What the world needs now....

I just made my 400th loan in the 4 years i have been a member, thru Kiva.org. It's easy, it's painless and it's amazing! Check it out....

A Special Christmas Greeting!

Please take a minute to watch this little video Christmas card. See the heartfelt sincerity on these faces and know that thru Kiva, you DO make a difference. Merry Christmas!

Dolores and her Dairy...

This is Dolores, from Peru. She raises dairy cattle and sells milk for a living. She is a member of Kiva and one of the most recent businesses i have invested in. Imagine delivering milk like this on foot every single day. It must be backbreaking work. As soon as i saw Dolores and her sweet face, i wanted to help. Below is a bit about her and what you will see when you consider investing in a Kiva entrepreneur. Check it out! There are some amazing stories to uncover....and good people who just need a little help.

About the Entrepreneur (For privacy reasons, the Field Partner has requested that last name be undisclosed)
Name:
Dolores
Location:
Juliaca, Peru
Primary Activity:
Dairy
Loan Requested:
$325.00
Repayment Term:
6 months
-Dolores is a very hardworking 43-year-old woman. She is divorced from her partner and lives independently in a very humble house she owns herself. She is disposed to work very hard to get ahead and improve her life. She is very eager to improve her future, and for this reason she works hard every day selling milk. Her customers seek her out for her tasty, pure milk, because she takes a lot of care to select the milk she sells. She enjoys her work, as it allows her to spend a lot of time in the country with her animals and see that they are well fed. She has been in this business for nine years and hopes to have a place to sell her milk, since she currently acts as a traveling saleswoman and has to walk all day. This is the hardest and understandably the least pleasant part of her work, but she knows that the road to her personal development isn't easy and she is ready to face any difficulty that lies before her. This is Dolores's first loan with MFP. She knows that she must pay on time and is ready to save a little bit each day in order to do so. She is a very happy member of her communal bank, and is beloved by the others. With this loan of 1,000 soles, she will buy more forage to better feed her cows so they will give her more milk to sell.
Translated from Spanish by Trisha Bury, Kiva Volunteer

Kiva in Nepal

Are you familiar with Kiva? It is a fantastic worldwide loan program where you can make a huge difference in people's lives, just by "investing" as little as $25. And, after your loan has been repaid, you have the option of taking that money back for your own use, or reinvest it in another business somewhere else in the world. In this way, over time, i have(re) invested in many, many different businesses. I have been working with Kiva since early 2007, and cannot believe how wonderfully this program works. After participating for two full years in the program, i can say i speak from experience. Here is a video on a loan group from Nepal. Very interesting.....Please take the time to watch this little video. It is just one example of how your modest investment of $25, combined with other's investments, makes a huge difference that can change the world.

Kiva in Nepal: A Field Visit from Chris Baker on Vimeo.

"a little pin money = a little help"

Photo from the website " a little help"

One of the reasons i like to put my arts and crafts out there for sale is, it gives me some "pin" money to do with what i want. When i sell my sock and glove animals, i take a little of that money and contribute it to The Mohawk and Hudson Humane Society..the animal shelter of my choice. If i sell something that is related to my teacher Amma, then some of that money goes to her many many good charities. Usually i ask that it be put towards her orphanages. After the Tsunami, the number of displaced children in the orphanages grew and grew. I wonder how Amma manages to feed and clothe them all. When i finally sit down and start my planned series of paintings based on the stories of some of the women i support thru Kiva, (IF these paintings ever materialize and IF they ever sell) some of that money will go back into Kiva. It is all so natural and it makes so much sense to me. The Universe gives and you give back. In my mind, that's how it all works. Well, while watching the Nightly News last night there was a special segment on "Making a Difference" (click on Making a Difference link to view the segment) about this organization, called " a little help" It is a non profit organization, run by one American woman in Afghanistan, who has only one part time assistant, and she is REALLY making a difference in this big world-especially for women and girls in that war torn country. Please take a few minutes to check out her site. Her requests for help are simple and few. One of her current goals is to supply a blind woman's group with yarn and knitting needles. These disabled women are being taught to support themselves in a simple way...working with their hands. And aren't some of us striving to do the same thing? The big difference here is, we can get up, get in our cars and drive to the craft or yarn store, buy our materials and go to work. These women, in addition to being blind, cannot go out in public alone, unescorted...Yarn shops in Afghanistan? I would guess not many. And without being allowed or being able to work, who has money for yarn and knitting needles? So i thought i would share this story with you all in hopes that someone else will be inspired and keep the story going. In the meantime, i need to get to work and make some money!

New Loans at Kiva

Kiva is an organization i have been a part of for a little over a year now. It is one of those fantastic organizations that give you the ability to make a real difference in this world. I have always wished i had a large sum of money to donate to causes i felt strongly about. Well, so far that hasn't happened...yet! But with Kiva, your money is pooled together with other donors so that small businesses in other parts of the world have a chance to get off the ground and thrive. For as little as a one time $25.00 donation, you can help a woman in a very hard situation in a very poor part of the world become a successful business owner, and help to feed her family. Your money is loaned out for a specific amount of time-anywhere from 4 months to a year and a half. The recipient then pays the loan back monthly in payments they can afford. Each month you are notified whenever a payment is made on your loan. At the end of the term, you are notified that the loan has been fully paid and that you have credit in your account. At that time you can choose to take your money back and keep it for your own use, or re loan it! It is a fantastic concept where everybody wins! Here are some pictures of new and favorite businesses i have had the privilege to support...

Anna paints on fabric

Thou Suk is a weaver of silk

Najma makes plastic flower bouquets for holy days and special occasions

Peregrina is a farmer and raises sheep for fiber, guinea pigs for food

Georgina is a seamstress

I had a hard time choosing which business i would post, as each and every one of them are so important. I am a firm believer in supporting other women, and i believe that if i support other businesses, then my business will be supported in turn. If this sounds interesting to you, check out the Kiva website here