The Benefits of Being Barefoot
A Shoeless Girl’s Guide
Picture this. You wake up and find $100 on the bedside table. It feels pretty darn cool, although you quickly check you still have all your teeth, in case the tooth fairy made an unauthorized withdrawal overnight.
Your teeth are all in place, and you don’t think you did anything to earn this… so you’re relieved to hear that the money was left there by your husband. Cautiously optimistic, you think to yourself that this saves you a trip to the ATM later to sneak cash out for some new shoes.
Then, he tells you that you can spend it on whatever you like, but it must be from a specific website he has in mind. Again your thoughts go back to shoes, and you wonder if he’s thinking Salvatore Ferragamo like you are.
“I’d like you to lend this money I received
for my birthday to a worthy cause on Kiva.”
Kiva? They don’t make shoes, do they? In fact there are a number of people on Kiva that DO make shoes. There are men and women that make clothing, hats, baked goods, lotions and all sorts of sellable merchandise. And they are on Kiva, requesting microloans that might help them escape poverty.
The premise is quite simple, yet Kiva explains it more eloquently than I can:
Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. We envision a world where all people - even in the most remote areas of the globe - hold the power to create opportunity for themselves and others.
Importantly, and what sets Kiva apart from many other organisations, is that the money is a loan, with a 99% repayment rate!
Given this $100 and my mission to loan it wisely, I set about choosing from a huge list of worthy borrowers. In the end I selected two borrowers from Mongolia that are hoping to make their family homes more energy efficient - an inspiring goal that is close to my personal interests.
Rina hopes to make repairs and extensions to the small family home she shares with her husband and daughter in the capital of Mongolia. She is seeking building and insulation materials that will hopefully decrease their coal consumption and keep their home warm in winter and cool in summer. In fact, this isn’t Rina’s first environmentally conscious project on Kiva; she has already paid back 55% of a loan for an electric car for her husband’s taxi business.
Boldbaatar has a similar goal: to reduce emissions, improve insulations and improve the quality of life for his family in eastern Mongolia. He and his wife work hard for their younger children, and would like to improve their home which is in serious need of repairs.
Both of these borrowers are being backed by local microfinance company Credit Mongol’s green loans program. This program allows people all over Mongolia to access solar panelling as well as ventilation and heating materials in the hope of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and health problems related to the excessive burning of coal as a fuel source.
Recently I developed a keen interest in understanding our impact on the Earth’s climate and environment, and the alternative choices we should be making to reduce energy consumption and waste. What saddens me is that the developed countries of the world have contributed almost all of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, but their effects are most felt by the poorer, developing areas. The loans I have chosen inspire me, giving me hope that small but significant changes at home can make a real impact on the local environment and air quality, and improve the lives of those that can’t afford to pay to move away.
Making even this small loan to Rina and Boldbaatar seems like a good way to spend $100. I can live without new shoes, because this warm and fuzzy feeling is far more comfortable than heels!
