One of his recent articles was about an organization called Kiva-a program that allows you to loan money to entrepreneurs in 3 rd world countries so they can bank-in with their local businesses in hopes of pulling themselves out of poverty.

The concept fascinated me.

I could be a benefactor to someone halfway across the world-and-they would use my money so their business was prosperous enough to pay me back.

I logged on to the organization's website (www.Kiva.org) to get to the bottom of this too-easy-to-be-true way of helping the people in developing countries, well, develop.

It works like this: There are many small business owners in 3 rd world countries all over the world profiled on the website (Ex. A taxi driver in Pakistan, a household items vendor in Ghana, a livestock seller in Azerbaijan, etc).

You click on their picture to read about their personal story and their personal business venture, and if you find their business compelling, you can choose to lend them money ranging from $25 to $425.

All you have to do is register with the website and pay with your credit card (it is a secure site) and voila!

You are now a personal banker to a hard-working small business person on another continent.

But it doesn't stop there. You lend them money, but besides receiving the gratitude of knowing you've helped someone out, you also receive your money back in 6-12 months!

After 20 minutes on the website, I found myself assisting Fanny Yaniret Mendez Peña of Ecuador with her retail resale shop.

The money she makes with her resale shop is used to cover her family expenses and help improve their quality of life.

I may only be 16 but I know a wise investment when I see one and, even though I don't charge Fanny interest, I am very interested in helping her, and many more to come!