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were already paid back in full, 2 outstanding loans were current. Kiva has a 99 percent repayment rate for $348,752,900 in "already-ended" loans and offers still a fair bit more due diligence throughout the site. I came across Kiva again a few months later, at age 22, remembering the seal of approval from my oldest sister's cool, tattooed and sociallyconscious boyfriend was all the “due diligence” I needed. Kiva has made the sign-up and subsequent lending process simple. PayPal handles all transactions at no cost to Kiva, so your full contribution goes to the borrower. In March 2008, I zealously began three $25 loans to Maura in Peru and Rogelia and Lea Teresa in Paraguay. A month later I got an email notifying me that a portion of each of my loans had been repaid and I could put it all toward another loan or withdraw it back to my bank account. The end, if I so chose. That was five years and 34 loans ago. I have never experienced a defaulted loan nor delayed repayment and have instead enjoyed the regular journal updates from some of the borrowers who were very grateful. Chris Morin, an English teacher, studied microfinance in college, but he said that he still had no idea how one might deliver those funds. “Kiva represents everything that is good with social
networking,” Morin said. “Kiva facilitates that connection and it's amazing mainly because it so easily bridges the gap between good intentions and actions - people all over the world recognizing problems and taking action; not governments or banks, but ordinary people lending a hand. It's beautiful.” If being part of Kiva strikes your fancy, you are welcome to join our Gwangju team; all are welcome. Simply sign-up and search the “Teams” tab for Gwangju, or use the link below. Sure, you will not receive any interest on that $25, but what was that return on investment mentioned earlier? ... And that has made all the difference. Still interested? Feel free to register with this link at any time, Kiva.org/invitedto/Gwangju/by/ AdamGreenberg, and your new account will receive $25 to make your first loan – therefore, literally zero risk to you whatsoever. Also, the author will receive $25 in his account to make another loan as well, so thank you! In the past, ex-pats have expressed issues using PayPal in Korea [unrelated to Kiva]. I have been using a U.S. bank account or a KB debit card to fund Kiva loans through PayPal. If you have any trouble-shooting questions, feel free to e-mail me at Kiva@AdamGreenberg.com. Gwangju News September 2013
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