I am interested in using one of these sites as I really do want to help fight against world poverty and feel this is one of the best ways to help. Kiva appeals to me because you can choose who to loan your money to, so you can kind of connect with a specific town or village. A lot of people like MicroPlace because you earn interest on your loan instead of just getting your money back. Which do you like?
Simply giving money to people will often just help them dig a deeper hole. Teach a man to fish etc.... Which I guess is what Kiva is all about. But I still don't like the idea of simply throwing money at problems.
Well they are business loans, not exactly like just giving money to a beggar. But, I do see your point of view. There are lot of other problems involved such as there being underlying reasons people are poor such as economies, greed, government issues, etc. A lot of problems that makes just giving a loan not as helpful as it could be. However, if we help small communities, hopefully that can help us in fixing the larger picture.
After re-reading my post, I don't think I agree with myself. I've just had a decent look at the Kiva site, and the more I read, the more I like the sound of it. I have to stop being so sceptical about everything.
No, we all get hurt at times and I think it causes us to be skeptical. I think I personally like Kiva more than MicroPlace. I don't know why, but I do. I think because MicroPlace seems a bit like profiting off of someone's poverty and Kiva people do it because they genuinely want to help.