Interesting website

I heard about the kiva.org website on one of Oprah's shows last week and thought I'd check it out. I quote from their webpage "Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. By choosing a loan on Kiva, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the entrepreneur you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back."
For the princely sum of $US25 I was able to help this man, Boihon Najmidinov in Tajikistan, with his bakery business. It will take him 10 months to pay his loan of $600 back. When it is paid back I can either get my money back or loan it on to someone else in need. I think it's an excellent idea and it seems to be working very well.

Boihon Najmidinov is 32 years old. He is married with two children. Boihon bakes the national bread which is called “lepeshka”. He has been in this business for 12 years already. His bakery is located in his house. As a rule Boihon bakes about 420 “lepeshkas” per day and sells them the same day. The “lepeshka” of Boihon are very popular in his neighborhood and his stable business generates the main income for the family. Now Boihon is planning to open another bakery, and he also needs to increase the working capital in order to purchase the input materials like flour, salt and coal. For this purpose he requests 600.00 US dollars for the term of 10 months. With the generated income Boihon plans to improve the living conditions of his family.