Now that the holidays are over I can finally write about the gifts that I got my family for Christmas. I couldn’t mention this before the holidays ’cause my dad reads my blog and I wanted it to be a surprise.

My parents and two siblings each got a gift certificate for Kiva.org. The way Kiva works is; Kiva partners with reputable micro-finance aid agencies in developing countries. As a lender, you invest a $25 “share” into a small business of your choosing. The business owner uses the loan to expand/improve the business and repays the loan (no interest) over a given period of time. When the loan is repaid, you get your $25 share back and can re-invest it or cash it out.

I have to admit that at first I was completely enamoured by the idea of this for Christmas gifts, but as we got closer to Christmas I was hesitant. I think I got sucked in by all the holiday marketing that tells us we have to give people “stuff” to show we care. Regardless, I stuck with my decision and was glad I did. Everyone seemed to really like the gift (even though none of them have loaned yet, tsk-tsk).

Anyway, I think you should check out the Kiva website and read about what they do. If you sign up and decide to loan out, there is an “invites” section where you can tell Kiva that you were sent there by me. What do I get? Nothing really, except I get to see that my blog actually did some good, and I can see what business you loaned to. I hope that soon I can make another post about all the people my family and friends are helping out!

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