Most people have never heard of microfinance; maybe 1 in 100 might have a foggy notion of what it is. Yet it is the most powerful tool the world has seen to help end poverty and empower the indigenous businesses of the poor in any country.I will provide a brief overview here and then list many urls for anyone who is interested in learning more and who has a desire to help poor people help themselves. The concept has never been more relevant than now during the financial meltdown of global economy.In 1976 an man in Bangledesh named Muhammad_Yunus began lending small amounts of money to very poor rural women to help them start small businesses to support their families. There was and still is no loan contract, no penalties for defaulting on the loans (except the person could not borrow again) and the repayment rate is over 95%. In 2006, Yunus won a Nobel Peace Prize for the incredible success of his work.In fact, now 30 years later, microfinance is everywhere it seems, even helping the poor of New York City. The concept has reached the time when it flowers into hope for millions of poor people the world over.For anyone who has ever thought, 'I wish I could help, but charities are corrupt and I don't know how.' microfinance is a program well worth knowing about. The stories will touch your soul and give hope in a world that sadly needs it.I hope you will enjoy the material I have provided here and spread the good word. Recently a man has had the brilliant idea to take Microfinance to the internet on a site called Kiva. It has been wildly successful.Microfinance is not only a proven way to alleviate poverty but a way to find hope in an increasingly dismal world. And it follows the age old wisdom of helping by allowing people to help themselves without funds siphoned off by corrupt governments and dodgy charities.Have a looksee. I think you will be as impressed as I have been. And if you are, please spread the word.
Recent articles about Microfiance.Good News in the Global EconomyStudents start Olneyville microfinance bankLiberia Gets First Microfinance Bank'Lend to End Poverty' Campaign Calls On World Economic Forum to ...A stimulus package for the world
Bolivia to take Israel to The HaguePress TV
Fri, 16 Jan 2009
SourceBolivia is seeking to take Tel Aviv to International Criminal Court over the brutal atrocities the Israeli forces have committed in Gaza. The Andean state says it is intended to make regional allies take a unified stance against "the Israeli political and military leaders responsible for the offensive on the Gaza Strip" and make it to stand trial at the international body in the Hague, said Sacha Llorenti, whose portfolio covers civil society.Moves to begin the legal process will begin "probably next week," Bolivia's deputy justice and human rights minister Wilfredo Chavez told journalists during the visit to Geneva, AFP reported on Friday. Bolivia followed in the steps of its ally Venezuela and severed diplomatic ties with Israel over its massacre of the Gazans and snubbing the international calls for an 'immediate' and 'durable' truce, said the Latin American governments.The Bolivian president Evo Morales told a group of diplomats in the administrative capital of La Paz that he will request the International Criminal Court (ICC) to file genocide charges against Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.The ICC is competent to adjudicate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidecommitted after 2002. Israel and its closest ally, the United States, are not among the 108 signatories of the Rome Statute creating the Hague-based court in 2000 to investigate and prosecute war crimes.After 21 days of non-stop bombardment and aggression, the Israeli invasion of Gaza has left 1,133 Palestinians killed and more than 5,200 wounded.
More GOOD news!!!
Click the Kiva icon in the right column, and you will see the proof that through internet cooperation, we can change the lives of many many people. By including this organisation on your website, you can help too.
Or click here.
Welcome
All blogs are really just small snapshots of a person's mind, heart and soul as they evolve together through life....
Small bits of the thread of life we weave together into the fabric of ourselves, in the hope we will make sense of our existence, individual and collective.
On this page, is the cloak I have fashioned from my fabric to warm myself in a universe which often makes little sense.
Inside my cloak, it is warm enough to face the blistering cold winds of the insane world in which I find myself.
If you find some a bit of 'the good stuff' here, it has been my pleasure.
Most people have never heard of microfinance; maybe 1 in 100 might have a foggy notion of what it is. Yet it is the most powerful tool the world has seen to help end poverty and empower the indigenous businesses of the poor in any country.
