Published in the Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Margaret McCann
Claudia with a chicken
Margaret McCann
In March the American Association of University Women brought the documentary film “Girl Rising” to Morgan Hill and filled the Granada Theater with people eager to learn about the research and achievements in finding ways to alleviate poverty. “Girl Rising” focused on the fact that educating women all over the world will bring prosperity where there has only been subsistence, and stability instead of continuous volatility as a way of life. The large number that showed up consisted of young and old, male and female with many high school and college-aged students anxious to help anyway they could. They know the implications for them and their children if the rate of poverty continues to rise, and they are not willing to sit back passively and let it happen.
But for many people, finding the most effective way to make a difference seems impossible. Or so it would seem until I watched two interviews, one with Bill Clinton and the other with Oprah Winfrey. They both applauded a nonprofit called KIVA and the amazingly positive effect it was making in building strong, economically independent communities around the world. Thinking this was too good to be true I googled “KIVA success stories” and a plethora sites popped up. Among success stories is that of a woman named Claudia who lives in Nicaragua and, until she discovered what a micro-loan from KIVA could do, lived with her family alongside their chickens in a marketplace stall. She did not have the funds to send her children to school or buy more than a few chickens at a time. After discovering KIVA she applied and received five successive loans in three years. With this capital she bought chickens in bulk from a local farm. By doing so she was able to lower her per-unit cost and increase sales volume, which translated into a higher profit margin and more revenue. Now all loans are paid back and her children are back in school.
Her dreams for the future are to continually grow her business and help her kids succeed.
Excited about what I was finding, I rounded up a few friends and discovered that KIVA is a nonprofit micro-loan organization that works in more than 80 countries, including the United States, lending money in small amounts to qualified people for zero interest and, over the past 10 years, having over 98 percent of those loans repaid. But here is the kicker: we get to be the lenders, and can lend as little as $25 to get someone who wants to start down the road to financial security. We get to look at all the people who are asking for loans, read their stories, see their pictures and watch as their loan is funded. It is an incredibly transparent transaction. Before you commit to the loan you can see when the repayment will begin and, in many cases, it is in a couple of months. The success of the borrower is apparent when your loan is fully repaid. Your reward is knowing you have added value to someone’s life.
Claudia’s loan more than likely did not come from one person, but from many individuals who loaned her as little as $25 to get her started. More than one million lenders working independently and in teams bring prosperity and hope to others all over the world.
As we started talking with other AAUW members and friends from the community, we were surprised to find that many South Bay residents have been involved with KIVA for some time, some on teams from work, school or church, or just individually. That’s when we decided to form “Team Morgan Hill.” Forming Team Morgan Hill will identify our community as one that is eager to get involved in helping to stabilize developing countries by financially empowering their citizens, $25 at a time.
We had our first information gathering in September and plan to meet monthly on Saturdays. Unlike many service organizations Team Morgan Hill does not have dues, fundraisers or committees. We’re just like minded people getting together — or not, to socialize, discuss borrowers that we have chosen to support and introduce new people to this efficient and effective way of paying it forward. You could be one of those people who make a difference through micro-lending. Go to KIVA.org and sign up, then join Team Morgan Hill and be part of the conversation.
Morgan Hill resident Margaret McCann wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life. Contact her at [email protected] for more information.
