Quantum Newsprint hosted by Bill Sjoblom

Kiva: Repost and Update

About six months ago I posted a blog Check Out Kiva.  For those of you not familiar with Kiva, it is a micro-lending site.  Their vision is to "Empower People Around the World with a $25 Loan".  Yes, that's right, your $25 loan goes a long way to helping impoverished people start or expand a business or finance life changing improvement.  Last Novemeber when I posted my blog, Kiva had more than 634,000 people like you and me who banded together through Kiva to loan more than $253 million to poor people in 60 countries.  Today 764,000 people have loaned more than $311 million!

Here is how it works.  You don't even have to use your own money for your first loan.  Just click on this Special Link and you may be eligible to receive a $25 credit in your account for your first loan.  You pick the country or the type of loan you would like to fund and read a little bio about the person (or group) who needs a loan, then you loan them the money through Kiva.  The interesting thing is that almost 99% of the loans are repaid! 

So far I have made ten loans, three of them have been fully repaid and the rest are on schedule for repayment.  So you can re-lend the same money over and over again.  You can also withdraw the funds from your Kiva account at any time. 

I also set up a Quantum Lending Team on Kiva that allows us to work together and communicate about Kiva. 

I urge you to check out Kiva and join the Quantum Lending Team to make a difference - around the world!  Hope to see you soon on Kiva!

Can You Help Me?

 

Some of you may not know that I was born and raised in Thailand.  My parents were missionaries for more than 40 years and I spent 12 years in Thailand and 3 years in the Philippines.  While in Thailand, I attended a boarding school in Chaing Mai which is in Northern Thailand.  

During a trip back to Thailand in 2009 I visited an orphanage in Chaing Mai - the House of Love.  It is home to about 30 boys and girls, most of whom are refugees from the hilltribes of Burma.  Many of the kids were orphaned when their mom (most do not know who their father is) died of AIDS.  About a third of the kids also are HIV positive from birth.  

The House of Love provides a safe family for these kids and is committed to giving them an education and a chance at a future.  Because they are refugees, they often have no legal status in Thailand which means they cannot take advantage of the Thai social services.

I serve on the board for Hope for Hilltribes which is an organization that provides more than half of the funding for the House of Love as well as many other services to the ethnic hilltribe minorities in Northern Thailand.  

How can you help?

It's quite simple.  If you are on Facebook, I am asking you to vote for Hope for Hilltribes on the Chase Community Giving Contest.  Chase is giving away 3 million dollars to small charities (the charities must have a budget of less than one million annually) and that gives Hope for Hilltribes a real chance at getting $25,000 from this contest.  All we have to do is finish in the top 100 charities.  Right now we need a couple hundred more votes to be in the top 100.  

Would you click on the link above and vote?  Just search for Hope for Hilltribes once you get to the Chase Community Giving site.  

And you could help even more by sending this info to your friends on Facebook as well.  Thanks so much for considering my request!

Join Quantum Kiva Team!

I would like to extend an invitation to each of you to join our Quantum Services team on Kiva.  As I blogged a couple of days ago, Kiva is a great way to lend a few bucks to folks around the world that need a helping hand.  

It only takes $25 to get started and there is a pretty good chance that your loan will be repaid and you can keep loaning the same $25 over and over again.  

Just go to Kiva and open an account.  Then click on "community" and you can join the QS team.  I look forward to seeing you on Kiva!

Check out KIVA

The past two or three years have been tough for many, many Americans.  Despite the difficult times, we are still one of the wealthiest nations on earth.  Our standard of living is consistently ranked in the top ten in the world (check out what wikipedia).  The gap between our country and the rest of the world comes into focus when you hear and read about life in third world countries such as Cambodia or many countries in Africa. 

I often feel like I would like to do something to help and donating to relief organizations is a good idea.  But I recently discovered Kiva - their slogan is "Empower People Around the World With a $25 Loan."  It is a form of micro-lending, granting small loans to poor people so that they can start a business. 

I started with my first $25 loan to Benjamin Montoy a poor farmer in the Philippines.  I spent three years in the Philippines during high school so I have a personal connection.  I made the loan through Kiva in July and as of this month 90% of the loan has been paid back.  I now have two more loans - one in Cambodia and one in Congo. 

It's a pretty inexpensive way to make a difference.  Although there is no guarantee you will be paid back, the current rate of pay back for all Kiva loans is 98.9%.  Kiva has loaned out $253 million in 60 different countries and has 634,000 individuals who have signed up and made a loan. 

It's an interesting concept and an easy way to get involved in helping others.  Check it out!