Two loans

I made two kiva loans today. One was to Yolanda in Peru for her clothing business, my friend Kay sent me that link. The other loan was to Nabweru North B Group for various endeavors in Nansana, Uganda.

first loan

I made a Kiva loan today to the first listing I saw, it was just perfect - Guatemalan women (one named Julia), from a remote area, wearing traditional garb. Corazon de Oro I Group is from a town called El Jaibalito located on the shores of Atitlan Lake. El Jaibalito is a small town located on a very steep hill. Almost all homes are located on the mountain slope. This small town is not connected to other neighboring towns by any roads due to the mountainous terrain and the volcanoes, which make it difficult to build a road. You can only reach the town by boat.

Reaching very far

The Kiva loan I made today was to the women of the Patzutzun 2 Group in Guatemala. I am going to post the entire KIVA story, because it really shows how Kiva (and the Microfinance institutute Friendship Bridge) are reaching out to people and really changing their lives. I'm sure they have a different world view now, knowing how many gringos are helping them.

The women of the Patzuntzun II group live in the remote village of Concepcion in the Solola province. Only a few of the women in this group can speak Spanish. This however does not hinder them in their success of their businesses, since they do speak the local language Maya Kachikel very well. Many of the women were intimidated by my presence at the beginning of the interview and they were shy since they had never seen a “gringo” in their village before, but as time went by and thanks to credit agent Marta Julia they were more trusting and were able to share some of their experiences.

Six of the women in this group are businesswomen, and they will invest their credit loan in their small convenience stores. One of the women, Maria Tereza Solis is going to invest her loan in the sale of firewood. Thanks to her loan she will be able to buy twice the amount she used to buy and hopes that this way her business can grow.

The other women in the group work in the textile sector. They weave traditional fabrics. Of the four artisans, two of the women hire weavers as help. Marcela Solis actually has three employees in order to meet with the demand of her clients. Meanwhile, Lucia Lupic, is one of the oldest women, hires six weavers.

Friendship Bridge is currently offering all the women a savings account. The women told me that they were thankful to the institution for finally being able to have a place where they could keep their money. They will use their money to invest in their businesses. They want to reinvest their entire money into their businesses. Another reason why they are so happy with the institution is that it is one of the few or the only one that offers their community financial services. When the women were asked why they chose to work with Friendship Bridge they said because they had never heard of other institutions in their community.

The women wish that their businesses will be able to grow and this way they can have a stable business that will support them and their families.

kiva

Made a loan today to a small group in Arusha, Tanzania - Ruth Esuvat's group. They sell clothes and charcoal and soap, and make about $140 a month.

Helping Lydia in Ghana

I made a Kiva loan today to Lydia Ainno, to help her business.

Construction in Mexico

Made a loan today to Teodora Bautista Cristóbal who wants to borrow money to build a house in Mexico. She's already started. Housing is so different in the developing countries, they tend to build houses themselves and pay for them in advance. We tend to move into ready builds and finance them for 30 years (or more). I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to come up with the funds for a house before you move in. Many people can't even come up with 5 or 10 percent downpayment.

So I wish Teodora the best of luck and I hope she gets her loan funded.

House Construction

I made a loan today to Antony, married to Julia!

Antony Insfran is married to Julia Arguello. The couple lives in Luque with his four sons: Edgar (14), Jonhatan (12), Juan (11) and Luz (9). Since Antony has a big family, he needs to work very hard to feed them and to send his four children to school.

Twenty years ago, Antony started working in construction as a director. Today, he maintains the position. Antony has become a client of Fundacion Paraguaya when he contacted his friends and convinced them to form a committee of entrepreneuring men called “San Miguel”. Because of his punctual repayments in previous loans, Antony is considered a very trustworthy costumer by Fundacion Paraguaya.

Antony’s biggest wish is to finish the construction of his house. That is why he is requesting the credit.

Kiva Rocks

I made a loan today to Ana Julia Rivas in Managua, Nicaragua for her clothing business. So far there are two of us helping her out, and the loan has been around 3 days or so.

I remembered to bring my old magazines in to the VA last week.

Kiva

I made a Kiva loan today to Emin Muradov, in Beylagan, Azerbaijan. He runs a taxi business and needs to buy spare parts to repair his car. I know its really hard to get loans in Azerbaijan, Normico
has been operating there for a while and they have more loans than funds.

404 loans on Kiva

For the first time I'm seeing over 400 loans on Kiva. I think that's great, more people to help. I decided to loan to one of the oldest loans, its been around for 10 days. Ilgar Quliyev is in Bilasuvar, Azerbaijan and wants a loan to increase his clothing business.

Ángel in Peru

Angel works constantly to create a source of income through sales of collectable books and a variety of kitchen utensils. With lots of perseverance he is able to find unique items in Lima and, as a street vendor, sell them in Juliaca city.

Agustina in Peru

Made a loan today to help Agustina in Peru. She sells fruits and vegetables.

3 month loan

I loaned to the Glady Ayala's group in Paraguari, Paraguay today, and noticed it was only for 3 months. This is a group of women who have lots of ideas to help make their lives better. I wish them all the success.

Julia's and Hats

I choose a Kiva loan today based on doing a search on "julia" and choosing the loan with the ladies wearing hats. My loan was to the 'Female Workers Group" in Bolivia. There are many Kiva loans to choose from now, and everyone is so deserving.

El Buen Futuro ( A good future) Group

I made a loan today to El Buen Futuro ( A good future) Group, because it was the oldest listed and the ladies all looked so excited.

Group loans in Peru

I made a loan to another large group in Peru - Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Group.

Kiva in Peru

I am the first lender to the Perseverancia Group in Ayacucho, Peru (Julia is a member).

They have some great dreams. The members’ dreams are for their businesses to grow, their children to become professionals, and have their own homes. I wish them success in all their en devours.

spare parts

I made a loan on the oldest loan - 14 months for spare parts in Azerbaijan. Vazir Asadov has a shop and wants a loan for spare parts.

I got interviewed for Kiva today and was asked how I choose my loans. Searching by Julia or the oldest or what catches my fancy was my basic reply. So many great loans...

kiva loan

Made a kiva loan to the Palave en Accion Group.

first loan I saw

Made a loan today to a cobbler in Tarkwa, Ghana.

Francis is thirty years old and he needs additional capital to buy more leather and glue to make shoes and slippers. He hopes to start savings to help with his three children’s education and also to register and become a member of the Government’s health insurance scheme. Francis is a member of the group called Nyame ne ye Boafo (meaning "God is our Helper"). Members agree to guarantee for each other as social collateral to repay the loan.

Older loan

To find a Kiva loan today, I sorted by age and chose one of the older loans. It has 14 days left. Its for $1200 and 18 months, and he is a repeat borrower. I'm thinking that's why its not as popular. But I'm sure it will get funded.

Ismail Movludov is a 51-year-old trader who keeps a small store where he sells men's clothes, shells and other items.

I made a loan today to the Molino Belen Group through Kiva.org. They want to do a variety of things including embroidery and weaving. I hope Guatemalan fashion becomes very popular in North America. I'm helping the trend - I wear woven clothes all the time (including right now, I'm in Guatemalan shorts!).

kiva

Made a loan today to Alton Fernando Nelson Hamilton in Nicaragua for his traveling business. I'm off traveling again too - going to Canada for a few days. I'll still be trying to make the world a better place.