Ever since I last posted (merely hours ago) I was thinking....why haven't I participated in Kiva yet? I should practice what I preach, right? And I've actually been waiting to post about microcredit and Kiva for a while.
So here I go!
When you go to the website you can pick a business by deciding what you want in regards to "status" "gender" "sector" and "region." I was a little shocked to see North America as an option for region but hey, poverty is everywhere. When I clicked on it I realized that they were all for Mexico.
After browsing and browsing I've finally settled on my group that I will lend money too. I have chosen Lovina. Here are some bits from their blurb on the website and why I chose them:
This group consist of ladies who are raising pigs. Three ladies were already selected to administer the group by coordinating everything that are involved with the group from money management and other activities, like: as Chair person, as Secretary, and as Cashier. In the past, the ladies in this Lovina Group raised their animals the traditional way, since they did not know how to raise pig the right and effective way, so that the results were not maximal. For that matter DINARI took initiative to help this Lovina Group so that they could get ahead in their business. Besides guidance, DINARI is also giving capital loan to each member in the amount of Rp1,400,000 (about US$154)/member, that afterwards were used to buy feedstock and feed for 1 raising season. With that guidance, and assistance from DINARI, the Lovina Group improves in their Group Management and activities, so that they are convinced to obtain better results in every member's heart.
Okay so really I just cut out one sentence...The things I like the most are that it's for women, they coordinate everything they're involved with, they raise pigs effectively, and they will get better results. It seems very effective and like it addresses the core issues. I'm in.
I chose to donate 25 dollars (the minimum but you can donate as much as 325) and proceed to the check out. Here I register, pay with my paypal account (to which I conveniently forget my user name and password. **aside** I have to retrieve them by entering my name, zip code and phone number. No problem, easy as pie. However, I mistype my phone number and don't realize it until I've been denied a good three times and notice I put a 1 instead of an 8...so after that I forget my password because I have too many accounts and emails that I can barely keep my head straight. Agh!!)
Finally I've donated! Success! After confirming everything I'm lead to a very anti-climactic page. It just says "Your Transactions." It's a little disappointing.
I click around and go to "My portfolio," they have a section called "my impact" and list some loan information. That's some pretty powerful rhetoric.
Okay, so after a good 15 minutes of clicking around it seems that there was some sort of glitch in the system (?) and though paypal has charged me 25 dollars I have not lent money to anyone. I click on "my loans" and it's blank.
What?!
Argh. Sorry Lovina, you'll have to wait. I have an angry email to send...
If you try this I hope you have more success!
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