kiva, spread the net

In case you're looking for a productive way to spend some post-holiday money you have on hand, I just wanted to remind you about Kiva. Each month I give a loan from my soapmaking profits to an entrepreneur in the developing world through Kiva. You can read about December's loan here, and January's will be coming up in a few weeks. Find out more about how the program works at Kiva.org.

Also, I wanted to let you know about Spread the Net. I do love Rick Mercer, after all. In the latest issue of GOOD, there were some staggering statistics about malaria and the number of children who die from the disease. With a donation of $10, you can purchase a mesh bed net for a child to sleep under, which protects them from mosquitoes which transmit the disease. Each net lasts up to 5 years. We bought some this weekend in honour of a family member's birthday. The program is through UNICEF, and is worth checking out.

Edited to add: The malaria statistics are here, not in the Globe and Mail as initially posted. Oops!