Little help goes a long way

Ms. Sokleng Pem, 26, is single and lives with her parents. She has two elder brothers and three elder sisters. All of them are married and live outside of the family house. The family lives along the Mekong River about twelve kilometers from Phnom Penh. Ms. Sokleng has been a weaver for six years. It’s a skill she learned from her neighbor. She sells her finished products to a middleman in the village who then take sells it in Phnom Penh. She is requesting a loan of $1000 to purchase materials to weave silk and to repair part of her house.


Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.
The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.



Micro-credit: a brilliant idea... actually a Nobel Prize winning idea!
A small contribution can have a big impact in someone's life. Because everyone has the right to live with dignity.

For me was just the way I found to give a little bit back to the people of Cambodia that have received me with such warmth and love. And now that I’ve learned about Kiva and its projects I will make sure is part of my routine to loan a few bucks every now and again and promote development and dignity throughout the World. It is certainly a small help. But I consider it, nevertheless, significative. And if every individual engages in helping just one person maybe the World could become a better place sooner than we expect...



Please, click on Kiva and feel inspired to help!