Thursday 19 January 2017

A new year on Kiva

Kiva, the microfinance charity I support, recently sent me an overview of my 2016 loans which I thought it would be fun to share. In 2016 I made 45 loans totalling $1125 to women in 31 different countries. I supported a trainee dentist in Moldova and a beautician in Costa Rica; farmers in Myanmar, Kosovo and Burundi; shopkeepers in Brazil, Madagascar and Armenia; and a school driver in South Africa.

Since my very first loans to a Peruvian shopkeeper and a Kenyan fish seller in August 2012 I have made 165 loans across 67 countries. I paid in a total of $667 which has become $4125 of loans by being repaid and relent. I love the idea that I can keep relending my capital as it is repaid so I don't need to find new cash each month if it isn't convenient. I ask for Kiva cards for birthdays and Christmas too so I can feel good about using gifts I receive to help others. Then I eagerly look forward to the 17th of the month which is Repayments Day - the date most repayments come into my Kiva account and there is a mad rush across the website as lenders send their money out again across the globe.

This month I lent to Nataliya and Yvette Delva, shopkeepers in the Ukraine and Haiti respectively, and to Peggy who has just opened a Zoona money transfer booth in Zambia. If you would like to join me in lending and making a different via Kiva, click through here to find out more about it.

Nataliya in the Ukraine 

Yvette Delva in Haiti 

Peggy in Zambia 

2 comments:

  1. Oh, wow. This is amazing. I've never heard of this one before. Thank you for sharing. If I'll ever be in the position to help, I'm keeping KIVA in mind.

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    1. I hope one day you will be. It makes me very happy!

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