Introductions

[Guest]

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[tomgray]

Hi, I'm here as a result of Nicholas Kristof's column in the New York Times about Kiva this week.  I've been a supporter of FINCA (http://www.villagebanking.org) for some time because I think the idea of microlending has the potential to be world-changing.  Kudos to Kiva for finding a way to make the connections much more personal and to allow us to build up our own little pools of capital that can be reused again and again.

I'm an aging idealist, but not cynical, still very pragmatic and optimistic, committed to doing the best things I can think of or find out about to do.  Kiva looks like a winner.

My day job is promoting wind energy in the U.S., something that has been very satisfying and rewarding during the more than 25 years I've been doing it.

Nice to meet you all and best wishes.

[Pondering Pig]

Just want to welcome TomGray  to the Kivafriends.  Welcome!  I too have learned a lot over the years from reading Nick Kristoff's column in the NY Times.  Right now, I'm also very interested in that NGO he wrote about a month or two ago called, I think, American Assistance in Cambodia.  Link is http://www.cambodiaschools.com/ They're about building village schools and connecting them with the internet via satellite.  A bunch of people get together and, for $29,000 I think - can build a whole school and equip it!  Hey, wouldn't that be cool if someday Kivafriends could do that as a group.  I guess we need a few more members first, but that shouldn't  take long.

Also, my wife and I just signed up for our power company's wind energy program.  We're paying a small premium to be assured (I think) of getting 3 "blocks" of new renewable energy a month.  In my mind, it's well worth it.  Keep promoting that wind energy!

[Ari]

Thanks for the info Pondering!  It's actually just $13,000.  The rest of the funds are matched by the Asian Development Bank.  Sounds really interesting, I'd love to do it some day.

[grandma to jonas]

Hello - my name is Mary and I live on beautiful Vancouver Island BC Canada.  After reading the article by Nicholas Kristoff in the NY Times and checking out the Kiva website I too became hooked.  This is an amazing opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people - the response has been fantastic.  I've been checking daily and the number of people being helped is so encouraging.  It really takes so little when a large number of people get involved - kudos to the founders and those working so hard to make this work.  Thank you!  Mr. Kristoff also wrote an article titled "Sanctuary for Sex Slaves" this week which is heart wrenching.  He provides readers with a way they can help the woman who is providing the sanctuary.  It is another way we can directly help those who are living a nightmare.  Please check it out.

[Kevin]

I work in NYC in book publishing and I write on the side.

I read about Kiva in the New York Times and thought it was a good idea. When I traveled to South America I was overcome with the number of children who are sent out to sell whatever or just to beg. People kept telling me the parents kept themselves hidden because nobody gives money to adults. It seemed like no matter what you did to help it was too little (and for these children, who were often like zombies, it was as if it was already too late). I like how with Kiva you don't have to have a lot of money to do some good, and you can see for yourself how it's helping (and who it's helping).

The picture that's posted is from my trip to Mendoza, Argentina.

Nice to meet everyone.

[hunger4god]

Hi I'm Adam. I'm new to the Kivafriends but I've been loaning on Kiva since early 2006. I absolutely love Kiva. I also love blogging so I created a blog just for telling people about Kiva. It's at http://gokiva.blogspot.com check it out sometime! If you have any other great ideas for promoting Kiva through my site please let me know.

This is me www.adambourque.com

[nfolkert]

Hey, my name is Nathan.  I've been lending through Kiva since March of last year.  I have been interested in the promise of microcredit for a long time, and was very excited when Kiva leveraged new technologies to build a tool that would allow me to become personally involved.  I'm glad to see everybody here so enthusiastic about it, and I hope that this community serves as a means to keep people excited and involved, and to encourage us to do even more.

[tomgray]

Thanks, Mr. Pig, will do!  Great to see all the attention that wind and other green options are getting these days, and microlending too.  Maybe we can fix things!

Also, my wife and I just signed up for our power company's wind energy program.  We're paying a small premium to be assured (I think) of getting 3 "blocks" of new renewable energy a month.  In my mind, it's well worth it.  Keep promoting that wind energy!

[Erica]

Hello from Massachusetts! I grew up on a small family farm in New England, worked for the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC while putting myself through school at The George Washington University, headed down to the University of Virginia School of Law and then back up to New England. Several years ago I left the practice of law to once again work in the nonprofit sector. For the past four years, I have worked as a fundraising consultant and volunteered with The Trustees of Reservations (www.thetrustees.org), a statewide land trust. Later this week I will be starting a new job as the Development Director at the Old York Historical Society (www.oldyork.org) in southern Maine.

My mom introduced my sister and me to Kiva this weekend after reading about it in the local paper. Together we decided to make a loan to a young man in Azerbaijan to help him purchase four calves. He is the same age as I am, and making this loan brought up memories of growing up on the farm, taking part in 4-H and attending livestock auctions with my grandfather.

These personal connections are what make Kiva so powerful. For several years I've invested with the Calvert Foundation (www.calvertfoundation.org), directing my funds to be used in New England. Now I have the opportunity to invest not only in my local community, but in the greater global community as well. I really appreciate the fact that I know who I am helping and exactly how my funds will help. I can already picture my world map with strings running from the country to a photograph of the loan recipient and a description of each business venture. Now if I could just find a wall large enough to support this project . . .

[Bus]

Love the introductions!

My name is Kathryn, and I'm the Chief Actuary at The Redwoods Group (www.redwoodsgroup.com, an insurance company in North Carolina with a progressive social mission. We are the largest insurer of YMCAs in the country and also write Jewish Community Centers and Dentists. We target giving away 10% of profits away, but last year it was nearly 100%. Our tag line is Serve Others.

I just learned about Kiva from my sister who heard the program on KQED last week. Now I'm hooked!

I'm on a community outreach committee who is charged with giving $25,000 back to the community, and I'm suggesting that we invest a portion of that in Kiva.

What a cool concept. We've been following microfinancing at our company because we look for ways to give back that have a large multiplier effect. This is clearly a tremendous way to do that.

I'm so into this concept personally, that my friends and family should be expecting all of my gifts to come from Kiva this year. I just sent one to another sister for her birthday and she wrote back this:

I think that this is just about the coolest birthday gift I have ever gotten!!!!!!!
I am really going to enjoy using that! I can't wait to get the rest of the family in on this!!!