8 down, 4 to go!

Can I just say that I love checking in on my Kiva loan portfolio? Of the money I’ve loaned this year, $52.49 has already been repaid. I’m in no real rush for repayment, but I love sending that money back out again. If I knew finance would be this much fun I might have reconsidered my major. [Ok, probably not, but it is exciting!]

due to modesty Ruqaya’s daughter is pictured in her place, photo from Ruqaya’s Kiva listing

This month my loan goes to a woman who not only lives in a country I recently visited, she also runs a business doing one of my personal hobbies: embroidery! Ruqaya lives in Jordan and supports her family by selling her embroidered garments and hangings. If you’ve ever taken on a embroidery project, you know that it is a very time consuming practice. Ruqaya is requesting money to invest in materials and tools that will speed up her work. I completely understand.

In other news, Kiva is in the midst of a drive for new lenders! Have you been meaning to give a Kiva loan? Are you super excited to lend a small amount of money that will make a big difference? Follow THIS LINK and sign up for Kiva before August 13! [I’m not just saying that because I get a t-shirt if 4 more of you do, it really is a good thing!]

xo, jill

7 down, 5 to go!

Choosing my loan recipient for July was super easy. I like to loan to countries I’ve visited and I noticed that Azerbaijan had a few opportunities posted. Then I saw that the businesses requesting loans were little grocery stores. Hello novelty snacks! You see, it was in Azerbaijan that Molly, Frances, and I first developed our novelty snack rating system! The trip that began it all!

Photo from Khalida’s Kiva listing

Khalida works with her husband in their small grocery store. She has requested a loan of $1,800 to increase her inventory and purchase a wider selection of foods for her customers. That’s a cause I can get behind. Thumbs up!

xo, jill

6 down, 6 more to go!

Logging in to my Kiva account was especially exciting today! Sos Mary, from April, has already repaid her loan. Wow! Sos Mary’s repayment combined with other repayments totaled $32 ready to go back out in the form of more loans. Awesome.

For my June loan I selected Pabla. Pabla lives in Mexico and runs a paper store. She needs capital to fully stock her store before school starts in the fall. She wants her customers’ children to have all the school supplies they need. I definitely support that.

Any exciting news from your loans?

xo, jill

5 down, 7 to go!

When I logged into my Kiva account today, I had $7.08 in repayments. None of my loans have been completely repaid, but I’m in no rush. Mike’s investment has been a bit more active. The loan he loaned in honor of my birthday a few months ago has already been repaid. Awesome.

Photo from Mirian’s Kiva listing.

May’s loan goes to Mirian in Ecuador. I liked that we are the same age, but our lives are so different. She wants to buy more products for the general store she runs with her husband.

xo, jill

4 down, 8 to go!

This morning an email from Kiva informed me that all three of my previous loans are paying back on time. I had $4.90 worth of credit to put towards my April loan. How exciting! I love this system.

April’s loan goes to Sos Mary, who lives in Cambodia. She buys and resells motorbikes, as well as the yams she grows. Is that not an awesome business dichotomy? Motorbikes and yams!!! She plans to use her money to purchase yams in bulk to grow her business.

photo from Sos Mary’s Kiva posting

And have I shared this TED Talk with you yet? It’s Jessica Jackley, Kiva’s co-founder, talking about why she formed Kiva. My friend Paul passed it over to me a few months ago. Jackley is very eloquent and her words are thought provoking.

How are your loans doing?

xo, jill

3 down, 9 to go!

Very exciting news when I logged into my Kiva account today. My January loan is beginning to repay! I had a credit of $1.39! When I finally realized what was going on I was pumped… and even more ready to chose my March loan.

photo from Hilaria’s Kiva posting

My Kiva loan for the month of March goes to Hilaria Bienvenida Herrera Suarez who lives in Ecuador. She runs a small grocery store in her home. She plans to use her loan to buy more goods and necessities for her store.

Have you made a loan yet? If so, have you been repaid?

xo, jill