Microfinance vs. Birthday Shoes

The old addage "it takes money to make money" rings true in painful ways for the lower echelons of the poor around the world.  I have been interested in the concept of microfinance ever since I attended a lecture about it during my first year of college.  Though the speaker was incomprehensibly boring, the subject matter captured my attention and I have since followed developments in the field with great interest.  Microfinance is a fairly simple concept, and is one of the coolest things I've ever learned about in my life.  

Since that lecture I've always wanted to participate but haven't taken the plunge until now.  I said good-bye to the new pair of shoes I was going to use my birthday money for and instead loaned the money through Kiva.org to Ms. Badra Guruge from Sri Lanka, who was asking for a loan to help her increase her stock of fruits and vegetables to sell at the stand she operates at her local market.  Between myself and 14 other lenders her loan was funded and over the next 16 months she will update us on her progress and make installment payments on the loan.  Hopefully it will make the difference she is hoping it will in her quality of life. Though I was looking forward to the new shoes (they were red and very sassy), I find it hard to miss what I never had (and now have something I didn't know I missed).