P.O.V.E.R.T.Y.

I was astounded to read that half the world's population suffers from poverty.

Where does one begin to write about a subject that has already had millions of words written, spoken, sung about it. I know in order for change to happen discussion, planning etc have to be entered into BUT we have 'talked the talk', NOW we need to 'walk the walk'. My philosophy is "Actions Speak Louder Than Words"......so you will be happy to know you will not be subjected to another monologue about poverty on this blog.

The facts are we know POVERTY exists and we ALL can help make a difference.............How You Ask???

An organisation called KIVA , a non-profit, was formed 3 years ago and is one of the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending websites. Ordinary people like ourselves can help those less fortunate by lending as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world.

You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty.

I travelled to Rwanda in 2006 with a friend and wrote about it in my blog just recently. What I didn't relate in that story was that we observed the work first hand of KIVA in that country, producing self sufficient people who otherwise would have been begging on the street.

One final word on this important 'Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty' is I have made up an acronym for POVERTY. I'd be interested to see what other acronyms other bloggers can come up with.

Please join me in supporting KIVA which in turn helps 'makes poverty history'!

Please
Open
Vital
Effective
Remedies
Together
Yeah

I would like to thank AVT Coach who gave me the 'heads up' about Blog Action Day (October 15th). I love how the blog community shares information, and now realise blogging can play a huge part in exercising change for many causes. I feel very proud to be connected with this day and if only one person makes a $25 loan to help someone who is struggling with poverty then this post was well worth it.

I took this photo in Nyanza, Rwanda in November 2006, it shows how your money can be used to help set up a business and in turn feed and clothe several families.