Mercy Corps Kit - The Gift for One Who Has Everything

For the person who has everything, or isn't gonna be impressed with anything you can give, how about giving to someone somewhere in the world who has nothing in the name of the one who really can live without? An organization called, "Mercy Corps", an agency with meaningful interests all over the world, offers "kits," relief packages tailored to any gift recipient to be used by people who need it worse.

For example, there are classroom kits for teachers, geared to the needs of Iraqi children who have no schools left; goat kits (my favorite), for women who milk the goats, use some for their families, and sell the rest. There are packages for engineers through water treatment plants, entrepreneurs to get started in businesses so they can support families and raise standards of living in Katrina-devastated areas, tsunami-ravaged communities, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, or Guatemala, where there is need for bee kits to start and maintain hives for profit or anywhere else in the world you wouldn't even think of.

In fact, more and more I am putting my warm fuzzies with this incredible organization which distributes more than 90% of the money it raises back into meaningful projects which teach or provide for the employment of skills rather than a charity hand-out. I also give my giftee a picture frame to put the certificate of ownership he receives in the mail to show the gift and the giver. Believe me, when I gave my cousins two goat kits for their wedding, it was more memorable than all the food processors they ever got.

The website is www.mercycorp.com, and is a worthwhile read. They offer products made by their donees which may be purchased from their website. It is the most interactive I could ever hope to be with people I'd never see in a lifetime.

Mercy Corps has recently begun promoting an investment vehicle called, "Kiva", an organization which has pooled financial resources to arrange funding for entrepreneurs in third world nations who need working capital for businesses which encompass everything from cattle ranching in Asia to clothing design in Guatamala City. On their website, Kiva.com, business owners seeking financing announce their wants and needs. The public can buy stock in the enterprise. For example, the business owner might say he needs $200 to purchase drugs for his veterinary pharmacy. You could then contribute $25 to it. There is no profit here to you, but the borrower has to repay the loan within 18 months. You are then notified by e-mail that your business owner has repaid $75, $4.50 of which has been redeposited into your account, for example.

Kiva provides an extraordinary exposure for working people in third world countries to experience capitalism on an individual level. The improvement in community conditions as a result makes the program worth looking at in terms of giving stock in one or more of these businesses as a gift in the same business. This is not a donation because your investment is returned as agreed.

Caryl Rosenthal has changed her giving habits to help those who want and need to get ahead in behalf of those whose more comfortable lives won't miss a personal gift. In her experience, her plan has worked out with tremendous success because most recipients have enjoyed the experience and have proudly hung their certificates prominently on walls in their homes in the frames provided by Caryl.

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