Micro Loans Help The Global Village and The Guy Next Door
Posted: Sunday, January 17, 2010
by Inger Fountain
http://www.educationalgamer.com
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life."
The sentiment behind that saying is the driving power behind small scale loans, called microloans or micro credit.
Based on the idea that people are creative, are and have a wealth of knowledge and power to create small businesses for themselves, micro credit connects individuals who are able to give small amounts of money to individuals or small groups in countries to whom that small amount means a great deal more.
Credit rating, employment history and assets, invariably people who apply for micro loans have none of these so obtaining the finance to break out of their poverty is impossible. Not surprisingly micro credit schemes are taking shape in western countries as well where many families live below the poverty line.
It helps to think of the micro loans in accessible terms like this. It's not simply far away, foreign countries that need this type of loan. By empowering people in our own countries who have a vision and commitment but lack the traditional means to access capital some of us take for granted we can make big things happen: energy and hope are recycled.
There are places you can make a contribution or simply find out more about micro loans and the web has made this more accessible. So next time you consider making a donation to an organisation or investing in a portfolio check out the micro loan companies and see how your money can empower those in need.
Inger loves to write and has been writing words on paper for quite some time. When the Internet came along she started writing online too. You can see her latest website which helps people to locate beautiful fair trade clothing at http://www.fairtradeclothing.org/.
This Article has been viewed 136 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.