I don't know about you guys, but some days opening my eyes to the world is an incredibly depressing experience. Everywhere you look, some jackass is killing someone for some stupid reason, some demented egomaniac is murdering his own people, millions of people are starving, millions are suffering and meanwhile you sit in the relative comfort of your own privileged existence feeling for some reason, a little numb to it all.

When there's nothing to really fight for, life looses a little of its edge. The world most of those who read this article have grown up in is one that encourages that numbness. We're bombarded with images of terrible things far away and it seems like the best thing to do is just put your head down, switch on the television and hope that you still have a job tomorrow.

But a little part of you wants more than that. A little part of you was born for more than this, it was born to do good. There's a reason why our popular media is saturated with hero figures, they play out the fantasies of doing good that many of us have long abandoned any real hope of realizing. We live through them vicariously, but we don't have to, we can do more.

Kiva is one way we can do that. What is Kiva? It is a micro-lending enterprise. Simply put, you log on, you make an account and you immediately see a list of people in developing countries who need to raise money for entrepreneurial projects. You choose one you think is worthy and make a small (usually $25) loan. That loan goes towards the total balance required for that project, and 100% of that money is guaranteed to reach the intended recipient. Kiva does not take a cut for running the project, instead it offers you the chance to add a small amount to your loan amount as a donation (tax deductible in the USA) to keep Kiva running.

Over time, your loan is repaid by the recipient. There's no guarantee of this of course, but so far the default rate is under 2%. When the loan is repaid, you can choose to lend the money again, withdraw it, or donate it. You can make as many loans as you wish. There is no financial return to be gained on a Kiva loan, simply the knowledge that your money helped someone in the developing world live their dream.

If you so choose, you can receive email updates on how the loan recipient's project is progressing.

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A few projects open at the time of writing:

Manama (left) is the leader of this group. Manama is a farmer and a petty trader. She has been a farmer for ten years now and will use this loan to buy seeds for cabbages and groundnuts, etc. She usually buys these seeds either from Kabala town or in Freetown. Manama was born in Heremakono village. She is 29 years old, married to a road constructor and they have five children together. With this loan, she will be able to increase her farm acreage and generate sufficient funds to look after herself and the children.

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To have an abundant harvest and farming machinery is the ultimate dream of Narciso Viscaya, a 44-year-old farmer from Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur. He has been tilling the land since he was just a small kid. His father taught him everything about farming from sowing the seeds to harvest. Now, he is tilling a 1 hectare farm to support his family.
Coming from a poor family, he wants to make their life better and to be progressive. He wants to make his farm more productive and he can only achieve that if he is able to buy the needed fertilizers and chemicals for his farm. He wants to borrow 10,000 PHP. This will be enough to improve his harvest.

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Rose Nyame sells doughnuts, which are normally served with porridge and eaten as breakfast in Zion in Cape Coast. Rose has received a junior high education. She is married and has six dependents.

Rose has been selling doughnuts since 1999. She is responsible for paying the children's school fees, clothing, utility bills and other family expenses. Her loan will be used to buy more flour, sugar, vegetable oil and other ingredients to enable her to increase the production of doughnuts. She hopes to use the new profit from her business to support her husband in saving towards acquiring a piece of land on which to build a house for the family.

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The village bank, which consists of fourteen members, is located in Thma Kor village in Kandal province and they plan to use the loan for different purposes.

Mr. Vanseng Sok is the village bank president who has been selected by the members. He is a farmer who owns a small piece of land near his house which he uses grow vegetables and fruits. Now he is requesting a loan to purchase fertilizer and pesticide to support his growing. His wife, Mrs. Sum Saren, makes Chinese noodles to earn an income to support the family.

Mr. Vanseng Sok is the 59-year-old father of eight children: three are laborers; another is a seller who helps his mother’s business; three are enrolled in the local school; and the youngest one is too young to work or study.

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A team I created on Kiva.org. (For some reason it is not showing donations made prior to the creation of the team, but don't let that put you off.) Panty lovers of all genders and other assorted fiddly bits can make a difference!

Panty Vigilantes