Kiva.org Extra Credit!!

The Kiva organization is an international nonprofit organization, founded in 2005.  The goal of this organization is to have a world where all people hold the power to create opportunity for themselves and others and to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. The methods that are used to achieve their goals are by having people lend as little as $25, they can help a borrower start or grow a business, go to school, access clean energy or realize their potential. These loans are very effective and efficient. On Kiva, there have been 2.6 million borrowers in over 84 countries. There have been 1.7 million lenders and $1.07 billion dollars on loans funded through Kiva. With a 97.0% repayment rate. Kiva has helped a lot of people all over the world and this gives the organization it's positive reviews and good reputation. With people such as Oprah saying things like, “Kiva is a simple concept that can change a person’s life.” You can tell this Organization is good at doing what needs to be done. 

Two particular borrowers from Kiva that I took a closer look on where Gulzina and the Mondjere Group. Gulzina from Kyrgyzstan is a 33-year-old married woman with three daughters and a son. She is a farmer and is hoping to get a microloan of $2,200 so she can buy 4 bull calves and 400 bales of hay to be able to increase livestock count and secure fodder for the winter season. She started out in 2005, when with the support of her husband, she bought 6 cows, 10 horses and 2,8-ha plot of land where she grows barley and alfalfa. These profits will help Gulzina to improve the wellbeing of her family and to also finish the construction of their house. The average annual income in the country she lives in, Kyrgyzstan, is $2,500. This is a fairly low annual income for a country and might be a factor to why she might need a loan to help her economically. The Mondjere Group is hoping for a microloan of $2,500 to help a member, Maliki, buy sheep to resell in order to buy shoes for the children. Maliki is a livestock farmer that lives in a rural area of Mali. He is married and has three young children. He has been in the farming business for 10 years and works hard every day to expand this business. His goal is to be able to pay for his children’s future education as well as clothing, shoes and other expenses. Maliki lives in Mali, a country located in Africa. This country has an average annual income of only $1,100. This country is not economically stable, so it would be difficult for Maliki to get the money he needs on his own in Mali, instead of asking for a loan.