kiva

For my birthday this year Tom got me a really cool gift--a gift certificate to Kiva.  Kiva is a microfinance organization that is fighting to end poverty.  Check out this video to see how it works:

With the gift Tom gave me we were able to loan money to four different women around the world--two in Mongolia and two in Bolivia.  The cool thing about Kiva is that it's not just a handout, it's a loan.  That means in 12-14 months the loans we gave will be repaid and we can loan to other people around the world.  It also means that people in developing nations have a chance to get the help they need to "create better lives for themselves and their families."

Here are some cool statistics about Kiva:
It was founded in 2005 and since then there have been....

• 765,861 lenders
• $312 million in loans
• 98.94% repayment rate

98.94% repayment rate?! That's incredible.  It is evident that this organization is successfully empowering people around the globe.