[roblocop]

I've been lending to Kiva for the past two years, and for me, it's been a fulfilling experience. I think I definitely feel a connection to the people I'm lending to through reading their stories and knowing what my loan is going towards. Now that it's open to US small businesses, I thought I would be on the bandwagon since there's a lot of need just on our front doorsteps. However, the current opportunities listed on Kiva in the US are a little uninspiring. I'm not sure whether it's purely psychological in the sense that these people are closer to home (have the perception of already being more fortunate), but I don't feel as though I'm helping someone overcome poverty by paying for advertising for their business. Maybe it's just a different kind of poverty manifested here at home.