Are you looking for a worthy cause? Do you want to make a HUGE difference in an impoverished woman’s life without spending a dime or more than 10 minutes? I highly encourage you to check out Kiva.org.
Kiva is a microloan program that has been featured on Oprah and Money Magazine . I loved the idea, but I never seemed to make it a priority. As with most things I don’t write down or do right away, the thought kept slipping my mind. This time I decided to just take 10 minutes and do it already. I had spent more time chastising myself for not having followed through than it took to sign up! Lesson learned (and now shared) – just do ONE of those things that keeps nagging at you everyday. It usually ends up taking less time to just do it than you spend having it bug you.
I signed up and after looking at the applicants I loaned $25 to each of the women below.
Elda Galla in Philippines – 41yo mother of 2 that runs a little store with food and hygiene products.
Hem Meth in Cambodia – a 53yo mother of 6 that buys and sells cattle. To give perspective of how far $25 goes, Hem Meth’s husband makes $4US per day.
I love this idea! I lend $25 to a person in an impoverished part of the world. I get to pick the person that I want to help out and follow their story. Then they repay the loan within a few months ($0 spent) and I get to do it all over again!
What are you waiting for? This is probably less than you spend on a pair of shoes!
Anyone have other charity/volunteer sites or ideas they recommend?