If someone really needs a loan of $100 to keep the power from being turned off, is denying them a loan for $100 in the best interest of the children? I don't think so.
If you don't give them the loan, the power will definitely be turned off. If you give them the loan, they can pay the power bill.
If you're not allowed to make money helping poor people, there's very little incentive to do so.
The world didn't grow to the level of abundance that we have today by everybody agreeing to work for each other for free. We grew through voluntary, mutually-beneficial, exchange.
Many make less than the required minimum they need to survive in the USA, given things like dying vehicles and rotting residences and rising rent.
So it may cost $900/month to live total, but your fridge died and spoiled food. So its now $1000 cost, and at -$100. So you sell a part of yourself to a check cashing company and go further in debt. But you can eat. Who knows what next week will be like.
Thats being in poverty. Sure we can make excuses that "its for providing loans". Yeah, but they are extracting what little the people in poverty have for a little bit more skin.
And that's absolutely unethical. Well, unless you work in that industry.
If you don't give them the loan, the power will definitely be turned off. If you give them the loan, they can pay the power bill.