Louisville High School students direct micro-loans to the poor

HELPING HANDS- Mercy Nosa runs a food retail business in her native Nigeria. She was able to expand her business thanks to an $800 loan obtained through the nonprofit organization Kiva and students at Louisville High School.

Students in Louisville High School's social justice classes are given the opportunity to explore moral questions on issues such as sweatshops, poverty, war and hunger.

Last year, teacher Michael Bates of the Woodland Hills school had a group of students who wanted to make a real impact on poverty and to better understand the issues that surround the world's poor. Bates introduced his students to the microloan program through the organization Kiva, which is a nonprofit group that partners with existing microfinance institutions all over the world to connect borrowers with lenders using the Internet as a platform.

"In a class which focuses so intensely on the injustices of the world, it has been a rare gift to find an organization like Kiva which encourages young women of idealism to remain idealistic," said Bates. "It is so easy to become discouraged or cynical about change. This project helped us all realize that our collective efforts actually changed the world."

Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings and other basic financial services to the poor. Many who need small loans but do not have access to banks or other financial services benefit from micro-loans to invest in their own small businesses and increase financial stability. By supporting women's economic participation, microfinance helps to empower women, thus promoting gender equality and improving household wellbeing.

"Today I'm a very respected woman in the community. I have come out of the crowd of women who are looked down upon. Due to the loan I received . . .you have made me to be a champion out of nobody," said Rose Athieno, a produce reseller from Uganda.

Bates and his students pooled their money and selected 28 loan recipients to receive a portion of their $5,425. Eighty-six percent of the entrepreneurs chosen were women, many of them single mothers.

Ivy Mensah, who bakes bread for schools in Ghana, and Florence Nwankwo, mother of seven who sells snacks to the public in Nigeria, each received money toward funding their loan requests. Martha Torres Reyes, a nurse in Guadalupe, Neuvo Leon, Mexico, expanded her health product sales business with the help of her Kiva loan. Svitlana Demyanenko in Zaporozhye, Ukraine has expanded her kiosk selling children's stockings and socks to support her two children.

Throughout the course of these loans, usually six to 12 months, the students tracked the payments and viewed journal entries made by the borrowers or field representatives.

Now, nearly one year later, 18 of the original 28 loans have been paid back in full. Kiva does not charge interest on loans, and lenders can either withdraw their money after it is paid back or reinvest it in another borrower.

Not all the loans are successful, however. Kenya's Margaret Wamaitha, who purchased a water tank to harvest rain water, and Gladys Nyambura Murigi, who expanded her banana resale business, have not made payments on their loans recently, most likely due to the political and social unrest in their country. The students understood this risk when they made their donations.

The Louisville Class of 2009 social justice classes will continue the ongoing reinvestment of the Kiva funds donated by last year's classes by adding their own donations to the pot and selecting new loan recipients together.

To contribute to the project, e-mail Bates at mbates @louisvillehs.org.

For more information on Kiva, visit www.Kiva.org.