Lending Promise gives microcredit — tiny loans, usually less than $100 — to poor mothers in Nepal and India.

The money enriches the futures of their children and ultimately, their broader communities. The poor don't want handouts. They want to take charge of their finances -- and their lives. We think credit should be their right instead of a privilege only available to the prosperous few.

We give microcredit to women who are too poor to qualify for a bank loan, whose household income is less than a dollar a day. With the loans, they can buy resources to start businesses – whether animals for a farm, seeds for crops, fabric for handicrafts, or training to become a tourist guide. We also give them literacy training and small business counseling. The women’s newfound self-sufficiency allows them to carve out a better life for themselves and much better futures for their children.

Women who receive microcredit invest in education, nutrition, and other improvements for their families, sparking sweeping changes in their villages -- higher literacy rates, better nutrition, and stronger economies.

In addition to helping rural poor mothers, Lending Promise is dedicated to raising awareness about microcredit, how it works, and what it’s doing to help the needy help themselves. We also enable more fortunate people to make a personal impact on the lives of poor women and their children by sponsoring women or villages. Lending Promise was founded in 2006 and began to give loans to women in Nepal. In 2009, we expanded to India and formed our sister non-governmental organization, Nari Jagriti (Women Arise).

Because poor people in South Asia devote most of their time to the tasks of daily living, such as hauling heavy water jugs, washing clothes, and cooking food over an open fire, there's not much time left to nurture their children's aspirations.

At Lending Promise, we want the world's children to find their dreams – and live them.