Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Aid Bangladesh: Mobilizing Support for Cyclone Sidr Survivors



Dear Friends,

One of the strongest cyclones in recorded history hit Bangladesh on Nov 15. The cyclone claimed an estimated 10,000 lives, rendered millions homeless and cause significant damage to crops and infrastructure.

We have created a portal called AID Bangladesh (www.aidbangladesh.org) to disseminate up-to-date information about Cyclone Sidr and mobilize support for survivors. Aid efforts have been slow and survivors are now in dire need of food, water, medicine and shelter. Here are some ways you can get involved:

1) Contribute to an organization assisting cyclone survivors. Find out whether your organization provides matching grants. Click here for a list of relief organizations

2) Contact your nearest Bangladesh Embassy and find out how you can help. Click here for list of Bangladeshi Embassies Worldwide

3) Organize a fund-raiser in your organization, college, university or community

4) Share the “Aid Bangladesh” link and links of organizations supporting cyclone survivors with your friends and family. You can send an email, post this link on your blog and share it within your network on Facebook, MySpace etc.

If you have any questions or comments or would like us to post your information on the “Aid Bangladesh” site, please email us at info@aidbangladesh.org

Regards

Aid Bangladesh Team

Friday, November 16, 2007

Peer-to-Peer Microlending

Web 2.0 now enables YOU to become an arm chair microlender! You can provide small loans (as little as 5!) to entrepreneurs around the world to help them set up viable businesses. Kiva works through local partners to ensure projects are legitimate.

The process is simple - YOU pay online with your credit card, Kiva channel money to the entrepreneur through the local partner, local partners collect payments and transfer it to Kiva, YOU get your money back and can choose to withdraw of reinvest. Typical loan cycles are 6-12 months. Kiva is very user-friendly and allows you to set up a profile and portfolio. You also get updates about the businesses you invest in.

Kiva has been operational for just a year but the numbers are impressive - 20,000 entrepreneurs, USD 13 million in loans and 130,000 lenders! Now the likes of Clinton and Oprah are talking about it.

The only downside is Kiva's limited geographic reach. For instance, Azerbaijan is the only Asian country that has entrepreneurs listed in it. I am hoping to see Bangladesh in there soon!