http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/barry5427
It will take you to a donations page for Kiva.org, which is a group which facilitates the bundling of business loans to very small groups–often individuals–so they can purchase supplies to build businesses and the economic self sufficiency that goes with it. For example, someone may want to buy dairy cows, or thread to make clothes, or money to pay the rent for a laundry. Most global poverty happens due to the lack of access to capital by the poor. This program addresses that.
What few people realize is that most foreign aid we have sent out over the last half century has neither supported democracy nor alleviated poverty, nor even supported our foreign policy aims (what is the point of giving money to Egypt and Pakistan, if it does not buy us the ability to tell them what to do, in at least some circumstances?).
On the contrary, even when it was not our intent, it has generally supported tyranny, and made control of the government a principle means of personal enrichment, rather than actual long term economic development. This has led to many civil wars, much death, much misery, and much economic retrogression. It has not only been wasted, but has made things WORSE, in yet one more example of leftist indifference to outcome making the world a more horrible place.
Kiva addresses that. Please click on the link, then start spreading the word yourself.