IT'S EARTH DAY! CHECK OUT KIVA GREEN LOANS

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Today is Earth Day, and Kiva wants to celebrate with you! We're excited to announce that we're launching Green Loans on Kiva.org today! Green Loans on Kiva are loans to borrowers who want to make their businesses and communities more sustainable by reducing waste, recycling, and minimizing pollution. Kiva's mission from the beginning has focused on alleviating poverty, and lack of sustainable resources is one of the biggest challenges to combating poverty. With Green Loans, Kiva seeks to help break that cycle. Read up on Green Loans, and join us this Earth Day in helping to create a better environment for all. Shine a Light It's hard for many in the developed world to imagine what it would be like to live without any lighting at night, but that is a reality faced by millions of people in Kenya. Kiva and KADET hope to change that. Meet Issack. Issack is an entrepreneur living in Kabarnet, in Kenya's Rift Valley. Issack's loan didn't just provide him with a solar light for himself, it gave him a new business. With his reactivation station, he collects solar power and sells it to other users of the Solio light. Issack is now known around his community as "Mr. Electricty," but we're not shocked at how well he's doing. What We're Cooking Think of how much energy we use every day doing easy tasks such as making coffee or cooking a meal. Now imagine how much we'd use if we relied on a basic stove and firewood for all our kitchen needs. And not just the energy issues -- it's also the smoke, the dangers, and even the smell. That's why we're cooking up a fantastic program with NWTF in the Philippines to help borrowers buy Envirofit cookstoves for their homes. Take Mae Ann, for instance. Mae Ann works in a dry goods business, and with her husband, supports two children. While looking out for her children's immediate needs of safety and a clean living environment, and their longer term needs of a cleaner world, she's using her loan to buy an Envirofit stove for her home. She's saving money, keeping her family safe, and helping the environment all at once! Shop Green + Make Green for Kiva If you liked Issack's story of a solar powered flashlight, head over to Kiva's friends at Blissmo, where profits from solar flashlights sold today are donated to Kiva - and you get them at 50% off! This Earth Day, visit kiva.org/green and find the Green Loan that moves you.

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