Friday, March 18, 2011

Strings and Things

I donated to the Red Cross for Japan a few days ago. And to a friends walk-a-thon. Been real busy working on grant proposals.
Made 26 kiva loans to Honduras today to use up some kiva credit.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Kiva loan to Julia


I made a Kiva loan to Julia in Peru today.

Julia is a member of the communal bank "Alondras" at FINCA Peru in Ayacucho. She is 37 years old, married, and has four children who are all studying. She has a clothing business and also sells vegetables in a local market. She is using her loan of 3,000 PEN to purchase clothing from Lima to sell in Ayacucho. She has been a member of FINCA Peru for four years now and enjoys that it gives her more independence and allows her to save money. She would like to save enough money to buy land in Ayacucho.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

AIDS walk

I donated to a friends AIDS walk. He has been doing it for years, and this year is hoping to raise $15,000. Its always nice to help friends change the world.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Clothing stores

I used up some Kiva credit today and made 14 loans to 14 different countries - all to women involved in clothing sales.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Kiva loan


I made a loan today to Maria Julia in Nicaragua.

Maria Julia is a 64-year-old entrepreneur who really enjoys her work. She makes her living selling tortillas, beans and firewood. She started in this business over 25 years ago in order to provide an alternative source of income for her family since they didn't have any monthly income to cover their daily expenses. Through the Fundación León 2000, she has been able to receive funding and thus improve her business every day. She hopes to continue building her business as it's her only source of income. Maria Julia plans to use this loan to purchase products for her store such as corn, tortillas, firewood and beans, among other items.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Humane Society

I renewed my membership to my local humane society today. They do such great work taking care of unwanted animals. They recently found 250 cats in a hoarders house and are trying to deal with them.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Helping out Julia's



I made 3 Kiva loans today to 'Julia's. One was in Peru - Julia Nélida. She wants to start a vet clinic in Peru.

I also made a loan to Julia Nyambura Njiiri in Kenya so she can add more stock to her used clothing store.

I made a loan to Julia Nora Calderon Fajardo in Nicaragua so she can buy more stock for her store, with the loan she is going to get four quintals of rice, beans, sugar, a large jug of oil, a case of soap and corn among other products like: glue, earrings, lipsticks and hair clips among others to generate higher profits.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Baseball

I donated to a local high school baseball club on Saturday. They were at the farmers market trying to raise money to play their sport.
Way better use of their time than drugs or gangs.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Kiva loans



I made 4 kiva loans today, chosen from the ones needing the most funding. Since there were no Julia's.
I made a loan to Rafel Barrios in Costa Rica for his karokee bar.
And to Luz Rojas in Costa rica for a sewing machine.

I also made a loan to an anonymous man in Lebanon and Charles Schelhouse in the USA.

Snacks for Vets

I brought some snacks to the volunteer office at the Veterans Hospital yesterday. The regular - noodles in cups. They give them out to vets who come in for appointments and don't have any food. In the past they would sometimes steal from the PX and end up in jail, several a year.
I've been supplying snacks for the last couple of years, about $20/month worth and it was just mentioned that no one's gone to jail since. I think its really good return for my money!

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Empowering women through reading

I just made a donation to help female literacy. They are trying to raise $4,000 by Dec 22nd for 5 new Girls Learning Centers.

They provide mentorship, health & safety information and a safe space for self-expression. LitWorld Girls Clubs for literacy create a network of girls worldwide using literacy for power and social action, and girls use their newfound skills to convey issues of health, information, safety and inspiration to other young women in their community.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Kiva loan


Just made a Kiva loan to Gantumur in Mongolia.

Gantumur Tsolmon is 45 years old and lives with his wife and three children in a house in the Selenge province of Mongolia. His oldest daughter and son both attend university, and his youngest son attends a local high school. Gantumur's wife helps him with his business. He operates a vegetable trading business, where he plants and grows a variety of vegetables on his own three hectare field to sell to dealers in the local markets.

He also owns a bee farm, which consists of 19 beehives. During winter months, he keeps his bees in a special cellar, and in May he travels through the countryside to pasture his bees. When he has gone to migrate his bees, his children and wife are responsible for growing the vegetables. He started his vegetable planting business in 1992, and has since built a stable operation. Since 1998, he has been producing honey.

During the past 12 years he has gained a lot of agricultural experience and knowledge of both his businesses. The family sells their seeds and honey during the warm months. They pickle their vegetables and sell those during the winter months. All family members are very hardworking people. Gantumur is a modest and experienced business man and says, "we work very hard during all warm months." He is requesting a 3,500,000 MNT loan to purchase a large amount of seeds while the price for such products is cheap.