Kiva Update: They're Pretty Legit!

I just received an email from Kiva Fellow Maia Pelleg today because one of my loans is to a man in Ghana.

In what I would call a thorough and open email, Maia let me (along with all the other Ghana lenders) know that the field partner there, Sinapi Aba Trust, was not quite doing its job. While they were trying very hard to maintain their loans correctly, their lack of organization had caused a number of loans to be duplicated. In addition, some loan amounts and terms of the loans on the Kiva website were incorrect.

Maia went on to apologize for these malfunctions and took full responsibility for their correction. She claims that she is working with SAT to bring them back up to Kiva code, ensuring that everyone who needs loans are getting them, and that we in the States are going to get the right information as to the status of our loans.

While I cannot by any means prove that Maia's work is going according to plan, I can say that I am proud that the people at Kiva are fessing up to their mistakes, taking full responsibility for them, and trying their best to amend them. When I listened to a "Stuff You Should Know" podcast about microlending, I remembered hearing horror stories of some small microloaning institutions acting just as cruelly and in a self-serving manner as the biggest of banks. That's just not right, and that's not what microlending is about.

Kiva, it seems, is trying to stay on the right side of the microlending aisle, and for that, I'm sticking with them.

Give-a to Kiva!

Hey Readers,

So I love Kiva, the microlending website. I love it because I know exactly where my money is going, and then I get it back so I can give it out again! It (literally) is the gift that keeps on giving. What could be better than that? Kiva is my default present nowadays because it just brings so much joy to the people who give and those who receive.

Therefore, I've signed up to be on Kiva's bloglist. This means when they have big news or need some help, then I'm going to let you all know!

Today, they'd like to win the Chase Community Giving Contest. The winner of the contest gets $1 million from Chase Bank (and who doesn't want to take money from banks right now, am I right?) and the winner is determined entirely by votes! That's right guys, time to put your internet clicking skillz to use! If you're on the Facebooks, you can vote via a Facebook app (more info here). Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to vote besides through this app. Since I'm no fan of FBook Apps, I'd suggest signing up, voting, and then deleting the app off your page. It's that easy.

And whenever you need a quick $25 present for someone, why not turn to Kiva? They're awesome and help people out who really need it. And that's badass.

*(*)I know you're all aware of the horrible devastation going on in Haiti right now, so in case you need a friendly reminder to donate to charities that are helping out Haiti, consider this it! Americans have already donated over $150 million dollars, but they'll need every penny to help them rebuild over the ensuing years. For the Red Cross, text "Haiti" to 90999. For other organizations, try searching through this list.
(*)That first asterisk was not attached to anything, but it did a good job of getting your attention, didn't it?