Today was the formal launch of the ESD microLENDING Project. The International Society, a group of ten students, presented the program’s goals to the student body and outlined three basic elements of this up-and-coming lending process.
1) What is microLENDING? It is a way for people in developed nations to lend a small amount of money through an organization like Kiva or Hope International to a community in a developing country. The community then uses that money to build businesses, invest in schools, build hospitals, employ the unemployed, and develop a myriad of other aspects essential to a successful and coherent community. The investors are then repaid, with interest, so that investors can either lend again or pull out of the cycle.
2) What are the effects? MicroLENDING provides hope for economic growth in some of the most marginalized communities in the world. Cambodia, the Congo, Zimbabwe, Cuba, and others benefit from this program. For more information, see the New York Times article written by Nicholas Kristof at (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?-r=3&em).
3) How is ESD involved? A group of ESD students is organizing a program to involve the student body in the mechanics of microLENDING. We will invest in a community so that they can build businesses, invest in trade and abuse education, provide better health care for their children, and generally change the lives of everyone living in the community.We are having our first fundraiser this month and hope to raise about $500. With that money, we will lend, bring in speakers, purchase computer software, collect books and invest in the general education about microLENDING for everyone from Lower School students to graduating seniors.
International Society Member, Class of 2010
1) What is microLENDING? It is a way for people in developed nations to lend a small amount of money through an organization like Kiva or Hope International to a community in a developing country. The community then uses that money to build businesses, invest in schools, build hospitals, employ the unemployed, and develop a myriad of other aspects essential to a successful and coherent community. The investors are then repaid, with interest, so that investors can either lend again or pull out of the cycle.
2) What are the effects? MicroLENDING provides hope for economic growth in some of the most marginalized communities in the world. Cambodia, the Congo, Zimbabwe, Cuba, and others benefit from this program. For more information, see the New York Times article written by Nicholas Kristof at (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?-r=3&em).
3) How is ESD involved? A group of ESD students is organizing a program to involve the student body in the mechanics of microLENDING. We will invest in a community so that they can build businesses, invest in trade and abuse education, provide better health care for their children, and generally change the lives of everyone living in the community.We are having our first fundraiser this month and hope to raise about $500. With that money, we will lend, bring in speakers, purchase computer software, collect books and invest in the general education about microLENDING for everyone from Lower School students to graduating seniors.
International Society Member, Class of 2010
