Day 7: A Choice

As I have been reading more in preparation for these blog entries, and thinking intently about good and it's place in the world, I have been struck by something.  Often good is intertwined with bad.  Most of the people and organizations that I am reading about who are doing good, are doing so in response to something bad or less than ideal.  I guess this probably isn't a surprise to most people, but it does remind me that goodness is often a choice.  I have to choose this.  Bad things will always happen, but I can choose to play a part in bringing hope and well being.  


Poverty is bad.  According to globalissues.org, almost 3 billion people or about half the world, live on less than $2.50 a day.  These people struggle to pay rent, to send their children to school, and to have the bare essentials of food and clean water.  


I believe that poverty is being addressed from many different avenues, but one way is through micro-loans.  Organizations and individuals have developed mini-loans that can be given to impoverished families, in order to start small businesses.  These loans provide the ability to pay start-up costs, to acquire inventory, and to teach skills to men and women who wouldn't have access to these resources in a traditional way.  These loans have been found to create sustainable change in these villages, and are linked to better education and health for the people who receive them.  Good news indeed!


There are several organizations that have micro-loan programs, including Kiva and World Vision.  Here are several facts from World Vision's website about their program.

People helped

• Active borrowers: 604,000
• Jobs created or sustained last year: 985,000
• Typical borrower: woman (68%)
• Children impacted last year: 1.86 million

Loans given

• Average loan size: $671.00
• Loan repayment rate: 98.7 percent
• Loan portfolio: $397 million
• Since 1993, World Vision has disbursed 3,500,000 loans, totaling more than $1.8 billion

So, while poverty at this time seems inevitable, these numbers are convincing: hope for the poor is a possibility.