Jundee - an appreciation

[Guest]

.

[Peter S]

Some of you will have noticed that Jundee quit Kiva Friends a few days ago.   I want to offer a brief something in appreciation of his 191-post contribution in the 2 months he was a member.   I for one think Kiva Friends is the poorer for his having left, and I hope that just maybe one day he might be reading this and whatever follows, as a Guest.  And, realizing that he was valued and is now missed, make his way back here.

Jundee shared with us that he is 75 (which I think made him by a comfortable margin the oldest regular poster here) and in an early post, he wrote:

I'm doing this because it gives me something worthwhile to do & keeps me busy in my retirement. I would make a lousy hospital volunteer. . . .When I learned about Kiva I said to myself: "what am I doing spending my time & money so that people can have a fancier house here so they can sell it for 50 grand more a few years down the road while in many parts of the world people sleep on the bare ground, in shacks & where kids go to sleep hungry."

The answer was simple & here I am & here I'll stay.

He started and was active in the More ways to publicize Kiva thread, and inspired others on that thread with his inventiveness and enthusiasm in spreading the word about Kiva.   Which can also be said of the Kiva world map he has pinned up in his hallway, where it's easy to imagine him enthusiastically buttonholing visitors to his house.  As Oli said, "great idea, especially to have the Kiva business cards available...and it makes it so much easier to tell people about Kiva, because a map is always interesting to people."

I've read all Jundee's posts (here) and it's fair to say that he could be fairly plain-speaking and blunt on occasions, but I figure if you're 75 you're allowed to be a bit terse if you want.  I don't know what decided him to leave Kiva Friends, though reading through the last two threads he was involved in makes it (for me..) reasonably easy to speculate privately.  In saying that I want to make it really really clear that I'm not "taking sides", just trying to understand his decision to leave from Jundee's point of view - as akshara-Steve said on the CNN Heroes thread ...good intentions mixed with frustrations and/or a very direct addressing of a point or idea makes for easy misinterpretation of intentions...

In his 3rd to last post, he wrote:

When I joined Kiva & became a lender, I didn't park my brains, experiences & energy at the door

...and that, Jundee, is one excellent reason why we need you back here.  Like I said at the beginning, you were valued and are now missed.

Peter

I have borrowed Jundee's signature-line for this post - a saying attributed to Jesse Jackson

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.

[Wood Fairy Glenda]

Peter, what a wonderful post about Jundee!
     
     I, too, miss Jundee and his many posts, both the sweet ones and the acerbic ones!  I tried to send him a personal message the very moment, I think, that he decided to leave KivaFriends, from the computer message I received at the time.  I was very sad  because I had wanted to tell him how much I appreciated his words and his map.

     So Jundee, I don't know if you're lurking out there, or if you stopped by for a quick peek, but I want you to know that I and many other Friends here  miss you very much. 
... (and besides I, at a mere 67 1/2, don't want to be the oldest poster around here).
     
JUNDEE - PLEASE COME BACK TO KIVA FRIENDS!!!     

[Dottie b]

I thought when we quit all our posts disappear?

Dottie B

[Peter S]

I thought when we quit all our posts disappear?

Dottie B

Evidently not.   Jundee disappeared from the list of Kiva Friends members on October 31st. His posts are still here, I guess because if they were deleted, that would make the threads in which they appear seem pretty weird.

[Joe]

I just saw Jundee's account deletion request in the admin control panel. I refuse to approve it (I'm not sure if all his posts will go along with it) and hope he reconsiders. 

[wind5001]

Peter,

thank you so much for this post! I have been quite busy with a lot of other things the last couple of days and had not even become aware of it yet. I find it tragic that Jundee has left KivaFriends. He had become such a vital part of our community and I sure do hope he reads this and will come back. Jundee, if you read this: I don't know the reasons for your leaving us, but please let us know whether there is anything we can do to make you reconsider!! Bitte überleg es Dir noch einmal. Du hast dieses Forum so sehr bereichert und wirst sehr fehlen.

Joe, thanks for not accepting his account deletion for the time being.

Oli

[Jundee]

Wow, I had not expected this & while I certainly appreciate the comments I feel kind of embarrassed.

I read the posts to my wife & her comment was very succinct:"If you don't go back, you're a JERK".

My reasons for leaving were partly frustration over some issues that kiva.org was not addressing despite that fact that they say they pay attention & value the input from this site. I was also somewhat p-o'd by some of the comments made regarding my posts on certain issues.

I know I have a tendency to call a spade a spade & this may have something to do with the fact that I'm getting on in years & don't know how much time I have left. So I tend to cut through the chaff & get to the heart of the matter.

I have the greatest admiration & respect for the concept of kiva & I understand that they are extremely busy spreading the word & expanding the operation, but having said that I don't believe that kiva is a religion that should be worshipped without question. I don't consider asking questions, making suggestions or even being critical on occasion has to be interpreted as negative or whining.

During my working life I've held executive positions in major corporations as well as owned several businesses & I learned a long time ago that you need a solid foundation before you start expanding. As lenders, we are the foundation of kiva, without lenders, kiva would just be another charitable operation, competing with thousands of others for money from donors. I'm not suggesting that kiva should kiss our butts but if they're smart, they would pay a little more attention to kivafriends.

I don't care how busy people are, when a feature is deleted, or something new is introduced out of the blue.....
How long would it take for somebody to place a short post here?

How much effort is involved in putting something about kivafriends on the kiva website. What about the calendar.
Having owned a printing business for some years I have a better understanding of what a terrific job Chris & every participating member on this site have done in producing it in such a short time. The pictures, the layout, the design, the text, the quality of the cover as well as the pages is outstanding. Calendars of this size & quality sell here for from $ 16.00 to $ 18.00 each.

Shortly after joining kiva I had some key fobs & dog tags made with the kiva logo. The tags can be worn on a chain or put on a key ring & the fobs contain a small solar cell so the logo will blink on & off. I sent samples to Joe, Diane, Fiona, Matt & Jessica as well as Chris for comments.

Diane & Joe liked them & could see that members might be interested since they woukd be available at a reasonable cost. I didn't expect any response from Matt or Jessica because they're hardly ever in the office. I've had no reponse from Fiona. I haven't heard from Chris yet but He must be busy with shipping off all the calendars.

If Chris is not interested in adding them to the Kiva store than I'll post pictures & details & make them available to anybody from this site at my cost.

I shall try to be more low key in the future.

Jundee 

[Kay]

Glad to have you back, Jundee!   I wouldn't worry about tailoring your posts to please anybody but yourself!

[Steff]

I agree with Kay, Jundee.  We all should be able to do just that.  Welcome back.

[Peter S]

Mission accomplished.
Welcome back.

[Wood Fairy Glenda]

Hurray, Jundee!

[Eli]

Some of you will have noticed that Jundee quit Kiva Friends a few days ago.   I want to offer a brief something in appreciation of his 191-post contribution in the 2 months he was a member.   I for one think Kiva Friends is the poorer for his having left, and I hope that just maybe one day he might be reading this and whatever follows, as a Guest.  And, realizing that he was valued and is now missed, make his way back here.

Jundee shared with us that he is 75 (which I think made him by a comfortable margin the oldest regular poster here) and in an early post, he wrote:

He started and was active in the More ways to publicize Kiva thread, and inspired others on that thread with his inventiveness and enthusiasm in spreading the word about Kiva.   Which can also be said of the Kiva world map he has pinned up in his hallway, where it's easy to imagine him enthusiastically buttonholing visitors to his house.  As Oli said, "great idea, especially to have the Kiva business cards available...and it makes it so much easier to tell people about Kiva, because a map is always interesting to people."

I've read all Jundee's posts (here) and it's fair to say that he could be fairly plain-speaking and blunt on occasions, but I figure if you're 75 you're allowed to be a bit terse if you want.  I don't know what decided him to leave Kiva Friends, though reading through the last two threads he was involved in makes it (for me..) reasonably easy to speculate privately.  In saying that I want to make it really really clear that I'm not "taking sides", just trying to understand his decision to leave from Jundee's point of view - as akshara-Steve said on the CNN Heroes thread ...good intentions mixed with frustrations and/or a very direct addressing of a point or idea makes for easy misinterpretation of intentions...

In his 3rd to last post, he wrote:

...and that, Jundee, is one excellent reason why we need you back here.  Like I said at the beginning, you were valued and are now missed.

Peter

I have borrowed Jundee's signature-line for this post - a saying attributed to Jesse Jackson

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.

Wow, Peter, what an excellent way of painting a picture of the qualities of Jundee.  I think this is quite worthy of quoting and reposting.  It certainly makes me sorry that I only crossed paths with Jundee briefly since I'm a relative newbie.  I was still being shy back then . . .

[Eli]

Wow, I had not expected this & while I certainly appreciate the comments I feel kind of embarrassed.

I read the posts to my wife & her comment was very succinct:"If you don't go back, you're a JERK".

I shall try to be more low key in the future.

Jundee 

Glad to see that you listen to the words of wisdom from your wife!   Welcome back.

As for the being more low key, nah, please don't,  just continue to be yourself.  No need to modify it on our behalf.  Then you wouldn't be Jundee.

[Henry]

another quote from Jundee's wife:   " thank goodness he's back at KIVAFriends and out of my hair! " 

Welcome back Jundee!

[Jundee]

Peter, my wife doesn't mince words either. (She's picked up some of my bad habits.)

[QueenOfHearts]

Welcome back Jundee....and I am also glad you listened to your wife...she is one wise woman...give her a hug for us!!

Queen

[wind5001]

Danke, Jundee!

and Thank you Peter, for being so alert and prolific in what you wrote!

This, to me, is another piece in a long row of things that make KivaFriends a very special place to me. The way people treat each other, the way they interact, the way we express our feelings and also our concerns, the way we let others come close to you is remarkable and in no way ordinary. THank you ALL for that.

I agree with Jundee that Kiva ought not be a religion to be worshipped and that this is a place for accknowledgement as well as critique. Sometimes I find the critique issued a little harsh, but I always take it as what it is: a common desire to achieve the best Kiva that can be. That can entail frustrations. But it is so worth to take that risk! Kiva is young, and Kiva will continue to make mistakes and it will continue to disappoint us in various parts. But it also is a source of happiness and joy to me and has made my life the richer, not only by itself but also by this place here.

Ah, I am becoming a little dramatic here, I suppose...but I just wanted to tell you:
Welcome back Jundee and glad to be around all of you!

Oli