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Kiva Lender Katie
Location:
Honolulu, HI, United States
Occupation:
Student
I loan because:
microlending is a method of providing opportunities and empowerment to impoverished people, so that they may improve their quality of life. I enjoy the personal connection derived from lending directly to entrepreneurs as it allows me to gain a more accurate perspective on their way of life and view them as a real person.
I am aware that there are billions of people around the world living in poverty. Many of these peoples have the intelligence and the skills to become successful and make a living, but not the necessary capital to start a venture and utilize them. Although I cannot solve the world's poverty by myself, I do choose to take action. If I can make a difference in the life of at least one person, then I can know that I have made an impact and I chose to do something to fight poverty.
I first heard about Kiva in my Economics/Community Service class over the summer. As an assignment we were asked to make a loan through this site. This small foray into microfinance piqued my interest and influenced me to do a project on microlending. I made a presentation that explored the microlending's pros & cons, functionality within the US and within my state, and examined several well known microfinance institutions (Grameen Bank, ACCION, FINCA International). Recently a visit to my school by one of the co-founders of Kiva.org brought this site back to my attention and I was moved to make my own Kiva account.