There might be hope for the world after all…

I was just reading through one of the blogs I have in my Favorites, TravelingCat.com, and saw an article posted about an organization called One Laptop Per Child. It’s amazing! They want to give laptops to children in developing countries, and they’ve designed really rugged laptops that can run on solar power, foot pump, or pull string. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? According to this article on the BBC site, Haiti is going to be one of the first 4 countries to benefit from the program. For some reason just reading that brought tears to my eyes. My experiences so far in Indonesia have been so different from the couple of weeks I spent in Haiti several years ago. I just haven’t seen as many impoverished children here, and the idea of poor children in Haiti being given something that could help them flourish makes me really happy! You can read more about this on the website for XOGiving.com.

As I was reading about the laptops, Billy received an email from our friend Sarah in San Diego about another program trying to make a difference in the world. This one is setup to give loans to people in developing nations, and you can loan as little as $25 and decide exactly which person you want your loan to go to. It’s really cool! They even have little journals that give updates on the businesses. Here’s some info from their site about how it works:

Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified borrowers. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva.org, our partners upload their borrower profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them.

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