Kiva.org

I'm a HUGE fan of Kiva.org and thought I'd share with you the people I've supported.

If you're not familiar with Kiva - it's a program where you can provide a loan to someone in a developing country who in turn pays you back. The loans are usually used to start or expand a business.

Each loan is $25.00. You make the loan with your credit card online and once the person repays the loan - that $25.00 is reimbursed to your Kiva account. You can then ask them to reimburse your credit card or you can re-loan the money to another person. It's a great way to keep using the same $25.00 to help lots of people.

Check out their website, www.kiva.org . It's a great way to make a difference.

Update: In August 08 Kiva made a wonderful change to their program, they now reimburse you as the loan is repaid ... so you no longer have to wait until the full amount is paid before you get your money back. Very cool update!

Fafilat - from Nigeria

Fafilat is 40 years old and married with five children. She sells cooked foods and lives in Walebadejo Street, Igbo-elerin, Lagos State in Nigeria. Fafilat needs the loan amount of N50,000 to buy more foodstuffs to cook and sell. She says thanks to all Kiva lenders.

Aminata - from Senegal

Aminata Sakiliba, 44, is a widow with 5 children for whom she is responsible. She has been a member of the village bank of Médina Diambéré for two and a half years now. Her business is selling peanut butter and palm oil. She buys peanuts that she processes into peanut butter. The oil is bought and then sold retail. She wants to bolster her capital.

UMC Primary School, Makump Bama Village Group

These are teachers of the United Methodist Church Primary School, Makump Bama village (UMC). Makump Bama village is about five miles from Makeni city, the northern provincial headquarters. This school was founded in 1970 by the United Methodist Church to give education to the children of the community and to build up the church. It is the oldest school in the community and one of two schools in Makump Bama village. It currently has a population of 297 pupils and a staff of six teachers.

Many children from this village and the surrounding villages passed through this school. The school has a proud history; it has produced alumni who are teachers, lawyers, and many other professional workers. Some former students are currently in colleges and universities.

One major constraint the school is currently facing is the lack of adequate furniture, especially benches and desks. In 2000–2002, rebels made Makump Bama village a base. During their stay in this village, they used all of the school’s furniture as firewood.

Edward N. Josiah is the Headmaster of this school. Edward was born sixty years ago in Yoyema village in Moyamba district in southern Sierra Leone. He is married with four children and four dependents (nephews and nieces). Two of his children are already grown-ups and the other two are in tertiary institutions. The four dependents are still in school. Edward has been a teacher since 1970. With this loan, he will pay the fees for his two children who are in tertiary institutions.

Sam-oeun - from Cambodia

Mrs. Sam-oeun Khloeng, 53, is a widow with five children: two sons and three daughters. One of them was married and lives outside the family home, two daughters are silk weavers, one son is studying at University in Phnom Penh, and the youngest son is studying in the local school. The family lives on an Island in the Mekong River about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh.

Sam-oeun has been a silk weaver since she was 18 years old, a skill she learned from her mother. She sells her finished product to the middleman, who then takes it to sell at market in Phnom Penh.

She wants to continue her weaving business and hopes that her children will have full-time employment after they finished their study. Sam-oeun is requesting a loan of $1000 to purchase silk material for weaving and to pay school fee for her son who studies in University.

Paulina - from Peru (Loan Repaid)

Paulina is 58 years old, is married, is the mother of six children (all with their own families), she studied until the 5th year of primary school and lives in Jr. Chambilla Nº 341, Juli district, Chuchito province, Puno department.

For the past four years she has been a member of the “Pequeña Roma” Communal Bank of Juli. With the first loan of S/. 300 she could buy more articles of clothing to continue selling in the market. She has worked on this business for various years. To support her son who decided to travel to the Estados Unidos has worked without rest since she was 51 years old as she did not have her husband's support. She currently continues with her business.

With this loan of S/. 500, which will be paid back in 4 installments, she will buy more articles of clothing to continue with her busines. “Thanks to the loans that I obtained from the Communal Bank I have expanded by business and my earnings”, Paulina said very happily. Her greatest wish is to see her son again who is very far away and to be able to build her house.

Update: Paulina repaid her loan in full Feb 09.

Ly - from Cambodia

Ly Morm (pictured here with her son who studies at a University), 55, is a widow with six children. Three of her children are married and live outside the family home. The family lives about twenty kilometers from Phnom Penh.

Ly has been a rice farmer since 1979. She also grows and sells sapodilla. Ly is requesting a loan of $1000 to help pay school fees for her son and also to purchase more fertilizer and pesticide so she can grow more rice.

Allakhverdi - from Azerbaijan

Allakhverdi Qardashkhanov is a 55-year-old married father of five living in Bilasuvar, a region in southern Azerbaijan. He and his family live in the Internally Displaced People Settlement, a makeshift city of sorts. More than 600,000 Azerbaijanis live in these types of settlements; most have fled from called Nagorny Karabakh, a region caught in the Azerbaijan-Armenian territorial conflict.

For the past two decades, Allakhverdi has run a small grocery stand. To expand his business, he has applied for a loan of $1,000 U.S. dollars to purchase a refrigerator. Since the temperatures in this region of the country soar in the summer, Allakhverdi believes a fridge would be an excellent investment for his store.

Seng - from Cambodia

Seng Hoeung, age 36, is a former farmer and lives with her husband in Prey Veng province, Cambodia. Since 2000, she has been selling a particular type of mint to earn a living and is able to earn up to US$5 of profit a day. This kind of mint is the type they normally put in fried rice and soups to make the food smell good.

Her husband, Sun Saridh, age 43, runs a business catching fish and selling it to the market to earn an approximately US$5 of profit per day. This couple has five children together, three of whom are employed and the other two are students.

She told a loan officer that she needs to pay around US$85 for food and about US$15 on her children's education. Mrs. Seng is seeking a loan of US$1,200 from Kiva via Credit, a local partner, to purchase a wooden boat with a motor and fishing tools in order to catch more fish. CREDIT MFI is an independent Cambodian faith-based organization. It aims to empower the economically active poor and small entrepreneurs by providing inclusive financial services.

Rosana - from Peru (Loan Repaid)

Rosana belongs to the “Mujeres Valientes” (brave women) community bank. She is 48 years old and has 4 children, her husband is a taxi driver, but the income is not enough. Therefore, with her first loan of $100 USD (S/.300) Rosana decided to invest in a business to buy and sell “motocarros” (small three-wheeled motorcycle carts).

She currently has this business and gets up at 7 am, prepares breakfast for her family and then works on her house and the business.

With the $850 USD (S/. 2,500) loan, which will be repaid in 4 months, she will buy 2 second hand motocarros, motor parts, etc.

Rosana is happy for the business support given by Manuela Ramos, without them it would have been impossible to start the business and get her family ahead.

Update: Rosana repaid her loan in full Nov 08.

Tin - from Cambodia

Mrs. Tin Suon is a farmer in Sya Village in Kampong Speu Province. Aside from this business activity, she is a pig breeder. Her husband, Mr. Uk Ying, is a farmer and he owns a small kiln where he can make a charcoal to sell for a profit. Mrs. Tin Suon’s plantation has faced a small problem because she does not have enough cows to plow her rice field. Thus, Mrs. Tin Suon decided to ask for a loan to add to her profit in order to buy another cow to work with the old one in the rice field.

Mrs. Tin Suon is 25 and the mother of a child who is too young to work or study. Previously, Mrs. Tin Suon obtained a loan to start a pig breeding business. Her husband is on the left in the photo.

Mariama - from Senegal (Loan Repaid)

Mariama, aged 42, is married with 10 children in her care, and has been a member of the Manguiline Santhiaba Village Bank in Bignona for five and a half years. She is seeking a loan to run a business selling seasonal fruit (madd fruit and mangoes) that she buys in Bignona and then sells at retail at the bus station. Her income enables her to provide for her family. Mariama is requesting a loan that will be repaid after six months in a single installment.

Update: Mariama repaid her loan in full Dec 08.

Elias - from Peru (Loan Repaid)

Elias has been laboring in the production of bread for 11 years, but he had to leave that occupation. Currently, he distributes bread wholesale and sells provisions in his small grocery store.

For the past year, he has been purchasing packaged bread from third parties and wakes up at 3 am to distribute it throughout the zones near his neighborhood.

The loans he has previously received have been used to purchase more products for his grocery store. Elías would like to leave the distributing of bread to open a button factory because his brother has told him that it is a good business, however, he needs capital to acquire the machinery.

Upadate: Elias repaid his loan in full Nov 08.

Mariam - from Togo

Mariam was born on December 31, 1970 in Sokodé in central Togo. She is married and the mother of eight children, who all go to school regularly. She has been in the charcoal business since 1998. She usually stocks up during the season of plenty and sells in times of shortages. The first loan that she is requesting will allow her to buy thirty bags of charcoal in the village of Assrama and to sell them to middle-men in Lomé. Thus, she will be able to help her husband support their children.

Update Feb 08:

Mariam has been a customer since April 2008. With the loan she was able to buy charcoal, boubous, cereals (beans, corn etc.) for her business. Her income has increased from 12000F to 15000F per day. She used the extra income to buy other goods and to meet family expenses. When this loan ends she wants to get another loan in order to get additional stock of goods especially boubous. Mariam wants to thank all the lenders and KIVA for the assistance they have provided.

Hadija's Group - from Uganda (Loan Repaid)

Hadija is 43 years old and is married with nine children. Her current business is selling charcoal. She intends to venture into selling used shoes after acquiring profits.

Update: Hadijia's Group repaid their loan in full Jan 09.

Addo - from Togo (Loan Repaid)

Addo is 37 years old and lives in Lome in the neighborhood Wuiti. He is a single father of one child of his own and one child of his sister's, who was left under his care. He is a photographer and would like to open a photo/video studio, however, his limited income hinders his endeavors to complete this desire. He will use the loan to purchase the land for his studio and the necessary fitting-out. This would allow him to attract more clients with the goal of increasing his profits.

Update: Addo repaid his loan in full Jan 09.

Vero - from Nigeria (Loan Repaid)

Vero is married with 6 children and lives in Benin City. She deals in soup supplies, a business that she learned from her friend before starting her own in 1996. She is requesting a loan to enable her to improve her business.

Update: Vero repaid her loanin full Jul 08.

James - from Nigeria (Loan Repaid)

James is 39 years old, married with two children, and lives in Benin City. He sells home provisions and different types of soap to people in his community at the market. He apprenticed in this business for a year and started his own in 2005. James will use the loan to buy more inventory.

Update - James repaid his loan in full Jul 08.

Maria - from Mozambique (Loan Repaid)

Maria is 36 years old and lives with her husband and 4 children in the neighborhood of Mahotas in Maputo. She grows and sells fruits and vegetables in Machamba. She is requesting the loan to help with her business.

For an update on Maria ... check out my post dated April 30th, 2008.


2nd Update: Maria repaid her loan in full May 08.

Pheng - from Cambodia (Loan Repaid)

Pheng is a widower who lives in Kampong Cham with his 2 children. He works in transportation, and has a motorbike with a trailer attached in order to carry large, heavy objects. The trailer is old and in need of repair, and with this loan he will be able make the repairs necessary. In the future, he would like to buy a new trailer so he can transport more, and then he will be able to send his children to school.

For an update on Pheng ... check out my post dated April 30th, 2008.

Update: Pheng repaid his loan in full Jun 08.

Nin - from Cambodia (Loan Repaid)

Nin lives in Kampong Cham with her husband and their 3 children. She works as a small grocer, selling some snacks, drinks, and soap near her home. She earns about $3/day in this business, and her husband contributes $4/day working as a taxi driver. This loan will be used for to purchase more grocery items for her shop.

For an update on Nin ... check out my post dated April 30th, 2008.

Update: Nin repaid her loan in full May 2008.

Akpéné - from Togo (Loan Repaid)

Born into a poor family, Akpéné is a dynamic woman struggling to pull herself out of poverty. At the age of 28, she stocks grain and sells it in times of shortage. In this way, she earns a little money to provide for her basic needs. But her resource capital is too meager to amass a large enough stock of grain to meet market demands. However, she has excellent control of her store, which she runs rigorously. She will use the loan to stock up on grain in order to grow her business. The resulting additional income will go towards the needs of her family.

Update: Akpéné repaid her loan in full Dec 07.

Madina - from Azerbaijan (Loan Repaid)

Madina is a 68 year old widow with six children who supports her family on her own. She is an internally Displaced Person (IDP) from the Armenian-occupied territory of Azerbaijan Zangilan region currently living in Khirdalan town. She has been selling outdoor clothes - jackets, shoes, cardigans, dressing gowns, etc., in the Khirdalan market for ten years. She will use the loan to buy more outdoor clothes to sell at the market.

This is the picture she posted after she received the loan - with all the new items she purchased.

Update: Madina repaid her loan in full Nov 07..