The British Humanist Association has endorsed the Humanist Team on Kiva and by extension the whole concept of micro-lending for a good cause.
Kiva.org is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website. It empowers individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. In most cases the money lent through Kiva is paid back as the borrower uses the loan to lift themselves out of poverty.
BHA Chief Executive Hanne Stinson said, “Our members have been drawing our attention to Kiva since the site launched around the beginning of 2006, so we think it fits in well with the ethics of many humanists. When we asked members a few years ago about their giving habits, we found that humanists had a higher than average tendency to plan their giving ahead, rationally and selectively. The most popular charitable causes were those connected with social welfare and international development/aid, and this is exemplified in the Kiva approach.
“Lending through Kiva means helping a named individual towards the personal autonomy that humanists value, improving life for themselves, their family, and their community.”
Notes
The British Humanist Association is the national charity representing and supporting the interests of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.