This That and Whatever Comes to Mind

A lazy day

Sundays and Mondays are my days off...yesterday my landlady invited me to a Hot Cake lunch with our mutual neighbors, MI Ha and Mo...Ha is 4 and Mo will be 2 soon. Mi is their mom...we had a great couple of hours gabbing and eating and chasing around...little kids have such an amazing amount of energy and an equally amazing talent for using that energy to come up with ways to get into trouble. The food was good, the conversation was enjoyable and I had a great time playing...no need to worry about what kids think of you cuz they come right out and tell you on the spot which is very refreshing! Laid down for a nap after I got home...slept for almost 2 hours!!

This morning turned out sunny...not exactly warm as there's a cold wind blowing...time to get the laundry done as the nice weather isn't supposed to last. Of course, about the time I got the last load out on the line to dry, the clouds starting rolling in...just my luck. Have been blogging and tweeting and facebooking...plus reading a little bit more of the DH Companion. I love how I can blog on Typepad and with just a couple of clicks, have the same post show up on Twitter and Facebook... the internet is truly awesome!

Debating whether to take a nap or make a cup of coffee...I think I will do the latter and get back to work on catching up with my Kiva loans. I have a world map up with pictures of my borrowers who are working hard to repay their loans. When they complete their payments, I move them out to the wall in the hallway...however, I've been slacking off since November...most of the people on the map are long done with their loans. 

So up and away to the kitchen!

Support education: Loans for students

A new microfinance website: Vittana

Student loans in developing countries...there are so many people who want to continue their education but can't due to lack of funds and lack of support from banking institutes. The student asking for funding gets 100% of your loan which can be $25 on up. All paid back funds are placed in your PayPal account.

My first loan is to Marta Shubert in Paraguay, a 52 year old teacher who wants to go back to school for further training. Her loan is for $415 for 12 months.

Education is so important for the world to escape the poverty cycle. I mean, you look at the loans on this site and the biggest one I can find is for $800, and a couple are only a little over $200!

With just a little output on our parts, we can make a difference.

And please don't forget Kiva.org, ok?

All about Kiva and changing the world

Kiva.org...my most favorite site on all the internet....where we can help people make a better life for just a small amount of money.

What can you do with $25? Buy the latest best seller? Go out for dinner and a movie? Treat yourself to a nice bottle of wine?

How about helping a fish seller in Ghana purchase more fish to smoke and sell?

Or a farmer in Azerbaijan or Cambodia who needs fertilizer to grow better produce?

A baker in El Salvador has 3 children in school and needs ingredients to bake more bread to sell to make enough profit to pay school fees.

At Kiva.org, you can actually see the person looking for a loan...keep in mind, not a donation, but a loan. When you find someone you want to lend to, there's a 98% chance you will get all your money back...averaging from 4 months to a year. Then you can find someone else to lend to...or withdraw the funds...or even donate it to Kiva.org to help with expenses....they send 100% of your money to the entrepreneurs.

Next time, I'll give you examples of some of my own loans. Meanwhile, I hope you will visit Kiva.org and check it out.

Kiva - 50 Best Websites 2009 - TIME

Out of the millions and billions of websites on the Internet,
Kiva made Time Magazine's Top 50 of the year.

via www.time.com

GO, KIVA!!!