Karmic Cleanser

White-knuckle road rage get the better of you sometimes? Got a backlog of venal sins clogging up the spiritual plumbing? Do your occasional philanthropic urges wind up simmering on the back burner?

Fear not! Fire up the laptop and navigate your way to Kiva.org, where you can window-shop for the third-world entrepreneur of your choice to aid and abet in their humble dreams of subsistence and even success. Calling itself "the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website," Kiva allows you to put an actual face with your donation -- there are pictures and bios of the people needing investment partners. Each one seems worthier than the next -- and every little bit helps, so you can really impact individual lives in a salutary way.

A glance at the site today finds a 44-year old Cambodian widow selling farm supplies and needing $800 to buy a tractor she can rent out to farmers; a group of five Ugandan women working in retail and needing to increase stock; and a Lebanese father of three seeking $1,200 to produce charcoal for sale.

As little as $25 is requested to get involved -- though you can always contribute more. E-mails arrive periodically detailing loan re-payments, which you can then recycle to others in need. Each story will either fill or break your heart, and there is no question but that your money actually goes to the person you designate. Skip one restaurant meal a month and you'll find your digestion will improve considerably. And your conscience won't go hungry either....