Kiva, Epilepsy

I'm back from the workshop on the epilepsy, it was great. It was pretty intense (sessions up till 10 pm), but the surroundings were lovely - Yosemite National Forest. The goal of the workshop was to determine research priorities in epilepsy for the next 10 years, and to (eventually) produce the Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies book. I think chapter drafts are due by the end of the year.

I got in on a Kiva loan this morning that a friend pointed out. We liked the name.
Elizabeth Taylor in Cape Coast, Ghana wanted a loan for her cosmetics business.

I made a few Kiva loans today, to use up some credit. I'm busy getting ready for a science conference in Yosemite National Park this week, so I won't be blogging. I'll be studying epilepsy.

My Kiva loans:

	Loan Purchase of $25 to Katerin (business id=96790) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Bilquis Imtiaz ali Group (business id=96958) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Kamoliddin Ziyovaddinov (business id=96613) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Galina Komar (business id=96663) Counted towards Barack Oblogger

kiva loans

I made a few loans today.

	Loan Purchase of $25 to Houngnidi OKE (business id=96087) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Shakira Nabaterega's Group (business id=96056) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Donation of $22.50.
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Abdurasul Abdulloev (business id=96123) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to abiba SOULE (business id=96178) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Cristina Machicado Herrera (business id=96186) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Ongonbayar Nyamhuu (business id=96044) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Asuman Kamoga's Group (business id=96071) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Amer (business id=96088) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Linda Awadia (business id=96094) Counted towards Barack Oblogger

kiva loans

I made a few loans today.

	Loan Purchase of $25 to Houngnidi OKE (business id=96087) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Shakira Nabaterega's Group (business id=96056) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Donation of $22.50.
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Abdurasul Abdulloev (business id=96123) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to abiba SOULE (business id=96178) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Cristina Machicado Herrera (business id=96186) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Ongonbayar Nyamhuu (business id=96044) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Asuman Kamoga's Group (business id=96071) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Amer (business id=96088) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Linda Awadia (business id=96094) Counted towards Barack Oblogger

Education Generation

I helped fund Victor in Kenya to go to school through education generation.

Victor Ogutu is 15 years old and is a student at Humwend Secondary School. He loves learning about agriculture and farming. After he finishes high school he would like to become a veterinarian. He believes that by doing well in school he can help others in his community and he hopes to be an inspiration to others to finish school. He says he is inspired by people in his community. His teachers at Humwend always motivate him to do better and he looks up to Mr. Ondiek, a member of the Kenyan parliament who is well known in his community.

Kiva and KivaFriends

I participated in my first 'loan' drop at Kiva Friends today. I had heard about them before, its when a Kiva friend (someone who hangs out at www.kivafriend.org, you can be one too) holds interesting loans in their baskets for other kiva friends to participate in.

I have been wanting a loan to Mongolia for a while; its a country I did a lot of reports on as a child because I had gerbils and 'Gerbils come from Mongolia'. So I got notice there was a Mongolian loan being held and I participated in the drop! (mostly involves hitting refresh).

I made two loans today - one to Tsermaa Minjuur in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for her butcher shop (and I'm sorry I"m not going to put up her picture 'cause I don't eat or like meat).

The other loan was to the Government Technical Institute Group in Magburaka, Tonkolili, Sierra Leone.
These gentle men are staff members of the Government Technical Institute Magburaka, Tonkolili District, Northern Sierra Leone. Government Technical Institute, Magburaka, was founded in 1962 by the government for the promotion of technical and vocational education. They teach mechanical engineering, carpentry and joinery, block laying and concreting, automobile engineering, plumbing and sheet metal work, painting and decoration and many more. Presently, the institute has a total of fourteen staff and twenty-five students. The ten years old civil war tremendously disrupted the smooth running of the institute. Before the war, the institute used to have an enrollment of about 200 – 300 students. In 1997 – 2002, rebels vandalized the whole institute – buildings were unroofed, labs and libraries destroyed. However Sababu Education, a World Bank sponsored project is currently rehabilating the institute. But the project does not call for reequipping the laboratories and libraries. Government Technical Institute Magburaka is the only government technical institute in Magburaka town. Over the years, the institute has been able to train so many technicians serving both within and without Sierra Leone. It makes good grades at the external examinations organized by City and Guilds of London Institute. The institute also serves as a consultancy and guard to the people of Magburaka. This is the first loan Government Technical Institute is requesting from Kiva through SMT. With this loan, some of these teachers will start a small business and those who are already running small businesses will invest the loan into their businesses. Some of the staff members will be using the loan to buy pieces of furniture, others to pay either for their children in their education or pay for themselves to pursue further studies. Others will use their loan in home building projects. David E.A. Kamara is the principal at the Institute. He has been a teacher for forty-three years now. Mr. Kamara (right) was born in Makurgbo, nine miles from Magburaka. He is sixty-one years of age, married to a teacher and the two of them have five children. Four of their children are in secondary schools and the eldest is already a grown-up. Mr. Kamara will use his loan to pay his children’s school fees and solve many of his domestic problems.

Student Conservation Association

I made my yearly donation to the Student Conservation Association today. I have always liked this non-profit because it makes sense - harnessing the energy and love of outdoors of students with fixing up our natural resources. Good investment.

kiva

I made two loans today, one to Julia Maria Vega in Managua, Nicaragua. She's had many loans and is a great risk, which one would expect from a Julia.

I also joined some friends on a loan to Hellen Dudu in Buluk, Juba, Southern, Sudan for her brewing.

Kiva loan to Julia

I made a loan today to Julia Cuentas in El Alto, Bolivia.

Julia is a craftswoman and makes sweaters and wool blankets which she markets by the dozen at the popular fairs in the city of El Alto. Her husband works as a miner in the Mina de Sorata Cooperative. These two activities constitute their primary means of income with which they care for their four children. Julia has her own house located in the Fatravi zone of El Alto.

The loan will be used for the purchase of a knitting machine; through this she will be able to increase her production and satisfy the demand for her products at the market.

This is her second loan with Impro, due to her good payment history she is approved for another loan.

Education Generation

I donated to the education of Elizabeth Atieno Asingo in Kenya today, through Education Generation. Education Generation lets you help educate students by donating $20 or more towards their tuition. This education is going to have a huge impact in the future, as each of these promising children will help many others in their lifetimes.

This is a new non-profit (just started in August) and could really use lots of participation. Please consider becoming a part of it and helping someone learn.

Helping Veterans

I brought magazines and snacks to the volunteer office of the West LA VA (Veterans Administration Hospital). I've been bringing them magazines for years, but a month or so ago I was asked to bring snacks like cup of soup or ramen noodles. Things they can give the vets (many who are homeless) who are hungry. If they don't have food, they sometimes steal it from the cafeteria or canteen (store). And then they end up in jail. So, I started buying a few flats of snacks when I shop at the 99 cent only store, and bring them to the volunteers. I have an appointment at the West VA, so I'm there often.

Vegetarian Journal

I paid for two year membership in the Vegetarian Resource Group. The VRG's goals are to educate the public on vegetarianism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger. They publish a journal that is quite informative and contains peer-reviewed science. They also sell cookbooks, and provide a lot of information to schools, institutions, and anyone else interested in the vegetarian diet. I think I've been a member since I moved to the US, in 1989. The journal has become a lot fancier. There are also really good recipes inside, I think they are all vegan. I'm not a vegan, but I've been a vegetarian since 1984.

Koshka - SPCA Pasadena

I made a donation today to the Pasadena SPCA in honour of my cat Koshka. She died today after a few months of illness and a very long life (17 years). She spent a lot of her life in my lap and will be greatly missed.

The last few months have been really hard, knowing that she may die anytime. I decided early on that I wasn't going to grieve for her before she died, and instead I cherished every moment. It was good for both of our souls.

Goodbye Koshka, you will always be dear to my heart.

Kiva

I chose the oldest loan on Kiva today, though it was only a few days old. It was to the DELFI ALEMAN UNO Group in Bolivia. They are borrowing $4,300, which must seem like a huge sum to them. But they have plans on how they will pay it back. They only let hard workers in the group!

Kiva loan to Julia

I made a loan today to Julia Elvira in Lima, Peru. She wants money to increase her stock for her business.

Kiva loans to Honduras

Kiva loans to Honduras are back. There were issues and they weren't available for a while. I have a particular affinity to lending to Honduras because I have colleagues there and work there. I am also an honorary member of the Savador Moncada Foundation for the Advancement of Science in Honduras.

I made a loan to Rosa Elena Fletes in Choluteca, Honduras for tortillas. Concepcion Yanez Umanzor in San Lorenzo, Honduras wanted a loan for her store, and the Buena Vista Group and Oscar Javier Sarmiento Cruz for his clothings store.


I also made a loan to José Antonio García García in El Salvador.

kiva

Quick break to make some kiva loans and use up some credit...

	Loan Purchase of $25 to Maria Salome Balan Tomas (business id=93043) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Milagros de Cumayasa 2 Group (business id=93011) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Donation of $5.00.

kiva

I made a few Kiva loans today, one to Eusebio Insfran Candia from Paraguay who has a wife named Julia and wants to build a food storage unit.

Aydita wants a loan for a liquor store.

I loaned to the Mrs. Im Ry Village Bank Group in Cambodia because they were one of the oldest loans and they looked so hopeful.

And I loaned to Dunia Padilla because she is in Honduras.

Treepeopl

I renewed my membership in TREEPEOPLE today. I like to help them plant trees. Its fun.

TreePeople is a nonprofit organization that has been serving the Los Angeles area for over three decades. Simply put, our work is about helping nature heal our cities. We offer sustainable solutions to urban ecosystem problems, focusing on three areas:

1. Training and supporting communities to plant and care for trees
2. Educating school children and adults about the environment
3. Working with government agencies on critical water issues

I like to plant trees. I have planted thousands.

Kiva, Kiva, Kiva

Lots of Kiva loans to choose from today, over 400!

I choose these 4. Two of them have 'Julia's' in the group.

	Loan Purchase of $25 to KANTUTA Group (business id=87501) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to ALTO MESA VERDE Group (business id=85908) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Sabali Group (business id=86395) Counted towards Barack Oblogger
	Loan Purchase of $25 to Gatey Zakerya (business id=91261) Counted towards Barack Oblogger