This week I did my first assignment as a volunteer Editor for Kiva.org, the microloan system helping people in difficult areas of the world access the funds they need to build businesses in their local communities. My first assignment covered loans in places like the Ukraine, Togo, and Ghana, where people were asking for amounts ranging from $500 to $800 USD. Anyone can add to a loan $25 at a time, and the vast majority of the time your loan is repaid in around 12 months. Now and then maybe you don’t see that money again, but there are even stats on the site showing the default rates for certain partners so you know whether this will ultimately be more of a ‘donation’ than a loan. But that’s the beauty. Plenty of people would hardly miss $25 here and there, but to these entrepreneurs that money goes a long way to building their business for the future.

I’m proud to have the opportunity to take part in the project, and would encourage everyone to check out the site. Maybe this Christmas it is a nice angle for making a charitable donation? Odds are each year you could be using the same dollars to pass on to another Kiva entrepreneur?

If you’re one of those journo types I know, let me know if you’d like to get involved. They require about two hours a week minimum to do some general editing on loan requests before they go live.