Kiva’s stated mission is “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” The anti-U.S. lenders claim that lending to U.S. entrepreneurs doesn’t alleviate poverty because Americans aren’t living in true poverty, compared to people in underdeveloped countries.

I'm a Kiva lender, and am proud to use the service to do a small kindness for people in poverty who want to build a micro business to feed their families.

When I first heard about Kiva opening the doors to US entrepreneurs, I didn't concern myself about it. After all, why not? The more KIva grows, the more people it can help.

I'm sorry about this backlash. As the above article suggests, people may feel more comfortable lending to home-grown entrepreneurs first, and then spread their kindness to others in need.

It's up to Kiva to do what's best. From the little I know about the company, I've heard nothing but good things, so why not trust them to do what's right without second-guessing them?