Kiva, Everyone

Instead of sending this out to friends' individual Emails, i thought I'd post this to my blog for all to see. This is the letter they ask people to send after making a contribution/loan.

If it's as real as it looks, then it's a beautiful thing. And with all the exposure it got on the media, I imagine it's gotten under a lot of scrutiny... and hey, I *want* to believe it's real. :-)

Thanks to Paul for turning me on to this.

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Hi!

I just made a loan to someone in Sierra Leone using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Walekafesa I Group in Sierra Leone. They still need another $925.00 to complete their loan request of $1,325.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Walekafesa I Group too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=118943

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a
sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.

Thanks!

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What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'
-- BBC

'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'
-- CNN Money

'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'
-- The Wall Street Journal

'An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity...All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.'
-- Entrepreneur Magazine

Study Finds Vegans Able to Carry Own Weight

Looks like people are doing okay even without animal products. This particular meta-analysis study asked if vegans have a lower bone density. The answer was yes, but it turns out that didn't make a difference in terms of likelihood for breaking their bones, which is what matters in the end. It's sort of like saying that younger people have a smaller muscle mass, but are still able to lift just as much weight as older people. In the end, there's no disadvantage.

From the article:

The study found that on average vegans had a bone mass density 5 percent lower than non-vegans. But Nguyen said the study found vegans were no more likely to be treated for bone fractures than non-vegans.

This is probably because vegans tend to be more health conscious, he said.

"If you look at vegetarians as a whole they are certainly healthier, they tend to live longer and have lower risk of hypertension and heart disease." And there are other factors that may override the influence bone density has on fracture risk such as hormone deficiencies, smoking and lifestyle, said Nguyen.

...and the entire article is here.