Microloans: What the amazing internetz can do

So a friend of mine from school has been posting on Facebook that he "just made a loan on kiva.com" or "was repaid on kiva.com" and I thought he had been hacked. Come to find out, it's actually a legitimate thing. Kiva is a company that basically acts as a middle man between you (the lender) and poor people in third world countries that want small amounts of money to start businesses. The concept behind it is called microfinancing and apparently it's been proven to help people rise out of poverty. You can even give loans for as little as $25, which can mean a lot to someone in a poor nation. I'm considering doing it this summer when I have some extra money, thought it would be good to pass along. It's amazing that this is possible because of the internet!