Press Enquiry: Is lending the new giving?

[Guest]

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[rosieniven]

Hi, my name is Rosie. I am a freelance journalist.

I found out about Kiva last week and would like to write about it for a publication in the UK - most of the press coverage seems to have been in the US so far.

I am looking at writing something for a personal finance section of a national newspaper in the UK and would like to speak to Kiva members about why they lend, rather than/ in addition to giving, their experiences of lending through Kiva and whether they feel they have made a difference.

Obviously, this will be for a UK publication so I'd prefer to use quotes from people in the UK or Ireland, if possible.

Please contact me on rosie dot niven at gmail dot com

Many thanks,

Rosie

[charity]

I am not from UK or Ireland, but I would say that my lending on Kiva has actually increased the donations I make - to Kiva, projects or recommendations from Kivafriends, and just other donations in general, because I feel more connected to people in other parts of the world due to Kiva. 
Based on the journal entries and Kiva Fellow Blogs, I do think that our lending makes a difference. 

[Brennan]

Unfortunately, I also am not from the UK. However, all lenders are able to write on their Kiva lender page why they loan (I loan because:....), if you want to find some from UK lenders, just go to google and type in this:

site:http://www.kiva.org/lender "United Kingdom" I loan because:


 There's a 100 pages of results. Just doing some quick research, I was able to get some quotes from lenders located in UK which may be of some assistance:

"I believe in sustainable capacity building, and that the best gift of humanity one can offer to another thousands of miles away is hope and opportunity. I travelled to Ecuador in June '07 as part of a World Council of Credit Unions delegation, and saw first hand how micro credit has improved the lives of local entrepreneurs. The photo you see here is that of Margarita. I visited her farm outside the town of Nabon. With the help of micro loans from Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito Jardin Azuayo, Margarita and her husband Geranomo were able to build a small chicken and guinea pig farm. She is now able to send her two older children to college and her younger daughter (pictured here) to primary school."
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/kenchan


"I believe it's a very effective use of my money to help people in situations not as lucky as me to achieve their goals."
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/clocsen


"small seeds - grow"
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/richard5442


"we all know - sadly more than in the past - just how important it is to have access to money in order to build small businesses and generate thriving local economies"
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/barbara9915


"It can change the trajectory of a person's life and break the cycle of poverty for future generations. Also, I expect they will invest it more wisely that the big banks and hedge funds."
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/bradandhaze3364


"we believe in the power of microfinance as a sustainable approach to poverty alleviation. As global citizens, we want to make a difference in this world, and encourage you to take part in this movement."
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/lilyandkeenan


"I grew up in South Africa with poverty never far away and I really believe that helping someone to fish is so much more useful and sustainable than offering them a single fish."
 - http://www.kiva.org/lender/errol9483


You can also go to the lenders Kiva pages and send them a message, lenders may be happy to assist you if you contact them. You could also use this is feature to contact lenders to ask for permission to quote them.
 
Hopefully there is enough content here for you  


Good luck 

[rosieniven]

Hi Charity and Brennan,

Thank you for your responses. They've both been very helpful. I'm putting together my pitch tonight and if successful, I may be back on here with further questions.

Many thanks

Rosie

[Christopher]

Hope your pitch goes well.

You could check out the following teams for lenders in the UK or Ireland:

• http://www.kiva.org/team/london
• http://www.kiva.org/team/uk
• http://www.kiva.org/team/ireland
• http://www.kiva.org/team/northern_ireland

Obviously, this will be for a UK publication so I'd prefer to use quotes from people in the UK or Ireland, if possible.