a money person – I would rather a borrower come up with a manageable payment schedule than try to rush a payback and fall short. That just leads to frustration and a sense of failure.
She didn’t want to loan money unless it was directly for a business. I understood that. For example she thought lending to put windows in a house wasn’t necessarily helping her grow her business. I explained if it kept her family warm at night – that’s one less thing she has to worry about as a farmer and it may help her work harder without even realizing it.
There are a lot of borrowers looking for money in the middle east. Right or wrong we both shy’d away from borrowers in Pakistan or Palestine. There are plenty other people in regions around the world that need money – and DON’T live in places that generally hate America.
We agreed on some, disagreed on others, and in the end we lent money to John in Kenya. Here’s John’s story:
John, who lives in the Kongowea, Kenya, is a water vendor. He is married and has five children, two of whom are in school. He supplies water to neighborhoods. This idea came from the fact that there is a challenge of water delivery in the area. In addition to this, he also owns a motorcycle that he uses to transport people around the area. He is employed as a chef and has rental houses.
A loan of 40,000 KES will help John add more water kiosks. Although the high cost of living has reduced the disposable income of many customers needing transportation services, John intends to purchase more motorcycles in the future. He believes the income from the business will improve the quality of life of his family.
It just seems logical that water distribution in Kenya can serve many purposes. We both liked John, and wish John the best!
Kiva.org is the website if you’re interested. If you’re wracking your head trying to come up with highly unique Christmas ideas – I’m sure giving a Kiva loan to someone would make the most unusual and creative gift card under the tree for anyone!
Greg
