The World Bank points out that the economic crisis is becoming a calamity for the poorest of the world’s people. Indeed, even as the developed world speaks of a recovery soon (well, once this swine flu setback is overcome), those with the least access to wealth are likely to continue suffering long after the rest of the world has recovered from global recession.
I like the idea of helping out. My church has an education fund aimed at helping young people in third-world countries improve their skills and knowledge in the hopes that they can get better jobs. I like to …read more

Microfinance, making small loans, gained tremendous recognition when microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus earned a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his initiatives at Grameen Bank. Now, thanks to an initiative at eBay, individual investors can also help fight global poverty.
A former Grameen Bank employee named Tracey Pettengill Turner has teamed up with eBay to create MicroPlace, a website dedicated to connecting investors with borrowers around the world.
How it works:

You purchase investments on MicroPlace from security issuers, who are responsible for making interest and principal payments to you. Security issuers use your funds to support loans …read more