Kiva Blog

Please join the Latin American portfolio team in welcoming another partner to the Kiva platform, the Fundación D-MIRO. D-MIRO works in the marginalized areas in and around Guayaquil, providing credit in the ever-expanding slums of Ecuador's 2nd largest city.

To learn more about the great work they do, visit their field partner page, and also check out this blog written by Kiva Fellow Kimia Rafaat.

Happy Lending!

Hello Kiva Community --

I was alerted by this great initiative started by Kiva Lender Peter to help the Philippines - for every comment posted on his blogspot, he will lend $5 to a microfinance entrepreuenr in the Philippines via Kiva. As such, I wanted to invite everyone to visit his blogspot here and leave a comment before his October 31st deadline.

Thank you so much for your support of the Philippines during this time of recovery!

Darren Miao
Senior Portfolio Manager - Asia Pacific Region

Please join the portfolio team in welcoming Kiva's newest partner, the Caja Rural Señor de Luren, to the Kiva platform! Based in Ica, Peru, this new partner operates in a region whose infrastructure and economic foundations were largely destroyed after a major earthquake shook the region in August 2007. They are serving an area of great economic need with credit and savings services as residents look to rebuild their lives, homes and economic livelihoods.


Caja Luren will be using their Kiva funding to pass on added savings to their borrowers in the form of reduced interest rates. To read more about their great work, and also their plans for their Kiva borrowers, check out this blog post written by Kiva Fellow Josh Wilcox.

Click here to see all fundraising loans from this new partner.

Welcome to the Kiva family, Caja Rural Señor de Luren!

Here's our recording of the last Kiva Community Conference Call from October 20, 2009. Thanks to all who could attend!

Join 4 community enterprises, Kiva, Hub Bay Area, GOOD Magazine and The David Brower Center, as we celebrate the remarkable achievement of 4 years and almost 100 million dollars in loans that Kiva has realized since its creation.  

 We're 4! 

November 3, 2009

6:30pm - 9:30pm

The David Brower Center

2150 Allston Way

Berkeley, CA

RSVP Required

 Global Beats From Around The World

Gaucho

Baba Ken and the Afrobeat Connexion

Erin Brazill

Shovelman 

 Delicious Food Provided by Bay Area Favorites

Slanted Door

Cafe Gratitude

Neighborhood Fruit

FeelGood Grilled Cheese

and many more...

 Drinks to Keep the Party Going

Barefoot Winery

Skyy Vodka

Drake's Brewing Company

 The Hub opened its' first US location in Berkeley, CA, joining a global network of 20 Hubs and 4500 social innovators around the Globe.  Visit them in their new home at The David Brower Center, a platinum LEED certified building of 28 organizations focused on social innovation.  We are also pleased to partner with GOOD Magazine, a catalyst for change through journalism and social media, to celebrate Kiva's 4th Birthday!  Join us on November 3rd to learn more about how to join a Kiva lending group, jump onboard as a Hub member, and support the GOOD cause, all in the beautiful backdrop of The David Brower Center accompanied by hundreds of our closest friends!

 Learn More About Us

Hub Bay Area

Kiva.org

GOOD Magazine

The David Brower Center

Make sure to RSVP here as space is limited!  

Stay Updated on Party News Through Facebook

Kiva is excited to announce that we have been chosen as Bluetooth’s charity partner in their Sharing4Caring campaign.  Bluetooth will donate up to $25,000 to Kiva for every person that clicks on the Facebook connect link at the Sharing4Caring site.  Kiva and Bluetooth are both passionate about helping entrepreneurs, and share a common goal and purpose – we both use technology to connect people to each other throughout the world.  With Kiva's nearly 60,000 fans on Facebook, and Bluetooth's 150,000 fans we are set up for success, but we need your help!

Link to Facebook Connect here through the Sharing4Caring site to earn $1 for Kiva!

Together, we can rally to earn $25,000 for Kiva!  Help us spread the word by sharing with your friends on Facebook.  Please post the link on your wall and ask your friends to join you in supporting Kiva with a click.

If you Tweet, please share this tweet with your followers.  We’ve even shortened the URL for you:
Support @Kiva in the @BluetoothSIG Sharing4Caring campaign! 1 click = $1 donation to Kiva http://bit.ly/1vpPEE
Thanks everyone!

Here's what we've updated in the latest release of Kiva.org:

Calling all New Yorkers! 

The Kiva New York Team  is made up of Kiva lenders and volunteers, and they are hosting a happy hour event this week to bring together all lenders in the New York area.  This event is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about Kiva, so share with your coworkers, friends and family in the area – they would love to meet them!

When:  Thursday, October 15^th (6-8:00pm)

Where:  Revival Bar (near Union Square and subway lines 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, W, L)

Visit their Facebook Invite:  RSVP here!

Join the Kiva New York Lending Team to help raise awareness about Kiva.  They hold monthly meetings to plan events and set goals for outreach in NYC.  They’re interested in working with schools, colleges, and companies in the area, so visit their website here if you’re interested in having them help you set up an awareness event!

Visit their Kiva Lending Team page or check out their new website for more!  

Hi everyone,

Our cause on Facebook just entered in America's Giving Challenge, which gives us a chance to win $50,000!

Please donate today: http://www.causes.com/donations/select_donation_method?cause_id=559

To win, between now and November 7th we have to get the most donations to our cause (every person can donate once per day and have it count as a unique donation). We can also win daily awards of $1,000 and $500 if we can get the most people to donate in any 24-hour period. The great thing about this Challenge is that it doesn't matter how much you give, but instead how much you do to encourage friends and family to get involved in our cause. We all need to come together and start promoting the cause if we want to win.

Each of us has tons of friends on Facebook who we can ask to donate to our cause. But let's think big too—can you put our cause in your email signature, can you throw a party and get people to donate through the cause when they enter, can you organize other people to go out and fundraise from all of their friends? As you reach out to your friends be sure to tell them why this cause matters to you. The possibilities are endless so let's talk about what we can do to win on the Wall of the cause or by replying to this bulletin.

I think we can do it! But it's going to take all of us. Check out the Giving Challenge (www.causes.com), then visit our cause to see how we're doing so far and get involved.

Donate right now by going to http://www.causes.com/donations/select_donation_method?cause_id=559

Let's win $50,000 for our cause!

Here's our recording of the last Kiva Community Conference Call from September 28, 2009. Thanks to all who could attend!

Congratulations!!

The first Kiva Lending Team to reach $1,000,000 in loans is the Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious!

The team consists of almost 6,000 Kiva Lenders and together they have made 32,946 loans totaling $1,000,625.00 to Kiva Entrepreneurs - quite the feat and something we at Kiva are super excited about!

We've enjoyed following this team's goals that they set for themselves via their message board; you can also check out their team communication on their team blog here.

To start your own Lending Team visit Kiva's community page here.

Come join Boston's first awareness event for Kiva on October 15, 5-9pm at Jose McIntyre's upstairs (160 Milk Street).  This event is open to all Kiva lenders and anyone who is interested in learning more.  We plan to get together, learn about Kiva, and have fun with the entertainment of Boston's hot DJ Mandiezel!

No donations or cover will be collected at the event - it's really all about having a good time and lending to Kiva with the support of our community if you're so inclined!  Please forward to all family and friends in the Boston area, the more the merrier! 

And, if you can't go to the event, but still want to help out, you can join the Lending Team called "Live. Love. Lend."  All you have to do is go to the "community" tab, enter "Live. Love. Lend." in the search tab, join the team and start lending!

Guess what: we've just solved your client and employee holiday giving problem!!

We know how it is - every year you want to give something to your clients and employees to let them know how much you appreciate their business and hard work, but it gets harder each year to find the right gift. You don't have time to hand-pick each gift, but you do want something that everyone will enjoy.

The Kiva Gift Certificate is your solution!

Kiva Gift Certificates can be as small as $25 each, and give your clients and employees the chance to make a life-changing loan to an entrepreneur that they choose. As their loan is repaid, they can lend to different entrepreneurs, which means that you'll be giving a gift they'll continue to appreciate for a long time.

And, it's a great way to let your clients and employees know that your company cares about giving back.

If you'd like to give your employees the gift that truly keeps on giving, you can get started here.

If you have any questions about making an easy bulk purchase of Kiva Gift Certificates, you can contact Kiva's Customer Service team.

It has been a devastating week for the Philippines. After Typhoon Ondoy (Tropical Storm Ketsana) caused devastating floods earlier this week, the area is now being threatened by Typhoon Parma.

Kiva is sharing messages from our Field Partners in the affected areas as we receive them. Today we received a message from Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI), who have many clients affected by the floods. At this stage we do not have details on the number of Kiva clients affected (all Kiva Field Partners work with clients funded by Kiva as well as clients funded by other sources.)

ASKI have also sent some interviews with clients as to the effect of the floods on them, which help to shed some light on the way this event has affected the locals on a personal level.

As we receive more updates, we will be sure to share them with the community.

"Effects of Typhoon Ondoy

Some of our clients were really affected by the recent typhoon Ondoy. They were devastated by the soaring flood, landslides and as a result of which they lost their houses, belongings and businesses. However, they were thankful that their lives and their loved ones’ were not taken away by Ondoy. The fear they had during the time was so strong that they do not want to experience the same feeling and situation anymore but life goes on and they must move on. The fact that they are still alive is a sign that they must continue with their lives. Yes, it may be hard to start again, but it is still possible to regain what they lost.

With the help of those who have kind and good hearts and with God’s will, they know that everything is possible...

1. Summary of clients affected:

ASKI Branch	Municipality	No. Of Barangays (Village) affected	No. Of Clients affected
Angeles	Guagua and San Fernando (Pampanga)	2	185
San Rafael	Angat San Miguel San Ildefonso	1	45
Plaridel	Calumpit Malolos Bulakan Balagtas Pandi Sta. Maria Norzagaray	20	383
Total		23	613

2. Stories (some of the clients interviewed told the following):

Pacita

What did you feel when you saw that the water is already entering your house?
"I was very nervous when I saw the flood because we were all women in the house during that time since my sons and sons-in-law were all in their workplace. Because of the tension I felt we were not able to save any of our belongings."

What are your plans after the flood?
"We are currently staying in the nipa hut of my relative’s employer. We will build our own house – even just a nipa hut – and we will use bamboos in order to build this house. We will just get the bamboos in the nearby river because we have no other resources to purchase the materials for a new house at the moment."

Emotional effect of this situation in your life
"It is really hard. We need to stay in other people’s house so that we will have a shelter at the moment. We do not even have clothes to wear. We need to ask help from those people whose house and belongings were not lost. We also do not have clean toilet to use. We have to find a toilet that is available so that we can take a bath and to answer the call of nature."

Rosell

What did you feel when you saw that the water is already entering your house?
"I am a factory worker in a tofu manufacturing plant and I was in my workplace when I heard about the flood and I was so shocked when I was told how fast the water is approaching our area and how big it has become. I ran so fast to reach my house in my aim to save our belongings but I was unable to save anything because the bridge which I will have to pass through had been wrecked by the water. I had no choice but to stay wherever I was during that time. The following morning when the water had already subsided, I immediately went to our house. To my surprise, our house had been wiped out and no belongings nor clothes were saved."
What are your plans after the flood?
"We will pick up the pieces of wood and bamboos brought by the flood in our place and will use these to build a house where we can stay. We need to overcome this trial that has come into our life because there is nothing we can do but to accept this sad reality."

Emotional effect of this situation in your life
"It is really hard and very sad because we do not have clothes to wear and we only expect help from our neighbors who were not affected by the flood."

Rosita

What did you feel when you saw that the water is already entering your house?
"I was so fearful at that time and what I did was to save my children who are so young. I can’t do anything but to cry when I saw that my house was being wiped out by the flood."

What are your plans after this?
"The municipal office told us that they will provide assistance to us but until now we have not received anything from them, that is why we will try to repair the remaining parts of our house so that we can somehow stay there."

Emotional effect of this situation in your life?
"It is really hard because we have no house to stay at and we are now like beggars who are just expecting for other people’s help."

Jennifer

What did you feel when you saw that the water is already entering your house?
"I was so afraid and nervous when I saw the water because that was the only time we experienced such big flood. I almost drown when I tried to save our belongings because the water became too big in just a span of time. I was so thankful to be saved by my neighbor who saw me when I was almost drowning."

What are your plans after this flood?
"We will rent an apartment and will start again. We will begin a small piggery in our backyard to regain what we lost."

Emotional effect in your life?
"I felt so devastated because I almost die. It is not easy to lose your house and not to have clothes to wear. Moreover, you need to always expect for what other people will give you."

Aileen

What did you feel when you saw that the water was already entering your house?
"The 20 pigs in my piggery were drowned. All my investment was in that piggery business and the money I used in that was only borrowed. The person who was in charge of taking care of the pigs had a heart attack and was also a victim of the flood in Marilao. Because of my depression, I became so sad that I caught myself staring to no one or nothing in particular."

What are your plans after this?
"I just stared blankly everytime I was thinking of what happened. In order to avoid this, I just clean the house and forget it for a while. We will just ask for a calamity loan to start a new business and a new life at that."

Patricia

What did you feel when you saw that the water is already entering your house?
"The water was really unexpected. It came so fast that we were unable to save our belongings and even our stocks in the store were not saved. We were in our house during that time and because of the sudden flood we just stayed on top of our roof and stayed there until the rescuer arrived. We only improvised and connect the pieces of bamboo which were available in the site so that we can be rescued from the roof top. We are so sad whenever we think of the things that we lost."

What are your plans after the flood?
"We plan to start a new business to begin a new life and regain what we lost."

Lorelaine

What did you feel when the water is already entering your house?
"I was really shocked when I saw the flood coming. I tried to save the stocks in my store but I was not successful because the water really was so fast and suddenly became so big that it reached the second floor of our house and we were trapped there along with my three children. We just cried hard and were so disoriented and frightened for we did not know if we would die at that moment. Until now I cried every time that memory crossed my mind because my one year old son was almost bitten by snake. The next time the Angat Dam will release water, we will immediately evacuate because I am now so afraid that I cannot afford to experience this again."

What are your plans after this?
"Most of the stocks in my store were damaged. I was able to sell those that were just slightly damaged and can still be sold. I plan to use the earnings from this to buy new stocks and regain my almost lost life."