Looking for a novel Christmas gift? Maybe a pig farm in Bolivia? A grocery store in the Philippines? Doors for a house in El Salvador? This is how it works: you buy a gift certificate for as little as $25 from www.Kiva.org. The person you give it to goes to that site to choose a recipient for his microloan. That money, combined with other microloans, will start or expand a small business in a developing country, allowing people there to earn a living, educate their children, and generally improve their families’ lives. Kiva loans don’t earn interest, but 99% of the loans have been repaid (including all the ones I’ve made). Other poverty-targeted microloan organizations have differing investment amounts, pay-backs, and structures. I mention Kiva because of my personal experience with it. And they offer gift cards which you can give to, say, a grandchild. Then you can go online with him to set up the account in his name. Together you can watch a small investment change people’s lives in a big way, and the grandchild can boast, “I helped rebuild a house in Peru!”
Tag Archive for grocery store.atheist
Be Aware
Christians sing “Here I Am, Lord.” Jews call to mind the example set by the Levites who were called to serve God. Muslims know that the word “Islam” means “submission,” serving the will of Allah. All people, even atheists, have that feeling deep within them that, whether a higher power is involved or not, we have an obligation as part of the human race to watch out for each other. Of course, Believers know that God isn’t going to text us with instructions. But how often do we look around to see if, just maybe, opportunities are presenting themselves around us?
There’s that out-of-work man you keep running into, and an opening where you work. There’s the ill neighbor, and you do go to the grocery store weekly anyway. There’s the lonely stranger in the room you pass on your way to visit your dad at the nursing home, and you really do have an extra fifteen minutes. The City Council is about to pass a harmful resolution, and you have the ability to speak convincingly.
Just look around. Be aware of chances to serve–if not God then your fellow travelers on this Earth.