Abundance

At my last book club the conversation drifted away from the book and wandered into stay-at-home mom sacrifices.

A fellow stay-at-home mom, part-time preschool teacher, said this, “Whenever I start feeling bad about not having as much money as everyone else or going without a nicer house I just think, “I live in the United States of America and we don’t even know the meaning of poverty and my children are white males in the United States of America with access to a good education, food, shelter and clothing.”"

I very often find myself thinking the same thing. If you’ve ever been to a third world country you understand just how blessed even the poor are in America. Certainly, me and my family are blessed with a full refrigerator, more clothes than the kids can wear, shoes, cars that are ugly but functional, a roof over our heads, access to education and employment. Even while striving for more, I try to keep a gratefulness in my heart about what we actually do have already.

In an attempt to show God and others our gratitude we donate a percentage of our income to some cause that presents itself. Sometimes its a person, sometimes its the church, other times its a cause. This morning I was doing a little surfing on the web and clicked on a pretty good cause.

Kiva is a micro-finance website that allows people in the United States and Europe to directly contribute to people in developing countries that have an idea for a small business but no money to start it. The San Francisco-based company does all the research into their ability to pay back the loan, as well as the viability of their business venture before allowing them onto the site as prospective borrowers. Then users, like you or me, go onto the site and browse what kind of investment we would like to make.

According to Rob Krieger’s report for Frontline World on PBS even I (and you) can participate in micro-finance lending to poverty-stricken people in third world countries to supply capitol for them to start a business. The 2006 Nobel Prize was awarded to Dr. Muhammad Yunus for his ideas about how a measly portion of our income, even $25, could buy the supplies needed to start a small business in some of these countries. Reportedly, nearly 100% of the loans are paid back on time.

Margaret Mead is the author of one of my favorite quotes,

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

I think I’ll search Kiva and find a business that speaks to my heart and put this week’s $25 donation into it. Really, it can’t make the world a worse place can it?