June 28: How to Be a Microfinancier

[TheQueenSydney]

the first ever P4A video

[MattDranee]

I gave my Mum a Kiva giftcard for one of her Xmas Presents :D

[ThisIsMissLys]

@MattDranee so did i!

[MattDranee]

@ThisIsMissLys Yey!! :D

[holloween2011]

places like that are in the rural parts. most of the people who live there are haitians and there chilren who areusually born dominican-hatians. thats why the country doesnt bother to help these people as much. although i dont think they can afford, or even have the appropriate resources to cope with a large poverty stricken haitian diaspora, expecially post-quake. wish them the best.

[Timmytime178]

wow i watched johns video "awesome bankers" and thought it was a fairly new thing boy was i wrong!!!!!!

[KidCoda]

@Timmytime178 Ikr. I was thinking the same thing.

[gladrial89]

@HelloRaynbo I had a similar experience. I went to the Dominican Republic last may to volunteer in a Haitian immigrant batey (slum) and I realized how much the kids there had to teach me. We were coming with food and medicine but they had so much love and hospitiality. It may seem like those are triffles yet you are hit with the full impact of how much people can give you no matter their economic status. You can no longer say "those poor people" but rather "my wonderful brothers who are poor."

[BecauseJustBecause]

AH. I had no idea you supported Kiva! My family supports Kiva and I'm a huge nerdfighter but I've never watched ALL videos until I started just this week and you know about Kiva and AHHH. I love this! :D <3

[dumbledorerox98]

@yenamarre100 Do these people look like they're tribe members in a rainforest? No. They look like starving children in the Dominican Republic. While I do agree with you that tribes in the rainforest learn how to survive apart from the rest of the world, that doesn't mean that these people can. Do they look like they're surviving well? They make a dollar a day. They're starving. And that isn't okay for anyone.

[harrySTINKINpotter]

@yennemarre100 hes saying that theyre living in extreme poverty because they are. Its the simple fact of life. Hes not saying that those people are obviously miserable because they cant have what other people have. I would assume that they dont like not having enough money or resorces to keep food on the table, but neither of us are shouting that out to the world. Its theyre oppertunity to get help, were not shoving it down their throuts. And hank OR john would never buy gucci or sportscars. Li

[TheZombieGirrrl]

Ooh, I'm so going to microfinance y birthday money!

[epicX42]

"swank" that is so jokes John

[ReKrisB]

"I swallowed a gnat...stupid nature."

[xgothxbarbiex]

to those arguing about it being 20% in poverty not 60%, 1% is too much for me.

I posted this on my Facebook and someone commented ' don't give them money. they can't be bothered to look after themselves or their families.' I deleted him and was really sad. I'm gonna do this asap, I'm on benefits (disabled with kids) so won't be much unfortunately :(

[MotionCitySoundtrac2]

this was posted on my bday... never felt more special xD and it was done by .. my favorite vlogbrother *shhh don't tell hank* ;)

[mirosango14]

there was an old lady who swallowed a fly...

[Antigogo12]

Middle class is almost disappearing here; either you are rich or poor.

[BlackRose3193]

Our president are douchebags :|

[ThisIsClown]

This video just... Tickles my hate.

[RecordAndUpload]

Thumbs up if Why Haiti is Poor brought you here

[Bridgiedidge5]

So I just became a lender through Kiva, WHOOHOO!

As a student who doesn't have a lot of expendable money, but really wants to help, micro-financing is a great way.

I lent $25USD to Consolacion Moises from the Philippines who runs a general store. :)

[jinx630]

The saddest part is that while 60 percent live in poverty, the grand majority of the other 40 percent live in wealth. Barely a middle class.

[kohmid84]

@jinx630 This is actually NOT true, we are not Haiti. Yes, there is poverty here, but not 60% is EXTREME poverty. Get your gringo facts right. Btw, this video only depicts poor beach towns where most of workers are from haitian descent. It's like going to a trailer park in Kentucky, it does not reflect american society, this video does NOT represent the 60% of dominican population...

[jinx630]

@kohmid84

I've visited every other year since birth. Instead of staying in my spacious/lit/air-conditioned Santo Domingo apt (or ditching to go to Barca), this 'gringo' spent most of his time there in the countryside, to the 'conucos', no internet/etc, amenities only the top 35 percent of dominicans enjoy. I can go on.

Also, the DR is developing quickly, and because of that you need to take into consideration that its not the same country it was 20, 10 or even 5 yrs ago when this vid was taken.

[jinx630]

@kohmid84 Also, to be fair I must add that most of the DR is not in the poverty depicted in this video. Only about 20% of Dominicans live in this situation. I was quick to snap at you after your "gringo" comment.

[kohmid84]

@jinx630 When I said gringo I didn't mean you. It's just that most americans come here, they see poverty like the one in the video and they think that's all there is. Some come to the resorts, never come out and also think that's all there is, or don't care about the rest. All I try to argue here is the facts. For americans, owning a house and a car is a sign of wealth. Here you will find ppl living in a hut in the middle of their 100 acre land, and they live happily within their palm-tree walls

[jinx630]

@kohmid84 Touche. I think what you're getting at is that most americans have a perception that the DR is very poor country when in reality, its better off than a lot of its Caribbean counterparts. I agree. We know you're "not Haiti" (I'm aware of the rivalry). But I hope you don't ignore the part of the country that is not as well off as you are. The man in the hut may do the best with what he's given, but you and I know that he is annoyed every time 'la luz se va'.

[AresExodus]

Doesnt seem so bad not having a PS3 now.

[footynutguy]

So good to rediscover this video. If it wasn't for this then I wouldn't have started lending via Kiva.org. Every time a loan is paid back I lend the money to someone else. I will keep on going like this for as long as I am around or until the day that I hope arrives soon when there won't be any more need for it.

[kelseythenerdfighter]

That website is amazing! Wow, I want to lend money to all of them.

[gamesdisk]

Wow, look how YOUNG john is.

[sisterhoodofthecrabs]

Gosh, I forgot how slow John used to talk...

[OnTheOtherHandle]

Just got linked in from Hank's video today. This is a really frickin' great idea! In fact, it's perfect for people like college students who really want to hold onto their money but still work to decrease worldsuck. I will spread this around.

[YuukaYagami]

Clicking in from Hank's 2011 video on Haiti. I'm glad I found out about this Kiva website! Once I have enough money I'm gonna microfinance for the Philippines, my parents' home country. :) I'll share the site with my friends, too, to see if they'd be interested in it.

Hoping to help decrease world suck!

- Khalil

[hmsoctopus]

My teacher did that! She wants our Key Club to do it too. Sadly, we're an NZ~ club, so all our money goes to Christchurch right now. But later, maybe, we will all become microfinanciers.

[cynlvraz]

The interest rate may sound high compared to "here," but the thing is, a loan officer has to go to each borrower individually to talk over the loan, get documents signed, and give them the money. Then they visit them again every week or two to collect the payments, etc =-- making a lot of tiny loans costs more than making just one big loan, especially in a place where the borrowers don't have checking accounts or computers with which to make their loan payments!

[lilypad145]

I just went to Kiva.org and gave a microloan. Did you know you can alos opt not to get your money back? You can opt to let them keep it for their operating costs once the loan is repaid. Thank you, John, for helping me DFTBA!!! Take that, world suck.

[ljkolnick]

I looked up criticism about KIVA and it seems they still charge really high interest compared to what is considered reasonable here. I can't remember the numbers but Kiva charges waaay more than what experts think is reasonable. However it is still obviously way less than loan sharks.

[JenniferJG42]

"stupid nature" haha :)

[TheExagerates]

@lol232123 Me toooo!!!

[Pulpulpullie]

"maybe the nerdfigheters will join us.."

almost $15.000 donated by nerdfighters :D

[winstonTsteward]

This is one of the very best explanations of Microlending I've seen online. Thanks for creating and posting this.

[cdemere]

Nerdfighteria! Join up at /team/nerdfighters I don't know why it won't let me make that a link

[AdmiralJenkins]

"Stupid nature..."

[SatyreetBacchante]

Did you get the idea of microfinancing from Nobeliate Mohammad Yunus? He did a similar thing in Indonesia.

[unscrewedhorses]

There is no Nerdfighter loaning team on Kiva.

Someone much fix this.

[unscrewedhorses]

Typo fail...

[cdemere]

@unscrewedhorses We've been a team since Sept. 2008! Join up! search nerdfighters.

[lsophial]

Microfinance is good, but if the country is so poor who will buy the shoes, the coffee, avon, etc?

[MademoiselleElcair]

The people who get jobs working for the small businesses that are started with these loans will then have enough money to buy things from the other small businesses that are started.

[tmlfan5115]

kiva ftw

[LoveShiaGDSN]

"Stupid Nature" lol.

that reminds me of The Goonies when Chunk said "I like the dark. but I hate nature. I hate nature" when he was crawling through the brush to get to the road to find someone to take him to the police station...and flags down The Fratelli's instead. can you tell that The Goonies is one of my favorite movies? lol. Chunk is even my picture I use for the ning lol.

[fortheloveofLDS]

'Stupid nature.'

roffle. That about sums up my opinion of it.

[nerdfightersteph]

i went to dr and i was showed round a house

[LOL232123]

YAY posted on my birthday :)

[Novelistintraining]

i know about this!

[harrysjulie]

I stayed in that area in Puerto Plata in the Dominican. It's called Munoz and it's hard but so beautiful to see.

I makes you realise how easy the rest of us have it!!!

[gymnast95630]

no way. my econ teacher just mentioned this site today, and we watched a video on this. what are the odds?

[SantinoBrasiGBB]

ask Daniel Biss

[gymnast95630]

haha, i should.

[valerie2776]

It's so easy to make a difference. Just do it!

[RahRy444]

Stupid Nature....HA!

[maurora27]

If that doesn't decrease world suck I dunno what does.

[cosmopolitanthinker]

I highly recommend you read a book called "The Bottom Billion" written by Paul Collier.

Solely based on having seen this video, it is my thinking that you would love this book. =)

[Amiryfey]

wow, thats all I'm saying

[xxbeautifulworld]

thank you so much for sharing this!

i think its so sad how people go to these places & come back saying how wonderful it was & how jealous they are that they can't be there all the time

its pretty rare that they get to see the real side of how life is for the people who actually live there

we started a human rights club at my high school just this year

i'll be sure to pass on this information + get some others involved

you guys are awesome! xD

those kids are super cute :)

[nannoninn]

That is AWESOME

Thank you for telling us!

[DittoFreak]

Comment 125:

Haha you swallowed a bug

[Marliey119]

stupid nature.... rofl. Come on it can't be that bad... lol

[XHitThePanicButtonX]

I AM SENDING THIS VIDEO TO MY HISTORY TEACHER

because in her class we always talk about things like this and how to help the world. This year we went to a place that was like simulated poverty, and we bought the fixings for our dinner with 11 mexican peso's, which is one american dollar. we're talking about poverty and world hunger and how to fix it this year and it SO REMINDED ME OF THIS VIDEO.

[ToniMorgan14]

I used this video in a presentation last year for english. We had to write a paper and do a speech on how we can make a difference somewhere. Thank you for doing this John!!

[BarryAldridge]

It is shocking that 60% of The Domincan Republic are on poverty. It makes me want to become a humanitiarn. I like this idea of Microfinancier. Will look at the Kiva site later on could be interesting.

[aloha45]

i went to the DR for a missions trip this summer. talk about a serious culture shock.

[kittydreamz86]

1. OMG i've heard of this.

2. OMG I want to do it!

3. OMG Those kids are Soooooooooooooooo cute!

[mrcoolandfancypants]

John I Love You!

[SerenaBobina]

I am DEFINITELY doing this

[51320044]

I went to the Dominican Republic for Christmas 2007...and as much fun I had there on my 'vacation' I got to see quite a bit of DR and well...I was not impressed. While riding on horses to thin to function...there were kids on the side of the road, begging for candy!...of all food...candy...and here we are, so ...un-poverished...going there for a 'holiday' when its kind of like 'hell' to those who live there 24/7 (under poverty)

good video :)

[jacksragingjealousy]

@51320044 hell is kind of a strong word for people's home. even if it is impoverished, calling it hell is offensive.

[stasis1988]

but that's okay, I forgive you.

[stasis1988]

Though I assume you did also sit by the pool.

[stasis1988]

tourism to resorts in the third world is exploitation. Good for you for going to the "real" dominican republic instead of only sitting by the pool.

[iluvbeingme23]

I visited villages in the DR about a month before you guys were there. Spent a week there. It was definitely eye-opening and wonderful!

I have videos from that week on my account (actually, it's the only thing on my account...haha). It was the best week of my life.

[DeylenUk]

Thanks, this is such a great idea! Loaned immediately after I saw this.

[SpiffyGliffy]

I got an account on Kiva as a Christmas gift from my aunt and it's amazingly awesome!

[ashleyakadavid]

Wow. The other day at church, we had a missionary speak, and they played a short video clip, and it talked about giving aid to micro-financing organizations. My friend and I definitely almost shouted "HOO HA! NERDFIGHTERS!" in the middle of church. :D

[RachelSmiles33]

hoo ha.

big lolz ;-D

[sgtpepperssalt]

You are so nice! You are such a good person! I love listening to you talk. I just want to give you a massive high five.

[GetDownThenStandUp]

my friend has a kiva account! i am gonna pen one up really sooooooooonnnn

[obessedwithtwilight]

This is great im going to have to check out that web sit

[sensiblemaniac]

(I'm catching up!) I "adopted" a childen from the Dominican Republic. His name is Christopher and I pay about 30 dollars a month for him to go to school. =D

[ElectroEleni]

My teacher's sister co-owns that website.

Its awesome

[spikedanstudded]

I've translated for Kiva in Spanish class,

which is compensation for my lack of money and thus lack of charity.

[LizelleIbns]

I admire you.

[Vuji222]

Wow, this is one of the best ideas I have ever heard of! I cannot wait to see what ended up happening with that.

[CoffeeShopPunk]

Wow...kind of excited about this micro-financing thing.

[regularguy5mb]

Microfinancing is a great idea. I'm definitely gonna have to visit that site.

[stenchinator]

yeah, that's a brilliant idea.

[AnotherGayVlogger]

This is awesome!

[JXintheZ]

Great!

You know "Kiva" actually means "Nice" in Finnish.

[Nic33rd]

Sweet stuff!

[katiedivina]

Kiva org is amazing! We've made 6 different loans so far. :)

[harryjenn2001]

Wow i really wish (and i am not being a suckup!)

That I could give money to this organization, but i am only fourteen, Or does age matter?

[gonnabeanauthor]

maybe you could get your parents to help you. I'm glad so many people are trying to!

[KathaleenWhisper]

Or if you really get a bug in your toes, then you might see if you can make it a class project. Getting everyone from your class to donate three dollars or something, or go for the whole school with just one dollar per person.

[kushya]

wow... i learned a lot watching this video... thank you very much for sharing this information!! =)

** nerdfighters!!

[specialneon]

I always liked the Heiffer Project when it came to the evil loop of poverty. But now I'll have to check out Kiva, too, and hopefully when I get another job (I'm moving) I'll be able to help out others! Hooray!

[omgfreakay]

I would totally become a microfinancier is I wasn't just 14 and had no control over my parents money (and when I asked, they said that's a pretty big risk)

[NM265]

A fly flew down my ear a few months ago, the results were an ear infection and septic tonsilitis (Don't ask how I don't know either.)

Could of just been a coincidence . . . .

[TheRedTraveler]

Oh dear...

[met295]

are you ok? A fly flew into my eye once it sucked and it took forever to get out >_< and aww those kids were so cute =D

[Berthaballs16]

dominicans are soooooo sexi....... i live in poverty to......yeah ...... even though im on the in ter net like every day .....dont mind that fact

[SoulSinging247]

I'll post this in both youtube AND at the video on brotherhood2 dot com because I am just so happy that you are pointing this out.

I went to Punta Cana in the DR a couple of years ago and saw first hand the poverty that these people live in. Yet the people are so... happy and friendly and wonderful! they are just... really... the most amazing people and I've always wanted to do something for them because I fell in love with the place and the people

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

[Animelovergrl27]

wow that is cool I really hope that they start there businesses and get out of poverty

[lili4trees]

"stupid nature" haha :D

[cardiffwalker]

You guys are the best! I've been interested in finding a way to do this for almost a year now. I will definitely check out kiva. org! Thank you!!!

[ravenhpltc24]

I learn so much from you.

[SissyLynnProductions]

awesome cause, i would totally give if i wasnt broke....but more miss pronunciation lol. im pretty sure financier is pronounced fy-nan-sir, not fy-nan-see-ers lol. - heather lynn

[UsagiOhkami]

1 month to go!!!

[fabianmegame]

that extreme porverty is not only on the Dominican republic, thats in almost all latin and central america

but good idea

[vlogbrothers]

Yeah, kiva dot org works with organizations throughout the world. The people we visited with were only one of the groups they support.

[fabianmegame]

cool, i have been doing voluntear work, for 2 years now... its great... if i only had money... to help KIVA...but then agian myabe one day... and we will make our own companie of microfinaciors/nerdfigthers

[fabianmegame]

cool, i have been doing voluntear work, for 2 years now... its great... if i only had money... to help KIVA...but then agian myabe one day... and we will make our own companie of microfinaciors/nerdfigthers

[iheartbrotherhood2]

Wonderful video, John and Hank! As always!

[Thirteengins]

That's an awesome idea.