Kiva - Giving To Make A Difference

About four years ago I was watching a TV program on how Americans were giving to a new program called Kiva.  The show caught my attention.  I promised myself then and there that if I started another business that I would make giving to Kiva a part of what we do as a socially responsible company. So when Lisa and I started Good Living Products in July of this year we made giving to Kiva a part of our business plan.


Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.  They do this by allowing you and me to invest in low income people with as little as a $25 investment.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on Kiva, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can re-lend to someone else.

Here are some of the people that we have loaned money to.

Teresa is the proud owner of her own in-home daycare business in Massachusetts. 

In her home country of Ecuador she was also a businesswoman. Ten years ago she came to the United States to start something new and it was natural for her to pursue a business of her own.

Jairo  came to the United States from Colombia 24 years ago after the loss of his job and with 500 dollars he started his own office furniture business.




Michael is the owner of CineCipher, a multi-media videography company located in the San Francisco Bay Area. He works with small businesses and non-profits to help them tell their stories.

Mrs.Thida Rous and her husband, Mr. Chinda Duk have been selling flowers and bananas for twelve years they live along the Tonle Basac River, a tributary of the nearby Mekong River, about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penn, the capital city of Cambodia.


These are real people with real needs.  Please feel free to join us as we all try to make our world a better place. Join our Kiva community at http://www.kiva.org/team/good_living_products.

Thanks - Roger Booth from Good Living Products, LLC