A Better Idea

I may be way behind on this as Kiva.org was founded in 2005,nonetheless I just read about it and thought it was a great idea. Instead of sending mass quantities of items or food to countries in need (as is our governments approach) and those items either being hijacked before they get to the intended people,or the items being of no use to the recipients,Kiva (a nonprofit organization ) allows people to lend money via the internet to people in developing countries through its field partners. Kiva includes stories of the people who need the loans and what they need them for so the lenders can connect with the entrepreneurs on a human level. Kiva doesn't collect any interest on the loans and is supported only by grants,loans and donations. Kiva's mission is "To connect people through lending to alleviate poverty." Kiva emphasizes supporting women because in many developing countries women suffer the most from poverty because whatever resources are available are often given to the male family members. The payback rate on the loans is 99% and it is my understanding that you can help for as little as $25,which you can either collect when the loan is repaid or loan it out again. It seems to me that this is a more sensible approach than money ending up building a plush home for a leader or being otherwise misspent the way you hear of so often.