Eleven years and counting...
Throughout the course of the last nine years, Mr. Edwards' Social Studies 10-1 classes have been examining what role micro-financing has had on the developing world. One of the questions the Social Studies curriculum asks is, "To what extent should I, as a citizen, respond to globalization?"
We considered this question through the investigation of the highly successful organization - Kiva. Kiva.org connects individuals worldwide with entrepreneurs requesting loans as small as $25.00. On what became known as 'Kiva Wednesdays', Social 10-1 students met to learn about the many opportunities and needs for micro-financing.
During this last semester, as a closing activity, both of the Social 10-1 classes put their empathy and money together, deposited over $100 and loaned over $1000 to 12 entrepreneurs across the world! (That totals over $7600 deposited and $25,700 loaned to 369 entrepreneurs over the last 12 years!) As this money takes several months to be repaid, all monies repaid by the entrepreneur will be carried forward for future Social Studies classes to be re-loaned to other needy entrepreneurs. As a result, due to the generosity of this class, they have left a lasting legacy that will not only impact future Social Studies classes, but, more importantly, will empower entrepreneurs in developing countries to lift themselves out of poverty.
To be continued....