“No man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”  – Emerson

Most of us want to make a difference and live a life of significance. When we approach the end of our life, we want to know that a piece of the world is better because we lived. For me, micro lending is one of the spokes in that wheel. As Americans, we take access to capital and opportunity to improve our lives for granted. However, that’s not the case for much of the world. If you were born into poverty in Uganda, you are most likely stuck with few jobs and ways to improve your lot in life. 

This is where micro lending can come to the rescue. Simply put, an individual joins together with others and loans several hundred to several thousand dollars for startup businesses, home improvement, and education. The repayment rate is extremely high. Most likely, you can loan the same money out time after time, year after year. Your part of the loan can be as little as $25.00. 

You may not change the world with billions of people in need, but you can make a huge impact and difference for a few. You’ll never meet the borrower, they’ll never be able to say thank you, but you’ll have made a difference. My choice of micro lenders is Kiva.org.

“If you can’t feed a hundred people then feed just one.”  ~ Mother Teresa

“A man was walking the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean. The beach went on for miles with millions of starfish. Another man asked him, ‘How can your effort make any difference?’ The man looked at the starfish in his hand and threw it back into the ocean. ‘It makes a difference to this one,’ he said.”  ~ Minnesota Literacy Council