What's your Kiva Story?

[Guest]

.

[Fiona Ramsey]

Hi Kiva Friends!

I love reading your discussions on Kiva Friends and browsing the Kiva Lender Profiles.  But I want to know more about you!

What's your Kiva story?  How did you hear about Kiva?  Why do you lend?  How do you choose the people you lend to?  Why is this important to you?

I'm collecting Kiva Lender stories of up to 250 words for publication in the Kiva press kit, for distribution to the members of the press upon request, and generally to help us share the Kiva story by showing others why Kiva Lenders do what they do!

If you'd like to share your Kiva story (granting permission for Kiva to reproduce it) post it on this thread!  Let's see how many Kiva Stories we can get (I know there are some good ones out there!)

Fiona Ramsey
Public Relations Director
Kiva.org

[QueenOfHearts]

Oh Fiona you have opened up the gates with this one!!! I am work right now and will respond later...but I cannot wait to see the deluge of stories you will get here.
Queen

[Jill]

Hey, You Guys,

    Did I just read that Fiona asked for stories of

      ...." up to 250 words..."

    Whaddya think?

[Henry]

Fiona, meet Jill, Jill meet Fiona! 

Jill uses 250 words to yawn!  LOL

potential Newsletter contributor!!!!!!!

[Ed Chandler]

Not wanting to make a circus out of Fiona's request, I'll be the first person to say why I support KIVA.

Fiona, I'm a 61 year old business person that's been fortunate enough to be successful in my life's journey. Because of my success in life, I've always tried to give back to people that were less fortunate than I. Pretty much, I've gone through the circle of charities, ie; Save the Children, Second Harvest, American Red Cross, and never really knew if I was making a difference!  After watching an article on TV about KIVA one night in May of 2007, I logged onto KIVA and have never signed off! I absolutely love the idea that I can decide who receives my direct funding and for what purpose! I'm not looking for a return on my investment. I'm looking to help a person or family, by being directly involved with funding to them. The thought of being able to do this is absolutely exhilerating! Being involved in KIVA, to me, is just like winning a million dollar lottery! I'm only one person, but I can truly make a difference! I truly believe that KIVA will change the way the financial world will view microfinancing in the near future, and I'm proud to be a part of that! With KIVA, I know I'm making a difference by investing in humanity!

[Laurie]

Fiona, I probably won't be writng a lending story BUT, I do have this to say:

Ed's phrase, "absolutely exhilarating" is a very good - verrrrry good - description of how I feel about lending on Kiva.  Turns out, though, that it is only half the equation for me.  Kiva Friends (thanks, Joe) is the other half.  Incredible people come together on both sites to empower, enable, and share.  My life is enriched by my participation on both sites. 

The responses of Jill, our most loquacious Kiva Friend, and Henry, who has a few (usually hilarious) words to say about EVERYTHING - including threads he has all to himself - are classic examples of the personablities we have learned to love on Kiva Friends.  (Though, now that Jill has learned to post photos, perhaps she can replace 1,000 words at a time?)  When borrowers on Kiva drop below a couple dozen, when we are limited to lending $25 per borrower... we addicts can find solace on Kiva Friends, discussing the issue(s) INTO THE GROUND.

I love 'em both.

Safe travels,
Laurie
Writing tonight from Canby, Oregon, USA

[Sherri]

Hi!

I'm a 27 year old web developer in Canada and I heard about Kiva in an MSN Money article about things to spend your money on that bring REAL happiness. Kiva was one thing mentioned in the article. After I checked out what Kiva was, and what it's reputation was (if it was legit)- it really spoke to me. I've always resented that many donations to developing countries end up in the wrong hands, or are in the form of enabling handouts that don't really solve the root problems. We need to build self sufficiency- not just shovel open-ended money at poor countries. I try to donate to the people who live in the poorest regions. I've only made my first loan and it's so enjoyable already- something worth spending money on.

Oops I hope that's not more than 250 words!

It's a shame though, that countries that need this the most, are the ones where I don't think Kiva can establish/find any MFIs due to civil war, or corruption or extreme poverty, etc.

I think this list is helpful for me personally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_developed_countries

(I hope I'm wrong, maybe there are MFIs there already)

Side comment - sometimes I see people with a ridiculous number of knick-knacks or those hideous giant blow-up holiday lawn ornaments, and I think to myself... there are so many BETTER things that money could have been spent on. In the 'western world' we're so obsessed with buying absolute JUNK. We go into debt to buy more junk. It's sad.

[Ulli]

My Kiva Story
The Omaha World Herald printed Nicholas Kristof's New York Times article in April 2007. I went online and realized that Kiva supports two of my strongest beliefs:

-   Getting to know a person from another country or another culture breaks barriers and destroys stereotypes, therefore leaving the involved parties less vulnerable to manipulation and lies
-   People can be happy wherever they live

I grew up in East Germany, experienced the transition during the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification with West Germany, and eventually moved to the United States. I have been lied to and manipulated early on, but I also realized by living in three different countries and systems that there are people everywhere that one can be friends with. Kiva is so exciting because it makes it possible to get to know somebody from another part of the world and build personal connections between them. Just look at the outpouring of sympathy and the actions that followed Mark Agwonah’s death. This is what living in a global village means: people care for each other. This is what will help us overcome the problems we are facing globally.

I admit, I am a Kiva addict and after getting hooked on the Kivafriends website, I don’t think there is a chance of recovery. Kivafriends are everything that I would be looking for in a friend: compassionate, funny, serious, involved, and always there.

[QueenOfHearts]

to answer your question Sherri, there are quite a few countries on the list that are or have been listed on Kiva...Mozambique, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal,  Sierra Leone,  Togo,  Uganda,  Afghanistan,  Bangladesh,  Cambodia and the every popular slow boat to  Samoa.
Queen

[Wood Fairy Glenda]

Great posts, all who've written in response to Fionna's request!  ..... and, Laurie, why not contribute to this collection?  You write beautifully!  .....and a repetitive long PS (I wrote this before in the "skunk" thread, but think it belongs here.
 I was asked by Fiona, a while ago, to write a short blurb on why I decided to lend to Kiva.  Here is what I wrote for her :
     

     I read about Kiva loans this February, not long after I returned from a volunteer vacation in Nicaragua, helping in a reforestation project.  I was about to be part of a Habitat for Humanity house-building team in western Guatemala.  I went on-line out of curiosity and hope (the article had made it sound like an idea that would appeal to me).  I immediately put in money for a loan and became “hooked on microlending.” I love the feeling of connection I have to the people to whom I lend money via Kiva.  I support these people wholeheartedly in their daily struggles to meet the needs of their families.  I was fortunate to have been born to a good family in a country in which we have many advantages.  I’ve had a loving family and a good education and never have experienced real need. Now I am almost 67 years old and am a widow.  I am by no means a rich person in the United States, but I do not need all the money that I have.  Nor do my children, who are quite capable of taking care of themselves. I have made the decision to spend the rest of my life helping people who have not had the advantages that I have had in life. I have more than I need, and there are many thousands of people all over the world who have far less than they need.  I just want to equalize things a little before I die.  It’s as simple as that.