Kiva, Global Giving, Samhita and Global India Fund (GIF) are microfinanciers. According to the Kiva website, “Microfinance is ... the idea that low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty if given access to financial services,” and while it is not meant to be a cure-all, it is a tool utilized in the work to end poverty. Each organization, in its own ways, bring global-level philanthropy to your doorstep, or rather, your computer screen. Each of these organizations works to provide entrepreneurs – whether they be just starting up or trying to keep afloat - on one end of the world the opportunity to connect with those who can help them meet their goals on the other.
Donation, whether giving your spare change out of your pocket, or writing a check to an organization, whether in your home town or across the world, can be a daunting process, riddled with questions: Where exactly does my money go? Is someone making sure the organization is really doing the work they say they are? Finding these answers takes a lot of time, and most people simply can not put in that time, or do the 'due diligence', as we have learned to call it. This kind of philanthropy really has to come from the heart. These organizations don't call you up at home and ask for money. These organizations rely on proactive individuals to go online and read about the individuals they support, and provide answers to your what-ifs and questions – they supply profiles and each have a sort of matching or searching system which a potential donor can find an organization or business they can stand behind. It's a really great system – to meet people in the middle and create a mutually beneficial situation, linking those who have and those who need.
Dr. Vyas, who also happens to be the founder of GIF, during class a few weeks ago talked about the fact that she had come across people fascinated with or moved by India, and wanting to contribute but not knowing how to go about it or to whom they should donate. Let me say that, though it is my first day here, I am already starting to see the fascination: Everywhere you go, there are people living in poverty - as we were talking about today, movie stars in million dollar homes live right next to where people are living on the street - as well as people working to lift themselves out of it, and groups trying to help them do so. Samhita, one such group, is a microfinance organization here in India. We met with some of their employees and interns tonight to discuss some of their projects. The people from Samhitha are energetic, they are knowledgeable and excited about the projects and are so clearly invested in what they do. Anyone who contributes to Samhita or Global India Fund, who partners with Samhita to bring their projects globally, should put their what-ifs to the side; these people have it all covered. They provide the due diligence which their projects deserve, and are connected with the organizations and groups which Samhita supports on a personal level, and with a level of humility I have never seen. I am so excited to see these organizations in person, to learn from them and see for myself the power, not only of microfinancing, but of social entrepreneurship in India.
More to come...
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