This season reminds us that lighting one small candle of kindness makes the world a brighter place. My own favourite way to do that is Kiva.
Kiva is a micro-lending service for people who would not have access to fair finance. Too often their only option is predatory loan sharks. It’s inspired by Grameen Bank, whose founder, Muhammad Yunus, won a Nobel Peace Prize.
There’s a lot to like about Kiva:
- It funds loans, not gifts, so people stay in control.
- Loans are applied to people’s expressed needs, not the priorities of an aid agency.
- You have complete control over who you support.
- The purposes are intensely practical: cloth for a dressmaker, a few hens, a toilet, seedlings, a solar light.
- The default rate is vanishingly small, because borrowers are supported by their communities.
- As a loan is repaid, you can recycle the funds through new loans.
- You can be part of all this for as little as $25.
We’re very fortunate in regional WA, and we know what practical help looks like. I invite you to join our South West Kiva team, “Australia’s Bottom Left Corner.” You’ll be very welcome; here’s the link:
https://www.kiva.org/invitedto/australias_bottom_left_corner/by/iain4596
However you mark the season, may it bring light; and may you pass some on. The joy of generosity buoys up both the giver and the receiver.