kiva and time

I apologize once more for not updating this blog more regularly. I have been very busy with the Obama campaign, spending 4-5 hours/day. (and 3-4 meetings a week). I am the volunteer data coordinator for our local Congressional District, so I have been busy learning about all the databases, cutting canvass walks and phone lists, entering our results, processing volunteer info, and more. I am hoping that I will get more time after the learning curve, but the campaign keeps introducing new tools and I am finding it all ever so fascinating.

For amusement and something different, I have been making displays in Second Life for Kiva, in anticipation of our new office. I've also been working on some other Kiva in SL goals, but I realize I probably won't have time to work on them until after the election. 96 more days. (CA votes Feb 5th).


I have a few Kiva loans to post, Efendiyev Yagub has a shoe store that he started himself with little capital, borrowed a bit and is now borrowing more.

This morning I found this loan, and a wonderful write up. I am so happy I can help these people.

The women of the communal bank “The Tulips” are very charismatic. These women have an unequalled spirit. A confidence and a hope was reflected in their faces during the pre-credit meetings (four informational sessions that are given to potential clients of Friendship Bridge in order to help them administer their credit and their business in the best manner). The average loan that each one of these clients will receive is $264 in six payments.

During their childhood and adolescence, many of these women worked as artisans, since the majority of indigenous women are taught the art of weaving traditional clothing as children. In addition, many of them have worked as housekeepers in their respective homes. However, these women, along with the help of Friendship Bridge, are no longer going to follow that path, since they have opted to become successful micro-entreprenuers.

These women have been becoming micro-entrepenuers for a long time; however, they have not been able to get ahead in the the field of their respective businesses due to a lack of capital. Thanks to the credit that they will receive, the women will be able to invest their credit in distinct economic areas. For example, the credit will be used to buy clothing in bulk and resell it, to buy wholesale materials for making “huipiles” (traditional Guatemalan dresses), to buy chickens and pigs and begin a livestock business, to buy flowers in bulk and sell them during the day of the dead (a traditional holiday in Guatemala during which you show respect for relatives who have died), to buy wood wholesale in order to resell it in the villages, and finally, to buy rice, milk and chocolate and to strengthen a coffee break stand.

The dreams of these women, like the majority of our clients, are that their businesses will grow in order to be able to give their children a better future. Mrs. María Lobos Lobos commented: “I want my business to grow so that my children will be able to attend school and will not have to deal with the problems that I have had to face.” Mrs. Candelaria Ajpop said “I want my business to be successful in order to give a little hope to my children.” It is for these reasons that we are asking for your help, in order that these women will be able to reach their dreams.