I am very blessed. Even though I have had struggles in my life like everyone else, I’ve overcome some of them and am currently in a good financial situation.

I’ve been looking for an opportunity to help those less fortunate than myself and have found the perfect one. You can join me in helping end poverty.

Mary at GoodLife Zen and Arvind Devalia at Make It Happen have created the Blog with Heart Challenge to help poverty. They are using the non-profit microlender KIVA to challenge bloggers to provide micro-loans to people in need.  I saw that Leo over at Zenhabits wrote about this on his site today and have joined his team for this challenge.

In case you haven’t heard of Kiva , the company is a non-profit organization on the internet that allows you to lend as much or as little (even $25 if that’s all your wallet can handle) to specific entrepreneurs who live in the developing world. These entrepreneurs are low-income and your money can really make a difference, not only to them, but to their entire community.

Your micro-loan may help a woman who is raising goats buy more goats which results in more milk that she can sell to feed her family, or it may help a family selling vegetables at market or even a group of entrepreneurs who are selling bricks to help their village rebuild.

When the loan is paid back you get your money back, if that’s what you choose. Or you can continue lending it to people in need to continue the cycle. Kiva is a trusted internet site and the loans are managed by microfinance institutions that are local to the developing countries and who have experience with microfinance. It’s not a hand out for these people, but a hand up.

I’ve just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Tania Rocha Guevara in Bolivia.  They still need another $400.00 to complete their loan request of $1,200.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!).  Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on this link to make a loan to Tania Rocha Guevara too.

I’ve joined team Zenhabits and I think you should too. Here’s how:

Step 1: Register with Kiva
 

Step 2: Log into your Kiva account. Go to the Zen Habits Lending Team and click the “Join Now” button.
 

Step 3: Go to the Kiva lending page and choose someone you want to lend to. I suggest lending to Tania until we have her fully financed. When you get to the checkout, you’ll see that your loan has been added to the portfolio of the Zen Habits Team.

Why join? Because it makes me feel good to give back and I’m sure that you want to feel good too.

Together, we can make a big difference.

Thank you!

Update (Nov 25): Tania has raised the money she needed for her grocery store.  Isn’t that wonderful? Please select another entrepreneur to help. They really need you to help them. We can continue to make a difference in their lives.

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