Snip!t from collection of Alan Dix

<p>Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.</p> <p>Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.</p> <div class="figureRight"> <a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/23303" target="_blank" class="img scaled"><img src="http://www.kiva.org/images/Pendo.jpg" border="0"></a> <p><a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/23303">Pendo Luisi</a>, 27 years old, borrowed $175 to open a cafe in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.</p> </div> <p>Kiva was born of the following beliefs:</p> <ul> <li>People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.</li><br> <li>The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.</li><br> <li>By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.</li><br> </ul> <p>Kiva promotes:</p> <ul> <li>Dignity: &nbsp; Kiva encourages partnership relationships as opposed to benefactor relationships. Partnership relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect.</li><br> <li>Accountability: &nbsp; Loans encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.</li><br> <li>Transparency: &nbsp; The Kiva website is an open platform where communication can flow freely around the world.</li><br> </ul> <p>As of November 2009, Kiva has facilitated over $100 million in loans.</p>