Kiva

Nancy lives in Kenya. She is 43 and married to a good man who supports her initiatives and they have 6 children. Two are in secondary school while the rest are in primary school.

She works hard to make sure that her children get a good education and the basic necessities of life. She sells milk and Napier grass. Milk sales contribute $28 and Napier grass contributes $ 71 per month. She would like to get an additional cow, which will provide her with more milk and her income will increase gradually.

She got started with a $75 loan from someone on the internet. She has yet to pay it back. But chances are excellent she will.

Her loan and many other loans for folks like her are made possible through the organziation, Kiva. Kiva means agreement or unity in Swahili. Not one loan has been defaulted on.

These microloans are processed through the website as lenders (everyday folks) decide to whom they will be given. Kiva connects the first world to the third world.

The stories are amazing.

In just over a year, over half a million dollars have been loaned out. The average loan requested is over $500. Average repayment time is 9 to 12 months. The typical amount loaned by each lender is $80.

Their site is temporarily 'down' because of a Frontline special that caused a tremendous amount of attention and has overloaded their servers.

Check in with them when you get a chance.