Helping people more directly?

[Guest]

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[jgbndaudio]

Hello,

Not sure if this is the right section to post this. Also don’t know if anyone from Kiva reads this but this has been on my mind for months now.

I've been a Kiva addict since only this past January but in that time I have seen several loans that were looking for what would be considered lawn sale merchandise here in the USA but in developing countries people are taking loans to buy the same stuff.

Example: one loan I saw was for a woman who runs a restaurant to buy more dishes and silverware, and yet another was for someone to buy pots and pans.

I realize shipping is expensive, I sell on ebay and regularly ship things all over the world but I can’t help but wonder if there was some way to directly supply some of these people the products they seek instead of loaning them money to buy them.


Comments or thoughts?
Thanks for reading.

Scott

[optimistic.bob]

Scott,

I have heard this question many times. In a former position with the Canadian Red Cross, I was dispatching people and goods to disaster  zones and areas where restoration work was ongoing. We only shipped that which we couldn't buy locally. Shipping costs, appropriateness, and supporting the local economy were all considerations. I watched as tons of goods were shipped by other organizations (who knew better than us what someone a world away needed) that ended up in landfills unused or worse sold on the dark market for exceedingly high prices. My suggestion is that we continue to empower entrepreneurs with loans and allow them the autonomy to make decisions that might support  their local economy.

[cpbailey]

The one thing I was thinking about was used clothing.  It would be so cool if a cruise liner took it south to Mexico.  I am not sure about customs, but small packages could go in volunteer's cabins.  Take that day trip and drop off seasonally appropriate clothing to a nearby site which could sell them to small business owners.  The sales price would pay for rent and employees to run the distribution center.

I know stewardess have brought hotel sized soaps, shampoos and other small items to counties where these could be used.