Sooner Lions Club helping others with microlending

from The Norman Transcript

Microcredit and microlending is a growing movement not only in America but around the world.

And from those who've gotten involved, it's making a real difference in the lives of those who simply need a loan to get their startup businesses off the ground.

In Norman, the Sooner Lions Club has decided to get involved with the leading microfinance organization Kiva.org. This group allows people to get involved through their Web site and choose an entrepreneur, usually in a third world country, and loan them money.

"People that are loaning the money will loan from $25 to $50 and those borrowing the money will get between $600 to $4,000," said Ted Smith, program chairman for the Sooner Lions Club.

Smith said he first became familiar with microfinance and Kiva after seeing a program about it on PBS. He further familiarized himself with microbanking by having a speaker at the Lions Club who talked about a book by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman called "A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking and the Business Solution to Ending Poverty."

The book, as noted in a number of positive reviews at Amazon.com, demonstrates that microbanking is making a major difference not just in the lives of readers but in the lives of those who are being helped by the process.

"Myself and a couple of other friends had gotten involved with Kiva and thought it'd be a good use our money," Smith said.

The group invested $1,000 that was loaned through Kiva.

And now, with a Kiva loan committee having been in place for three months, Sooner Lions Club committee members, President Ron Aughe, past president David Donaldson, second Vice President James Tittle and Membership Chair Bruce Roberts and Smith all have committed to make sure the money gets to those in need.

"Currently, we've made five loans of $50 each to a farmer in Togo, a car repairman in Uzbekistan, a grocer in Kenya and a farmer and miller, both in Cameroon," Smith said.

As for the Sooner Lions Club, Smith said they will make five $50 loans in January.

The loans, Smith said, are usually paid off within a year or so.

"Kiva loans have a 99.99 percent repayment rate," Smith said. "To date they've loaned over $46 million."

He added that he hopes the club can lend more money to Kiva in the future.

Aughe, meanwhile, said he has learned a lot about Kiva through Smith's involvement and is pleased his club can get involved.

For more information on microbanking and efforts to end poverty using this method, go to www.kiva.org www.kiva.org. For those interested in getting involved in the Sooner Lions Club, call Ron Aughe at 364-1182.