[Commpsych] opportunity to assist people in developing countries

[Eleanor Wertheim]

Dear Community College colleagues, 

I  would like to let you know about a Psychologists for Peace initiative that Community College members might be interested in and which you might like to contribute to.   The group has thought of a way for each of us to assist people  in developing countries through an organisation called Kiva.  I have just joined and found it a very rewarding (and easy) activity. 
 
We invite you to be on our Kiva 'team', which simply involves signing up on an online website (there is no time commitment) and then considering if you wish to assist someone in a developing country through offering a small amount of money (e.g., US$25) towards a loan to help that person or group of people build a small business.

Kiva is an established online 'microfinance' organisation, http://www.kiva.org <https://owa.latrobe.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiva.org>  providing small loans in the developing world, as a practical way of helping some of the world's most poor.   The Kiva organisation has on its website descriptions of people from the developing world (and their photos) who are seeking small loans to build a business.  Examples include people building up a farm or tailoring business or  grocery store or a health clinic in Africa, Asia, or South America. 
 
You can contribute to someone's loan starting at a minimum of US$25. You choose whom to assist and Kiva arranges for that person to get the loan.  The idea is that over time, your money can be repaid to you (though there can be some hassle factors, e.g., currency fluctuations, navigating Paypal).  Kiva also acknowledges that there is a risk of loan default since the people that obtain loans may be considered a high risk by normal financial institutions, although Kiva's current published loan default rates are low (about 3%) and you get  information to assist in making choices about whom to loan to. You can also choose to simply leave the funds in the organisation for others to borrow against instead of asking to be repaid directly yourself.    

Teams of supporters with a common interest can join together, and one of our members (Michelle Steffens from QLD) has registered a team called "psychologists for peace"  and is inviting others to join.  I should note that while Psychologists for Peace is supporting this initiative, it has not formally joined Kiva as a body.   Michelle has used the team name (small ps!) so supporters can recognise and join with those of us who wish to contribute.   
 
We feel this is an opportunity to do something practical  to help others, particularly during this season of giving, noting the links between poverty, social justice and peace, and also to provide a forum for people sharing our interest to meet, potentially from all over the world.

If you would like to find out more, or to be part of the kiva "psychologists for peace" team, please email Michelle Steffens (before December 7) on michelle.steffens at gmail.com OR (after Dec 7) Winnifred Louis (QLD PFP Convenor) on w.louis at psy.uq.edu.au. They'll then provide the information for you to join the team in this project.

For more information see  http://www.kiva.org <https://owa.latrobe.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiva.org> 
or to go directly to the 'psychologists for peace' team site, go to   http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=2933&_isc=210c5da0-0e59-102c-995e-e2890788975c <https://owa.latrobe.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=2933%26_isc=210c5da0-0e59-102c-995e-e2890788975c>  
 
All the best, 

Eleanor 

Eleanor H. Wertheim, Ph.D., FAPS  

Professor, School of Psychological Science
La Trobe University
Bundoora (Melbourne), VIC 3086  Australia
 
Ph:    +61 3 9479 2478
Fax:  +61 3 9479 1956