14 Cows for America Lending Team

[Guest]

.

[marilyn386]

I have established a new lending team called “14 Cows for America””
This lending group is named after the children's book "14 Cows for America" written by Carmen Agra Deedy which tells Kimeli Naiyomah’s amazing and true story of one Kenyan tribe’s reaction in the wake of 9/11.
Kimeli Naiyomah, having witnessed 9/11 firsthand in New York City and wanting in some way to alleviate America's grief, goes back to his Maasai tribe elders in Kenya and asks them to bless his only calf so he can offer it to America as a gesture of consolation and support.. His tribe reacts by offering instead 14 blessed cows, a most sacred and cherished gift. Nine months later these 14 cows are presented to and accepted by the American embassy. This lending group is named after the children's book "14 Cows for America" written by Carmen Agra Deedy which tells Kimeli's amazing and true story.
Our lending group wishes to thank the Maasai people of Kenya for their kind offer of 14 cows to America in the aftermath of 9/11. We challenge all American Kiva lenders to make one loan to a Kenyan entrepreneur in the name of this group to thank the tribe for their kindness and generosity in our time of grief
To read more about the story, please visit www.14cowsforamerica.com.  A video of the ceremony is documented:
http://www.14cowsforamerica.com/team.html#kimeli

You can also hear NPR’s interview with Kimeli Naiyomah:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1144682
Marilyn
Team Captain

[marilyn386]

Here is the link to our new team:

http://partners.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=8317

[Marianne N59° 23' 60 - E18° 19' 60]

Thank you Marilyn for this message, it moved me to my core. Thank you!

I live in Stockholm and was present in Manhattan on 9/11 quite close to ground zero, attending a business meeting, the only non-New Yorker and foreigner. When our building shook from the impact not far away, we all ran into the street to witness in deep shock and horror the unimaginable. We abandoned the meeting and ran towards the towers, but we were on foot, slow and we arrived when fire brigades and police were already there. They asked us to please return to our hotel, not to contribute to the confusion on the ground and we did. They saved our lives, since events deteriorated from a catastrophy to apocalyptic hell on earth in a very short time. The rest of the people went home immediately and I, all airports and train stations closed and my hotel emptying quickly, was left in a city full of traumatised people and as it turned out later, rather traumatised myself. I have never felt this lonely, helpless and abandoned in my life and felt and still feel deeply for New Yorkers, so much pain, so much suffering. It took me almost two weeks to get home and I took the first opportunity - which brought me to Oslo and its hauntingly beautiful airport in sheer, glistening black bedrock and native wood. It was the first consoling element of having come home - our black granite that literally is the fundament of Norway and Sweden, that unites us under our very feet. I started to weep uncontrollably.
The very next day, a close friend from Norway, dragged me into the forest around Stockholm - picking mushrooms and berries. He kept me there for 8 hours, until I had stopped coughing and bringing up grey-yellowish mucous from my lungs. I have always thought afterwards how much I wish that the wounds inflicted on thousands of people suffering from 9/11 might have been healed by such a beautiful gesture - by a friend who forces you to let nature take care of your body and your soul.
I returned to ground zero with an American friend who had to hold me by my hand while I stared, shaking, at what had become the grave of so many, the tomb of so much hope, the beginning of so much pain, the start of a political confusion the price of which we are paying now, the source of new pain, violence and war.
The fourteen cows are the most magnificent present, the most noble sign of love and consolation I could imagine.
I shall be honoured to make a loan to a Kenyan in the name of this group.
Thank you again for letting me know!

Marianne

[Jill]

Dear Marilyn and Marianne,

I woke up not all that long ago and came to Kivafriends to find your two stirring posts.  I most certainly will join your team, even if only temporarily, for the purpose of making a Kenyan loan, to attribute it to those world community-recognizing Maasai as you requested, and also, to express my pleasure in “meeting” you and in having you be a part of the Kiva and KivaFriends communities.

I have long believed that KivaFriends shows itself and becomes so much the richer each time one of its members reveals a bit of his or her heart.  Some of my own greatest pleasures in returning to the Forum come from being able to get to know the insides of people, to learn what matters to them, and to be able to believe that we have a kind of kinship of feelings and aspirations.  It is a gift to be able to both learn about the people here and to learn from them.  I thank you and I (belatedly) welcome you both.

Best,
Jill

[Jill]

A Kenyan Town’s Offer of Aid Pays Dividends for Its Youth
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/world/africa/11kenya.html

ENOOSAEN, Kenya, Sept. 10 — When Masai tribesmen marry, they give cows. When a son wants to earn the respect of his father, he gives cows. When there is a friend in need or a condolence call to make, more cows.

So it was, in this one-cow-fits-all spirit, that the elders of Enoosaen four years ago donated 14 prized bulls and heifers to the people of the United States to help ease the pain of the Sept. 11 attacks.

But there was one little problem: the cattle — and how to get them from here to there.

On Sunday, American diplomats returned to this town in the carpeted hills of southern Kenya and announced, much to the delight of the hundreds of Masai gathered in their best beaded finery, that the cattle were not going anywhere, especially not to the slaughterhouse.

Instead, they will be blessed, and their offspring will be used to pay for education for the children of Enoosaen. To get the cow trust fund going, the Americans are donating 14 high school scholarships.....

..... “We did what we knew best,” said an elder, Mzee ole Yiamboi. “The handkerchief we give to people to wipe their tears with is a cow.”.......

Thank you again for the learning.....

[cjp1973]

Marilyn, Marianne and Jill.  Thank you for posting.  The article and video as well as, or maybe most of all, Mariannes recount of her day in New York on 9/11, make this thread a truly inspiring one.  Thank you all for your comments and ideas.  My next Kenyan loan will be credited to this team.

[Marianne N59° 23' 60 - E18° 19' 60]

..... “We did what we knew best,” said an elder, Mzee ole Yiamboi. “The handkerchief we give to people to wipe their tears with is a cow.”.......

Thank you again for the learning.....[/quote]

Thank you indeed for the learning, Marilyn and Jill !

I just made my first 'wipe your tears with a cow' loan, attributed to the formidable 14 Cows for America Lending Team   Here again is the link to our new team: http://partners.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=8317

I love your challenge Marilyn and, I am hoping to meet many, many, many world-class citizens here, American and non-American!

I am not sure they quite knew what they were doing at the time, but a better message than their's has  hardly ever been spread across the globe... The Beatles:
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE........LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED
and with the love that comes to you, a roof over your head, food on your table and everything else will follow, sooner or later - and possibly a cow, or a handkerchief in the shape of a cow


Edit: typos & omissions

[wannado]

Here's a perfect loan for the 14 Cows team!

Mary Njoki Njoroge in Kenya wants a loan to drill a well and buy water tanks to help out her dairy business and eventually to buy another cow 

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=129941&_tpos=2&_tpg=1

Marsha

[marilyn386]

Hi all,

Boy, you start a team and immediately come down with strep and bronchitis.  Not a great way to get the ball rolling.  However, I am feeling much better but still trying to get my energy back.

Thank you all for posting your wonderful words and I hope we can continue with the goals of this team... for every American Kiva lender to make one loan in the name of this team to thank the Maasai people for their generous gift of 14 cows to America in the wake of 9/11.

I say American lender, but really, Marianne's words remind me that this team is for all lenders, as I believe the Maasai's gift was intended to be a gift for all people who suffered in the 9/11 attacks.  I will amend our lending team's vision for this detail.

Thank you again!

Marilyn

[marilyn386]

The rest of the people went home immediately and I, all airports and train stations closed and my hotel emptying quickly, was left in a city full of traumatised people and as it turned out later, rather traumatised myself. I have never felt this lonely, helpless and abandoned in my life and felt and still feel deeply for New Yorkers, so much pain, so much suffering. It took me almost two weeks to get home and I took the first opportunity - which brought me to Oslo and its hauntingly beautiful airport in sheer, glistening black bedrock and native wood. It was the first consoling element of having come home - our black granite that literally is the fundament of Norway and Sweden, that unites us under our very feet. I started to weep uncontrollably.

Marianne,

Your story moved me to tears.  I watched the events from TV at work, safely in Cincinnati,  and as horrifying as it was to watch the towers go down, I can't even imagine what it would be like for those who witnessed it first-hand.  Our family used to live in Connecticut and my Dad used to take the train into Manhatten everyday.  All I kept thinking was that if he had still been working in New York City, how would he have gotten home, with all the roads and bridges closed.  I remember crying myself to sleep that night, not fully understanding what the ramifications of such an event would be and if more attacks were coming.

I am glad you were able to visit NYC again with a friend of yours.  I hope that trip gave you some closure.

Marilyn

[karlynwagner]

This is just a thought,... we will be in the Maasai villages in Kenya the third week of October for about a week.  If you would like to gather thank yous I could take them and deliver them in person for all of the Kiva supporters.  Just a thougth.

Karen and Gery

[marilyn386]

This is just a thought,... we will be in the Maasai villages in Kenya the third week of October for about a week.  If you would like to gather thank yous I could take them and deliver them in person for all of the Kiva supporters.  Just a thougth.

Karen and Gery

Karen and Gery,

What a wonderful idea!  If anyone has any ideas on how to organize that effort, I would love to work on such a project.

Marilyn

[Marianne N59° 23' 60 - E18° 19' 60]

Today is the 11th September, a day that shall forever be a powerful reminder of the agony we human beings are capable of inflicting on one another.
It is also a day that reminds us that we are in equal measure capable of boundless love and empathy.
I would therefore like to seize the opportunity to bring to the forefront of your mind Marilyn's challenge that every American on this Forum might make a loan in the honour of the staggeringly beautiful gift, made by the Masai people of Kenya, as a consolation to the people of America in the face of such a tragedy.
Please read Marlilyn's post below, and hopefully you will find it in your heart to join the team with one loan to a Kenyan and attribute it to the team 14 cows for America.
World citizens outside the US are more than welcome too, of course!

Thank you again Marilyn for creating this team and, thank you to all of you who wish to join

Marianne

The link to the team:
http://partners.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=8317

I have established a new lending team called “14 Cows for America””
This lending group is named after the children's book "14 Cows for America" written by Carmen Agra Deedy which tells Kimeli Naiyomah’s amazing and true story of one Kenyan tribe’s reaction in the wake of 9/11.
Kimeli Naiyomah, having witnessed 9/11 firsthand in New York City and wanting in some way to alleviate America's grief, goes back to his Maasai tribe elders in Kenya and asks them to bless his only calf so he can offer it to America as a gesture of consolation and support.. His tribe reacts by offering instead 14 blessed cows, a most sacred and cherished gift. Nine months later these 14 cows are presented to and accepted by the American embassy. This lending group is named after the children's book "14 Cows for America" written by Carmen Agra Deedy which tells Kimeli's amazing and true story.
Our lending group wishes to thank the Maasai people of Kenya for their kind offer of 14 cows to America in the aftermath of 9/11. We challenge all American Kiva lenders to make one loan to a Kenyan entrepreneur in the name of this group to thank the tribe for their kindness and generosity in our time of grief
To read more about the story, please visit www.14cowsforamerica.com.  A video of the ceremony is documented:
http://www.14cowsforamerica.com/team.html#kimeli

You can also hear NPR’s interview with Kimeli Naiyomah:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1144682
Marilyn
Team Captain

[Mona]

How great is this?!!!  The following message was just posted to the 14 cows team board!!!

Hello fellow members,
I am so happy to see that this team has emerged through Kiva! I am the author of 14 Cows, Carmen Deedy. I learned of Kiva, and most specifically of the 14 Cows team, through the young people in our marketing department at Peachtree Publishers. My husband and I went on-line immediately and loved the concept of Kiva so much that we joined on the spot, and made loans. What a brilliant and personal way to give.
I will tell Kimeli and Tom about Kiva. I believe they will both be as delighted. Kimeli will be leaving for Australia soon for the Rotary Fellowship, so I will let him know right away.
Thank you for this. What an unexpected gift. But then, that is the true message of the book, isn't it?
With warmest thanks,
Carmen
http://www.kiva.org/lender/carmenagra9699

[Mona]

These are the last 5 currency-free loans from Kenya we will see for the next time I suppose, sigh .... 

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=143838
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=143395
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=143397
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=142669
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=142821

[marilyn386]

Here is another Kenyan loan for Reviewjamila Ahmed.  Although currency risk is possible (sigh, too), I really like how the photographer captured her at work.  Also, she's married to an accountant!  I like that!

Jamila is 37 years old and married to an accountant. She has 4 children: Mulhat, 16 years old; Sumeya-,13 years old; Khalid,10 years old and Imran, 7 years old.

Jamila owns a salon and also sells beauty products. She has been doing this for 15 years. She also supplies clothes to boutiques. With the loan she has requested from KADET, she will use 20,000 KSH to purchase hair treatment chemicals, 20,000 KSH for a steaming machine and the remaining 40,000 KSH will be used to buy creams for skincare and facials.

Jamila was introduced to KADET by her friends who are existing members of the organization. Previously, she was working with Faulu.

Jamila's salon is located in a neighborhood in Malindi town and her customers are residents of Malindi. Jamila aims to build her own business premises, with the additional revenue generated from this loan, rather than renting. Jamila's hopes and dreams are to own her own house, buy a car and to establish a successful business.

MFI – KADET (4 stars)

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=143866&_tpos=1&_tpg=1