Ladies, here is a way to help other ladies survive and prosper in some of the poorest regions by using microfinance. Microloans allow for families (women, men, and children) to prosper, and businesses to flourish generation after generation.
Kiva.org was started by some ex-Googlers, and has so far funded 60 000 projects of approx $500 each.
How it works is that you donate $25, $50, etc for a project. It takes a few days for other people to fund that project, e.g. a person setting up some home business to help the kids go to school. The money you lend will most likely (but not always) get repaid in a few weeks. When it is repaid you can use that same money to fund another project, etc.
The drupalchix community is set up here:
http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=1733
"Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor." (CGAP)
"Comprehensive impact studies have demonstrated that:
Microfinance helps very poor households meet basic needs and protect against risks;
* The use of financial services by low-income households is associated with improvements in household economic welfare and enterprise stability or growth;
* By supporting women's economic participation, microfinance helps to empower women, thus promoting gender-equity and improving household well-being;
* For almost all significant impacts, the magnitude of impact is positively related to the length of time that clients have been in the programme."