11.15.10 - Today I Made... two loans through Kiva.

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.  Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.
I made my first loan of $25 in October of 2009 to Aciy Grace.  She is in the business of selling various foodstuffs at a restaurant and requested a loan to stock more rice and beans to sell.  Aciy is 30 years old and is married with a husband that is an engineer.  She has 6 children, and her children go to school.  With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to pay school fees for her children.  She lives in Gudele, South Sudan.  She requested $325 and along with 9 other people from around the world, we were able to fund her loan.  This month she paid back her loan in full.

Today, I made my 17th and 18th loans through Kiva.  These last two were for people living in Cambodia and Uganda. 

Mrs. Channy Sous is 42 years old, and her husband, Mr. Bunlay Nhem, is 41 years old. They have been married since 1991 and have three daughters. All of them are in school. They live along the Tonle Basac River, a tributary of the nearby Mekong, about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.  Channy is a farmer. She grows flowers on her farmland in the village and sells to a middleman who comes to buy them at her home. Her husband is a security guard.  Channy is asking for her first loan of $1,000 to repair the house where she lives.

Constance Nakafeero lives in Naguru, a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, Uganda. She is single and has 3 children, all of whom are in school. She also takes care of additional family members (three of her sister's children).

Constance has a business selling charcoal. She has been in this business for over 10 years, and she works 7 days out of every week.

Each time I make a loan, I am humbled and reminded of how blessed I am.