KIVA

Can I talk about Christmas gifts in January or is that taboo?

When have I really cared about what is taboo?

The answer is "All the time."

But today I'm going to talk about Christmas gifts anyway. I'm going to tell you about one of the coolest gifts that I got!

This is not to belittle the FABULOUS socks and slippers that I received from Ethant (which are my 2nd favorite gift) but the best gift was from Melanie which was a $25 gift certificate to KIVA.

KIVA is a program that lets you lend money to entrepreneurs in developing countries - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. This is basically the Small Fortunes program (see left hand sidebar) accessible for everyone to contribute.

I LOVE IT!

I took my $25 and combined it with 16 other people to lend money to Kum Yem, who lives in Cambodia and wanted to purchase a cow to help her with plowing and some piglets to help subsidize her income.

She will repay the loan over the next year and when it is repaid I will reinvest it in another person who needs the help.

This is the COOLEST thing - and if you click on the Small Fortunes link and watch the video there (I think it's there) you can see the difference that LOANING small amounts of money to the people in these countries makes.

Interesting to note, but in loaning to females the loans are paid off sooner. Also, they make a more dramatic impact on the children of the woman. She will supplement her income to enable the education of her children and raise the level of the society. Men on the other hand will earn more money from the loan, but do not use it to help their children or wives.

Anyway, Thanks Mel for the gift!!