What Kiva Means to Me.....

[Guest]

.

[Jill]

        This afternoon, a friend came by.
He's heard me go on and on (and on and on and on and.. you know)
enough about Kiva to have had "fair warning" of
what he was going to have to deal with when he came to my door.
     
         I hadn't watched it yet, so I decided to watch and share with him the video
that was posted here today put together by Kiva Intern Josephine D'Allant.
http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,524.0.html

     So, we watched it; I loved it, of course. 
Afterwards, I found myself commenting
commenting/reflecting about
what an amazing thing it was
how I really don't have anything to do with Kiva --
at least, not like all the people in the video did,  and
not like all the Kiva.org people who weren't in the video.....

other than.... one day,
I came across a mention of it, I checked it out,  I started lending,
I became enamoured, I found KivaFriends, and ultimately,
I got totally hooked.
       
         Yet......

        I tried to explain how it/ Kiva represents all that is hopeful for me.
That it's like the people in my life whom I love,
like nature (like books and music and poetry) --
that it serves as a kind of counterbalance for me
to the sadness and aching there's been in my life,
but even more,
to all the much much Much greater sadness and aching there is in the world,
to all the news there is about wars and AIDS and terrorism and natural and other disasters and
this cataclysm and that catastrophe and
the chaos that reigns in so many lives in so many places, around us.

         I was struck, as I was talking to him about it,
by how much happiness I get from Kiva,
that I get from the hope of Kiva,
from the hope of what Kiva represents to me. 

          I was near-overwhelmed
by all the passion I felt, that I feel, and
that so many other KivaFriends and Kiva.org people feel,
and I just keep thinking that the phenomenon of it
Truly is an amazing thing.

           As I was talking, I became quite choked up, crying,
but laughing at the same time at myself-- I do this all the time --
at how intense I can become about "things."
Many times, like this, in an incredibly, incredibly happy way.

         There's a quote-- it either came from the Jewish book of the Talmud
or from the writer, Anais Nin, depending who's crediting it. 
(I don't really care Where it came from).

        "We don't see things as they are.  We see them as we are."

          That's sort of like "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder," to me.
I don't know if it's true or not, but if it is true,
it's pretty remarkable how
so many many many many people there are,
apparently,
who see Kiva very very much the same way I do.
Long Live Kiva!

[Diane R]

Wonderfully put, Jill.  In response, I'm going to copy here excerpts from my post in Fiona's "What's your Kiva story?" thread, since it matches so well with what you're saying.

I think it was the smiles.

I can't recall where I'd first heard about Kiva.org, probably a year ago.  I'd glossed over it at the time, not truly understanding the concept of microfinance, but was brought back to it and started looking through the loan portfolio.  I found I was moved by every story, every striving, every great idea for the future.  What if I could help some of these people take steps towards their dreams?  What a powerful human connection!  I looked into their faces and chose some loans to help fund.  And I felt weightless and excited for them.  I kept coming back to look at their pictures, again and again.

After making my first loans, I felt bold, empowered, uplifted.  I could not wait to tell everyone I knew about this exciting tool for connecting with others in such a meaningful way.  (I had to moderate my enthusiasm just a bit, to not sound like a wild-eyed crazy).  . . .  I still come back to look at the faces of those whose loans I've helped fund.  I feel as if their stories have become part of me, and I learn so much more about the world around me by learning about the world around them.

I am fortunate: I have far more financial resources than I need.  I read the human stories at Kiva.org and realize just how far a small amount of money can stretch for someone who is striving to work to better themselves and their families and their communities... and their world.  Our world.  While others in my family collect *things*, I collect stories of hope and desire, and the willingness to work to make dreams into reality.

I collect smiles.

I collect stories of hope and desire, and the willingness to work to make dreams into reality.  And I smile.

--Diane.