Showing posts with label KIVA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KIVA. Show all posts

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Takeaway from KIVA

"I don't believe in charity; I believe in solidarity. Charity is vertical, so it's humiliating. It goes from top to bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other and learns from the other. I have a lot to learn from other people." ~ Eduardo Galeano

Have you heard of KIVA? Kiva is a non-profit micro-lending organization that connects folks around the world who need a loan with people who are willing to make those loan, often at $25 increments. I am giving my tiny share and one year of my activity with KIVA is completed. I have contributed amount of 25 $ as loan ten times from June 2013 to May 2014. Hence, a total fund of 250 $ is acting as seed money on KIVA today. 100 $ has been returned back by the borrowers and is in circulation again as revolving fund. I too got 50 $ bonus for introducing two friends on KIVA. You may doubt what I say, but you will believe what I do with the proof. This is my Profile at KIVA for the verification purpose. The complete process of giving loans and reimbursement through KIVA is explained in a previous blog post.

The poor and the weakest fight harder for survival, so they deserve more. They need only a little money to set up a business that can dramatically improve their standard of life. This is where commercial capital isn't willing or able to serve.  Milaap in India and KIVA are one of the best start-up ideas I've seen. They are doing humanitarian work and completely benefiting all the stakeholders.

The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention. - John Burroughs

WHY I LOAN? I loan because I can. Only capacity and compassion are required to do these small acts. I have a certain degree of positive bias towards marginalised. As traveler and native of India, I have seen poverty first hand and am committed to making the world a better place for all. Ground truth and lived realities are the collateral benefits of becoming a 'Rural Manager'. Aid is a nice but not sustainable way to help people. I had questioned myself a great deal and this made me choose a suitable way to help others.

There are people who claim to become altruistic only when their own self is fulfilled. Its pity that they lack sense of “enough”. Often the ‘successful’ tend to become ‘insulated’ from the society as they get richer and more successful. Most of them gradually generate attitude of apathy and contempt towards poor because the relationship is based upon social and economic inequality. In return, among other things, they always endure the relentless stares of poverty. An unequal society with majority lacking even basic amenities will tend to create undesirable reaction. I am not asking for everyone should have same but that each must have enough. So, such 'successful' persons need to awaken the inner conscience for empathy. To whom much is given, of him will much be required.

"If not us, who? If not now, when? " - A slogan given by Czech University Students in Prague, Nov. 1989.

I always recite this slogan in the hours of doubt. I am not seeking political activism and grand relief work from the readers. A small, sustainable and efficient way to change the world is better than fascination for a big project. I usually follow a simple mantra in the matters of lifestyle : One can change, provided the will is there. I will ask readers to help people through small loans. Doing this doesn't require much time, absence from office for volunteership, and doesn't deplete one much of the hard earned money. I agree that it is neither glamorous and can't make one famous, but it will make a difference to someone!

*I am planning to start contributing on another platform called - Rang De with a new job.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Little is not little, enough is not enough.

I have decided to loan 25$ each month from my salary to the people in need of credit. This will be done through KIVA. KIVA is a platform of lending that has a 99.03% repayment rate for 340,986,325 transactions in ended loans. This loan repayment rate is much higher than any bank. I will decide later with repayments that how much part of my money will be further used either as loan or development aid. This is my Profile at KIVA so that one can always check the authenticity of the claim.

A story of how a small loan from you can change the life of a family


How Kiva Works (http://www.kiva.org/about/how)

1- Make a loan : You make a loan on KIVA. All KIVA loans are made possible by our Field Partners, who vet, administer, and disburse each loan.

2- Get updates : Throughout the life of the loan, you will see progress updates from Kiva through your email, and if you come back to the site.

3- Get paid back : As the borrower repays the loan, the money becomes available in your account. This is called your Kiva Credit.

4- Repeat : You can now use it to fund another loan, donate it to Kiva, or withdraw it to spend on something else.

Why did I choose KIVA?

Development aid has been flowing for decades, but the results have been absolute dismal. Instead, recipients have merely become dependent. There is a long chain of "middlemen" i.e. the consultants and the companies involved in this "trade" between donor and beneficiaries. Hence, I find microfinance as a better instrument to alleviate poor than a poorly designed development aid. People should decide how to help those in need. It needs a very big database of demand and supply of credit with the purpose of loan clearly mentioned. KIVA is doing just that thing. Hence, we will far less likely to complain that their money is being wasted or misused if we chose where it went.

I believe that our society cannot sustain , unless we contribute back in someway or the other. I strongly feel if even one person does his bit towards social good, there will be positive change. I am not giving anyone lot of theories, clever strategies or concepts. I am asking for direct cash transfers to the needy as a loan. In helping others - Little is not little, enough is not enough.