Atheists Raise $3 Million in Microfinance Loans To Alleviate Poverty

In just over two years the community of Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious (AASFSHNR) at Kiva.org have raised $3 million (USD) in interest-free loans to help end poverty. Kiva.org is a US non-profit organization that connects lenders with borrowers, from around the globe, who need a micro-finance loan. Peter Kroll, the AASFSHNR community team leader and foundered, commented "This is still the beginning for us. We have organized 14,000 Enlightened individuals from a diaspora of 100's of millions. Our community is thought based and we believe fair peer-to-peer lending can provide the economic opportunity to poor entrepreneurs who have been closed off from the mainstream banking system."

Most of the world's poor live without access to banking. Without collateral they cannot arrange for a loan or open a savings account. Kiva.org has made it possible for the an ordinary person to proactively contribute to making a positive change to this situation.

Kiva's co-founder Matt Flannery has put out his call that "now is a time for the world's privileged to demonstrate to the world's poor just how compassionate and resilient we are." The AASFSHNR community has responded, as well as many other communities and individuals. More than five years after Kiva's founding almost $175 million has been lent worldwide.

Micro-finance is the brain-child of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohammad Yunus. Yunus realized decades ago, on a visit to a poor village in his country of Bangladesh, that the local people were caught in an endless cycle of debt caused by loan-sharks. He realized what a difference it would make by "removing the barriers faced by the poor so that they can unleash their creativity and intelligence in the service of humanity."

Web: http://atheist-monkey.blogspot.com
Kiva: http://www.kiva.org/lender/AtheistMonkey

Kiva - Amos Beit from Kenya has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Here at the Daye. we just made our 11th Kiva loan to Amos in Kenya. Please check out Kiva and help an entrepreneur.
Kiva - Amos Beit from Kenya has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Location:	Litein, Kenya
Activity:	Dairy
Loan Use:	To purchase and insure a dairy cow

We're Number One!

As you may or may not know, I am a practicing Atheist, whatever that is.

I am also a Kiva.org supporter and have made several micro loans to people around the world.

My reason for this post is simply this: many people seem to mistakenly believe, especially the Christians, that you need Jesus or God in order to have some sort of moral compass. The world will go to hell in a handbasket otherwise. They always cite the good works that Christians do and that sort of thing.

I would agree that the Christians do many, many good deeds and help millions of people around the world everyday.  But, many times that good deed comes with a Jesus-string attached. It is simply one way (among many) that Christianity expands its base. Just like the Catholic church and its stance against abortion, homosexuality, masturbation and birth control.

It's really not about people jerking off, or hoovering a few cells from a uterus or guys banging each other. Its about promoting their own religion. If a (married) couple doesn't masturbate, have abortions, screw the milkman, (maybe I should say Fedex man) or take the pill, chances are they will be pounding each other and popping out new little baby Catholics every year or so.

Now, I realize that this isn't happening so much these days in the West, but what about the uneducated masses in third world countries around the globe? Of course the church is there, helping as they do, but don't forget that help has Jesus attached to it.

Our Kiva group helps others without the strings, and as far as I am concerned that is a strong argument for the Atheist movement.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The Atheist group is in first place among Kiva lender groups for loaning the most money to others. Over 900 million dollars in over thirty-two thousand loans. I'm proud to be a part of that.

Check out our group at Kiva.org just click here. I hope you will join us in helping others around the world, at the grassroots level.

Please support Kiva!

Social lending gains net interest

Pouring your cash into the far reaches of the world wide web may sound like a crazy idea.
After all, the internet has seen its fair share of nasties from phishing e-mails posing as a bank to key logging software pinching our passwords and personal information, all in an effort to steal our identity and cash.
But now there is a wave of sites trying to convince people that the web is the place for their money.
The concept is called social lending and the idea is to introduce people who need money to people who want to lend some - cutting out the middlemen like banks and mortgage companies.

Click the link for the full article from BBC Click.

I've heard of micro-loans, initially on Oprah (I think). Tonight watching PBS I heard about an organization called KIVA which will allow people to make micro-loans to entrepreneurs in third world countries.

I think the micro loan concept is a wonderful way to give people a hand up, and now with KIVA anyone can do so.

Although, I can't really afford to do it, I think I am going to give it a try. A way to give back. Besides, haven't we all blown a hundred dollars on nonsense without giving it a second thought?

Kiva micro- loans are as little as $100.00 and you can loan as little as $25.00 which goes into a basket with money loaned from other lenders until the loan amount is reached. I hope you will check out the KIVA site and give a loan to someone who needs help.

No one who has received a loan from KIVA has EVER defaulted on a loan. Please check it out, it is much more personal than donating money to an organization and wondering where it went.

I have made a loan of $75.00 (US) to Elshan Alishanov, Location: Sumgayit city , Azerbaijan Activity: Household Items Store. (You can see his info at the left). I also made a 10% donation to KIVA which brought my total to $92.00 CDN.

I hope you will consider joining with KIVA and help someone too.

www.kiva.org

Since I orginially posted this, Elshan Alishanov has reached his loan goal and will receive the funds at the end of the month. The ad to the left updates to display another entrepreneur.