Extra Credit, Kiva.org

The Kiva Organization:

       The Kiva Organization is a non-profit organization that helps people worldwide by using micro-loans. The organization was founded in 2005 and is based in San Fransisco, California. The goal of the organization is to "connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.". Their mission is completed by thousands of people across the planet people donating amounts of money as small as 25 dollars to those living in poverty and help giving them the opportunity to start a business, go to school, and much more. Borrowers have managed to make so much out of these loans and have been able to return them to the lenders (97% return rate within the entire organization). In the twelve years that Kiva has been an organization 2.4 million impoverished groups and individuals have been assisted by 1.7 million lenders from all across the world. Kiva is rated four stars on the Charity Navigator site and has an overall rating of 97% based off financials, accountability, and transparency. This organization is very proficient and their method of helping people is very effective. Kiva as an organization has been able to loan 1.07 billion dollars to people in 84 different countries.                                 Two borrowers that are on that I looked into are Salina Jepkemoi from Kenya and Shahbaz from Pakistan. Salina is looking to get a loan of 300 dollars so that she can purchase quality feed for her cows to boost her milk collection and provide better services to her costumers. This is her second loan on Kiva and she pays back on time. She is married and her goal is to make a comfortable living situation for her family. In Kenya, the GDP per capita is only $3,400 which is quite low. Based off the  GDP per capita, it is understandably why is it hard to live comfortably (financially speaking) and why she is asking for a loan to help her business. While Shahbaz is looking for a loan of 2,875 dollars to help pay for the building of classrooms in a school. Shahbaz is 42 and he runs a school with 162 students enrolled, 49% of which happen to be female. He is very invested in creating a quality education for the youth in his community. His biggest issue is that he has a shortage of space within the school to teach the students. The literacy rate in Pakistan is 58% which means that a little more than half the population of people who are fourteen years and older can read at an efficient level. This  is major concern as time goes on and the youth begins to take positions of authority in society.