I just made a loan to someone in the developing world using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).
You can go to Kiva’s website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business – like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent – and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.
The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back – and Kiva’s loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.
I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Mohammad Ashraf Gulam Jan in Afghanistan to help him build his house. He still needs another $1,000.00 to complete his loan request of $1,075.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Mohammad Ashraf Gulam Jan too:
It’s finally easy to actually do something about poverty – using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they’re using it for.
Join me in changing the world – one loan at a time.
Thanks!
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What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:
‘Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.’
– BBC
‘If you’ve got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you’ve now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.’
– CNN Money
‘Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.’
– The Wall Street Journal
‘An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity…All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.’
– Entrepreneur Magazine
Another Look at the New York City School Voucher Experiment
An examination of the New York City school choice program, the largest and best implemented private school scholarship experiment yet conducted. Low-income public school students in grades K-4 were eligible to participate in a series of lotteries for a private school scholarship.
Here are some results:-
If not, then I recommend you click on the picture to go listen to it now, then come back here.
Pause while you listen to the vid.
Ok, what did you think?
Me, I loved it. I think it is better than the original and I really liked the original.
Anyways, the singer is Mat Weddle, lead singer/songwriter of the band Obadiah Parker from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Mat sang this cover of OutKast’s song at an open mike night at a local coffee shop and the video was edited and posted on Youtube by one of his friends. As you can see there have been almost 3 million views of the video since it was posted.
But despite being the Internet hit of 2006 and having a live album for sale via iTunes, no big record company came knocking at their door. So to answer the cries of their legion of Internet fans for more songs, Mat has decided to make his own studio album. The Elihu Project is the way he’s going to do it.
I’ll let Mat explain it himself:-
I like where this guy’s coming from, I like his music and I like his voice.
I’ve signed up – its only $10 (£6.70 approx) – and it should be fun helping talented people reach their dreams.
I wanted to let you know about Kiva (www.kiva.org), a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world.
You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty.
