Compassion and Empowerment

I picked up Sophia from Catechism class yesterday and she informed me she had to write a mini report on the saint of her choice by next Sunday. I asked which saint she chose to write about. She told me she had chosen the saint named for her middle name, also named after my mother—Veronica. Legend tells us that she was the wife of the Roman officer who by defying public opinion demonstrated her compassion by wiping Jesus’ face with her handkerchief as he stumbled with the cross in Calvary, only to discover his image was transposed. She is said to have also cured the the Roman Emperor Tiberius soon after with this relic. This should be good, and I look forward to her report as she’s inspired if for no other reason than her namesake.

Sophie also had with her a paper bag that she is to fill with a non-perishable food item for next week. Sophie told me it was for “poor people”…she expounded on this and said “…..she had seen poor people before….” I asked her where, figuring she might be referring to the poor people she’s seen in her mami’s country. She said in the road begging for money, referring to the homeless Vets she sees panhandling in the medians at red lights on the way to ice skating. I explained there are lots of poor people, all over the world in fact and that it's good to give and to help them.

Skip back to last week, when I was on the Halloween candy begging tour with three little girls.

PinF arrived home haggard, wet, and semi-flu feeling from trick or treating in the rain last Tuesday night with his three rookies; a six year old and two eight year-olds. I set about making myself something warm to eat and sat down to watch a little TV, and was glad I did. I tuned into PBS just in time to see an incredible feature on the series Frontline.

The story involved an internet startup company (KIVA.ORG) that has funded small business ventures throughout the Third World where often times either corruption or red tape has prevented internationally funded projects like this from reaching their intended targets. This idea (KIVA.ORG) was different in the sense that the money goes directly from the internet lender to a carefully screened financial intermediary in the country. These intermediaries are carefully vetted and verified as credit worthy, non corrupt, and fiscally responsible.

The KIVA intermediaries serve two purposes. For starters they help the prospective loan seekers chart their business plan, their short/long term goals and their specific funding needs. In many cases since we’re talking about the Third World, the amounts of loans requested are under $500.00. Taking in account that the average wage in many Third World countries is often a dollar a day, this in fact is a major loan for the prospective borrowers.

Apparently, due to the overwhelming response after the Frontline special aired their servers completely crashed, leaving them with no web presence in the critical hours and days after their national exposure. PinF made note of their site and checked back occasionally until they finally came back online. Yesterday PinF logged in, read about their history, its operating officers, (former Google and PayPal execs) and their mission statement. Surprisingly enough KIVA has no agenda other than directly impacting the lives of small time entrepreneurs around the world. They have no religious or political mission and exist solely for the good of the people they serve. I liked this.

PinF was sold. The show featured some of the people impacted by the program, specifically in Uganda, and then it would cut to a young business professional in California. As he talked about the satisfaction of actually seeing his “investment” at work, and how he looked forward to the emails he would receive updating him of such. It occurred to me what a unique way to build a worldwide portfolio that directly touches lives, as opposed to sending a check to national non-profit juggernaut where you never “see” how or where your money goes or the impact it has.

PinF created an account to KIVA, and I would encourage others to read about this organization and consider joining me. This week PinF and his junior financial advisor Sophia will sit down and comb through the prospective start-ups that seek capitol, from there we will discuss the various people, where they come from, and their businesses. And like any lender we’ll choose which prospective borrowers have either a good idea or definitive need. I figure to loan $100.00 to start and invest in four different people/businesses. The site allows for loans as little as $25.00 and in doing so we will enter into a partnership with a person somewhere around the globe that we’ll be able to follow through correspondence and loan repayment updates. We plan to diversify, as such the site allows you to track your loans and chart them into what sectors/countries and watch as your loans are repaid and ultimately the impact you have on your borrowers’ business.

KIVA states that they have a 96% repay rate due to the diligence of their in-country partners as well as the seriousness of the prospective borrowers. Once the loans are repaid, we can then either elect to cash out or reinvest. This figures to be a cool interactive experience for both us, one that will ultimately teach several lessons, the least of which is compassion, and that brings it all back to her report on Saint Veronica. At least that's the idea anyway.

I so believe in this site that I'm going to add a link to PinF site, something I’m not to quick to do for any cause. Because I’ve been in Third World areas where I have see with my own eyes both the despair and the hope; I think this is worthwhile cause that people can make a real difference with a relatively small amount of money. This lesson is especially timely with the onset of the overly abundant and obscene commercialism and waste that is set to begin this holiday season any day now. Not to mention this exercise will offer Sophia tangible lessons that all tie into one another---investing in people and ideas, and seeing the result of hard work, most importantly it will illustrate the value of a dollar and the effect that individuals working together as a group can have.

We’re psyched, and will post our loan portfolio once we choose our industries/people.