tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178137137090856297.post6668519363424831892..comments2023-08-08T09:18:39.913-05:00Comments on Country Girl / City Girl: This is a GREAT idea...wineandroastshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10706227811429388824noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178137137090856297.post-64322266153447494162009-01-13T09:35:00.000-06:002009-01-13T09:35:00.000-06:00Okay, so I'm totally THAT girl. And I love Kiva, ...Okay, so I'm totally THAT girl. <BR/><BR/>And I love Kiva, I do. I love that it makes people excited about getting involved in international projects. I love that women feel like we're reaching out to other women. And yes, offering loans to folks who otherwise wouldn't get them is a good thing. So, it's great, and yadda yadda. <BR/><BR/>BUT. Well. <BR/><BR/>Do they "lift people out of poverty?" NO. Will you get your return in investment, very likely, yes. Which is why they are so darn popular with Westerners. I've written about this before, back when Yunis won the Nobel. It's not the popular talk on Microloan, but it is the truth -- the truth reflected in from the studies that have been done on the true impacts of these programs. It's just not all bright and shiny. There is no silver bullet of poverty reduction.<BR/><BR/>This is where I wrote about it a few years back. Please don't hate me for being a downer... but I work in International Health and I see the reality of programs on the ground. And I just hate misinformation... I'd much rather we study things truthfully and speak the honest realities. <BR/><BR/>http://www.coldspaghetti.org/blog/2006/10/14/microtruth/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178137137090856297.post-63479597000922733622008-12-01T09:11:00.000-06:002008-12-01T09:11:00.000-06:00Get out of my head! Hub and I wanted, this year, f...Get out of my head! Hub and I wanted, this year, for our families to make donations to Oxfam as their gifts to us, but they wouldn't go for it. They'd rather give us pajamas we won't wear....<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this link. I just recently asked some friends who have lived in Africa if they knew about a reliable microloan org, but they didn't. This is awesome!wineandroastshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10706227811429388824noreply@blogger.com