Giving back. On a Global Scale.

Our first post deals with giving back to the global community in which we live in creative and exciting ways. There are many ways to give back to our communities many of them we all are very familiar with, volunteering, peer tutoring, peer mentoring, etc. link to volunteering -> http://www.canadian-universities.net/Volunteer/Ontario.html.

But its only when we take a step back and analyze how blessed we are economically and socially (Those living in developed countries ie Canada, Usa, Australia)compared to the rest of the world that we realize that it’s our duty as world leaders to find ways to make a difference in the world. Now I know a lot of you readers out there are thinking, “How can I make a difference globally?” The first step is to analyze the global situation in order to get a better understanding of the world we live in. http://www.worldometers.info/is just one of the many ways we can get real time statistics about our world. These statistics provide context to our lives and forces us to think critically about how we lead our lives.

Now that we have warmed you up to thinking globally, we would like to share Jessica Jackley’s story with you. Jessica is the co-founder of a non-profit organization called Kiva http://www.kiva.org/. Jessica's inspiration came from hearing a talk that Dr. Muhammad Yunus gave and visting Kenya. Kiva is not a traditional non-profit organization in the sense that it does not collect donations in order to help those in need. Instead, Kiva acts as a bridge between you and an entrepreneur that lives in a developing or undeveloped country through loans as little as $25. What makes Kiva so interesting is that it doesn’t create an “us and them” or a “donor and beneficiary” scenario. Almost of all of the loans Kiva facilitates are paid back to the lenders or re-loaned back into the system.

Once we step back and think about how little hard working people in developing and undeveloped countries need to change the trajectory of their lives, I believe that people in developed countries can come up with creative ways to inspire others and change the world we live in. What ideas will you come up with? How will you change the world?

Here is Jessica's story. Enjoy, think, and reflect.