Fund 43 microloans through Kiva.org

• Nabwero group in Uganda, consisting of 5 women working in poultry, selling snacks, selling charcoal, and selling used clothes (covering everything, aren’t they?),
• Tzvetan the farmer in Bulgaria to buy another cow,
• Biljana, who runs a small bookkeeping shop in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
• Lucie the tailor in Benin,
• A group of farmer women in Guatemala to purchase seeds and fertilizers (you’ve got to read this entry)
• GIE Elybee, a group of males and females packing and selling cashew nuts in Senegal,
• Ali the police officer who also runs a clothing store in Lebanon,
• Nguyen in Viet Nam, who runs a farm with the help and support of her husband.
• Josefina the proud mother of five sons in Dominican Republic, who sells good to support her family.
• Ivan the taxi driver in Ukraine to repair his car,
• Gladys in Ghana, who sells soaps and detergents to afford her daughters education,
• Jhony, the crafts girl in Peru (that’s how she pays for her college studies), and
• Victoria, the food seller and mother of two in Ghana

loans were paid back and went (along with my best wishes) on their way to meet these new people:

• Joweria in Uganda, to buy more stock and a fridge for her business in food market.

• Gunduz in Azerbaijan, to purchase more animals and expand his cattle farming business.

• Luz in Peru, to expand her flower stand and help her husband support their 5 children.

• Meda in Tanzania, to purchase seeds, fertilizer, and tools for her farming business.

• Elisabeth in Cote D’Ivoire, who sells bread with accompaniments such as grilled meat and eggs, etc. to support her family and send her children to school.

• Phin Lai in Cambodia, to dig a well and purchase a water-pump machine to supply water to her crops.

_{Ooh, and I have to say this… one of the loans from an ice-cream shop in Afghanistan got paid back which made me happy… sentimental, I know, but still. :)}

• Sabir, a farmer in Azerbaijan. “He lives with his four children and wife in the southern region of Azerbaijan, Bilasuvar. He is an internally displaced person who fled to Bilasuvar during the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict in 1993.” He raises cows, and needs the money to buy one milk cow and two baby calves.

• Amina, a tailor in Lebanon. “Her earnings are used to help cover her household expenses. Her work and her financial contribution have enhanced her self esteem and her self confidence. Amina is very proud of her work.”

• Komugisha in Tanzania, who single-handedly takes care of her children as well as her disabled sister’s kids. “Five years ago, Komugisha opened a cafe, which she named “Mama Lishe Otagaya” (meaning “don’t judge me” cafe). She explained that she chose this name because this business is how she makes a living despite stereotypes associated with such street cafes…” and now she wants to improve her business.

• Elena in Moldova, a widow with three girls in school, “to cultivate the soil, buy seeds, and prepare in other ways for the next season. It will also help her to maintain the small plot of grapevines which has become her pride and joy. She works hard to cultivate and care for the grapes, which results in a beautiful harvest and good prices at the market.”

Life is tough, but my friends here are tougher… with a good attitude too :)

Finding people on Kiva is getting tough these days :)

• Abdul Hamid in Afghanistan, a young single boy who supports his parents, to expand the inventory of his mobile shop.
• Madeleine, single mother of three children in Cote D’Ivoire. She sells charcoal, yam, and palm oil in the market. She needs a loan to ensure the payment of school fees and tuitions for her three children.
• Antonio, and his wife and son in Bolivia, to buy new printers and make their print shop business stronger.

Wish you the best, my friends!

I received my first complete repayment (way sooner than expected, in this particular case!), so here it goes:

To

• “Identity” in Iraq (let’s pretend “identity protected” is his real name :)). To buy more stuff for his mini-market and improve the standard of living of his family. He has four children, all of them currently attending school.

• Kokou in Togo. He is an honest farmer (I love the sound of that!), married, and father of five children. He needs the loan to buy fertilizer to increase his production of corn and manioc.

• Angela in Bolivia. Her husband is a driver, and she runs a restaurant (which includes a bar and a billiard hall, or as she puts it: “food, drink, and entertainment under the same roof”). She’s asking for a loan to buy chairs, tables, and a freezer. They have five children, four currently in school, and their oldest daughter is about to enter a state university.

• Eusebio in Mozambique. He is a single father of 4 children (recently lost his wife and daughter) and sells and distributes banana to support his family.

• Ibadet in Azerbaijan, who wants to add 15 more sheep and 6 more goats to his flock, to support his wife and three children.

All the best to y’all :)

_{Hopefully, I’ll get a slightly more “real” job from next month, and then I can pay more frequent visits to Kiva :)}

• Lucinda in Mexico, Lucinda is 58-years old and married, with six children; her husband is a farmer. She sells fruits, vegetables, clay pots and other products that aren’t readily available in the neighborhoods where she goes, from a pushcart. She belongs to the Jastic 1 group, along with dona Irene Jimenez Perez (clothes sales), Areli Hernandez Perez (baked chicken sales) and Floridalma Perez Lopez (shoe sales). With the loan, they will increase their supplies of goods for sale.
• Catarina in Guatemala, dona Catarina is married to don Jacinto they now have three children. Before, Jacinto wanted to continue his studies and, after some thought, they agreed to start their little store. She tended the store and made her cloth and last year, at last, her husband graduated as a teacher. This was one of dona Catarina’s dreams, a dream that she and her husband have now fulfilled, with her husband working in the community and she at her store. She hopes now to fill her store and increase her earnings.
• Paul in Togo, Mr. Paul lives with his six (6) children and his wife. A market gardener by profession, he works a piece of land willed to him. In principal it should be very profitable. However, without the means to purchase the seeds and fertilizer, he is not able to get much from his garden. He is asking for the loan to allow him to stockpile fertilizer and buy seeds. This will allow him to improve his sales for the season.
• Marcelino in Mexico, Marcelino and his wife prepare food and go out to sell them in the streets in their van, but it creates problems to transport the food and keep them warm enough to sell. They would like to use the loan to purchase a mobile stall so that they can sell them in one place and take this stall around to other places to sell the food.

Hope your businesses grow rapidly and successfully, my hard-working friends, and bring you the comfort and peace of mind that you deserve :)

• Adolphus in Nigeria, to expand his poultry farm, with lots of good wishes for him, his wife, and 5 children, and

• Hojaoy in Tajikistan, to expand her cattle farm and take care of her 3 children (all going to school), while her husband is away to work in Russia.

• Joao in Mozambique, to purchase chicks, chicken feed, and medicine for his business. He has started his business in 2006 from another loan, and now he wants to expand his business to support his wife and 5 children. Kudos, Joao!

• Amina in Pakistan, who operates a school canteen with her husband. How could I resist supporting snack-breaks? :) She says: “I have two small children who attend school as well and I hope that my business income will ensure their better future.” I hope too, Amina.

Hats off to dwlt for his codes.

• Tran in Veit Nam, to expand her business of recycling and distributing goods (she started her business 10 years ago using a $25 microloan, and it has been continuously growing from there, supporting their family).
• Yaneth in Peru, to expand the inventory in her grocery store (“Her clients are friends, family, and neighbors, who often stop in the store just to say hello or have a chat.” It sounds like a cool joint to me :)). She moved from a small kiosk in the market to her current shop to be closer to home and spend more time with her two children… a great idea in every aspect.
• Bernardina in Peru, to expand her business and buy more flour (why flour? because “the majority of her business comes in the morning, when she also sells freshly baked ‘chapla,’ which are small, round, hollow breads local to Ayacucho. This popular food is eaten at every meal, used for sandwiches or as an appetizer when filled with cheese. She spends all afternoon baking bread for the next morning, often with the help of her 3 children, ages 17, 14, and 8.”)

I always wanted to visit Peru, and now freshly baked “chapla” is just one more reason :)

• Titi in Tanzania, to equip her beauty salon (following sierrak’s footsteps),
• Kodjovi, to expand the inventory of his shop in Togo, and
• Nelson in Paraguay, to finish off the payments for his house, where he and his brother are running a workshop for car repairs…

...I wish you all prosperity and happiness :)