I’ve walked around with a white “Make Povery History” band for well over a year now but i haven’t really done anything to help making poverty history. OK, i’ve spread the word, and — well, ok, i did spend seven months “capacity developing” in Timor-Leste, in essence, helping a government help itself, thus in a tiny little way helping the country get a wee bit away from the situation they are in now. So yeah, i’ve done something. But not since i’ve got that band, and i suppose that’s the point.

This year, this feller Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen bank won the Nobel Peace price. Grameen’s business is microfinance. Loaning (comparingly) tiny sums of money to people who

• really need it, and
• can pay it back

What’s nifty is that microfinance, when done well, does good and is a viable business, while still being ethical. Now how about that?  (A Nobel peace price, that’s how)

There are a whole bunch of microfinance institutions around the globe. One such is called Kiva. Kiva lends money to people who have projects in developing countries, mainly in Africa, Mexico and East Europe.

I am have now become a lender for Kiva. I have lended US$25 to Jeanina Plaza, who makes and sells clothes in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Jeanina seems like an entrepreneur and a realist to me, and having been to Ecuador once, i felt a little bit of a connection to the country. Also, Jeanina had her loan nearly funded, so i could feel the warm-and-fuzzy by seeing her loan get realized with my modest contribution.
Since we’re talking about lending here, not donating, i’m actually expected (or at least, likely) to get my money back within a year. So in the end, i may end up contributing to something good and it could end up not costing me a penny. What a strange world :).  If it fails, hey, that’s the life, and if it works out, my faith in microfinancing has just increased. And the way things are now, i definitely feel that i’m going to lend more in the future.

I feel like i’m on the train making poverty history again. One millimeter at a time.