Many here at Daily Kos know about Kiva. It was publicity on DK that really helped Kiva take off. For those who don't know it, Kiva links small businesses all over the world with people like you and me who can leand $25 or more to help them start or grow their businesses. It has been a highly successful, grassroots lending program that has helped out hundreds of small businesses all over the world. I have been a participant in Kiva's lending program for a couple of years now and few things give me more satisfaction than when repayments come due and I am able to re-lend money to new businesses. I feel more connected with the world this way.
I now want to introduce you to another grassroots loan program called Vittana that, rather than lending to small businesses, covers student loans around the world.
I learned about Vittana through a discussion group on Kiva's website. Here's what Vittana does (from their website):
Invest in education, one loan at a time.
We envision a world where young people anywhere in the world can get a student loan to go to college.
What We Do
Vittana makes it possible for young people around the world to get student loans directly from lenders like you.
Around the world, an entire new generation of young people is growing up looking for something more. Thirty years in, the first generation of microfinance borrowers have built businesses, raised families and have given their children a real chance at life — real homes, proper food, a chance to go to school. The children of these first borrowers are now growing up, finishing high school, and thinking about what to do next.
Outside the US and a handful of other countries, student loans just aren’t available. Vittana works with microfinance organizations around the world to build student loan programs in developing countries, often for the first time ever in those countries. Students from those programs then appear on our website. It’s only because of lenders like you are they able to receive the funding they need to finish college.
So far they have been lending in Nicaragua, Mongolia, Paraguay, and Peru. I have leant to many businesses on Kiva, but I started with just a couple. I am short of money right now, but I wanted to try out Vittana, so I picked one student to help out. I picked Luceymi Maria López López:
23-year-old studying systems engineering in Nicaragua.
I’m pursuing a degree in engineering because I want to be able to help my family.
I am confident that I will succeed because technology is very interesting to me and I enjoy researching anything related to the field.
"My greatest dream is to achieve, become somebody in life, and find work in the field I studied." – Luceymi
In my free time, I enjoy playing volleyball.
Luceymi has completed 4 years of her Bachelor’s Degree. To complete a thesis or final project and officially graduate, Nicaraguan universities charge a large, up-front fee that many students cannot afford. This loan will allow Luceymi to pay that fee.
In addition to going to school, Luceymi has a job in sales, where she makes $2,400 per year. As an engineer, she will be able to make $12,000.
I like thinking I can help out a future systems engineer in Nicaragua. So far Vittana has raised (as I write this) $475 out of $900 needed to help Luceymi Maria López López complete a thesis or final project and graduate.
Among other student loans being raised at Vittana right now are:
Luis Antonio Lopez Mairena: 32-year-old studying math and education in Nicaragua.
Dania Magali Moreno Mendoza: 20-year-old studying nursing in Nicaragua.
Kathy Johana Quintero Pérez: 34-year-old studying law in Nicaragua
Among many others (All current loans being raised seem to be in Nicaragua).
Again, even though I am finding finances tight these days, I find it so satisfying to be able to help someone with a loan and I feel I am seriously contributing to the future. And of course the nice thing about a loan program is that (barring a default, which happens very rarely with these kinds of loans) you can eventually get your money back. I choose to keep loaning my money rather than take it back. But with both Kiva and Vittana, I can choose to take out my money once it is repayed rather than keep loaning it. Of course that means it isn't tax deductable, but it also means if I need it, it will be there. And believe me, the sense of satisfaction is amazing. So please join me if you possibly can. Check out Kiva, if you haven't already, to help small businesses all over the world (including the US). And check out Vittana to help students around the world (currently Nicaragua) fund their education.