Kiva Loans

I just checked my Kiva account and see I have a credit from some payments on previous loans. This money does no good just sitting there so I went to the Kiva website and found three people and groups I feel worthy. There are many to choose from!

First is Francisco, a hard working man in Santa Cruz, Bolivia who needs a small loan to buy parts for his taxi which is having mechanical problems. He will repay the loan with monthly payments over a year:

"Francisco is married and has three children. He has been a taxi driver for 30 years and currently works as part of a fleet of vehicles that provides taxi services between Santa Cruz and Paurito. Francisco also works for the Mennonite colonies by delivering medicines, of which he earns a percentage. During the planting season, he helps his brother-in-law grow watermelons and cassava to earn additional income to maintain his household. His wife is in charge of feeding and acquiring an education for their three children. One child helps out by working half-days at the Ramada Market selling CDs." (Translated from Spanish)



Christina In Guatemala

Christina (far left in the photo) in Santa Rita Salcajá, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala makes traditional clothing which she sells in her village. She is a member of the “Cuatro de Mayo Sector 4” (May 4th, Sector 4) Group. When someone makes a Kiva loan as part of a group, each member of that group is responsible for each others loans so each loan is a group decision and has the backing of the whole group.

"Cristina is divorced and has a sixth grade education. She has ten children, five of whom are married and she continues to support the other five. She weaves traditional clothing and has been doing this for ten years. With great enthusiasm, she and some of her neighbors have formed a group in order to be able to obtain this loan."

" [Cristina] will use the money from this loan to buy [weaving] supplies to be able to increase her production. One of her biggest challenges has been the lack of working capital, but she has come out ahead with the help of her children. She hopes to expand her business and increase production."



My share of all these loans is $25 USA. She still needs a little more to buy her supplies so why not join me in giving her a hand. All my loans have been repaid in full so there is very little risk. Click here to see how you can help Christina or another deserving person.

After you sign up, why not join Felipe, Steve, Paul and a bunch more of us on the Ian Lee Dickson Kiva Group? You still get credit for all your individual loans but the group also gets credit. Join the Mexico Bloggers and friends crowd! Here is a link to our group.

Last Loan For Now

This loan will empty my Kiva account. I am loaning $25 USA to Bertha, Alicia, and Eulalia from Huancavelica, Peru. They are in the group below.

"Bertha, Alicia, and Eulalia are three of the twenty-two members of the Primavera de Cachi Baja Community Bank which is located in Huancavelica department.

Bertha is married and has five children. Her job is selling salt and grains in bulk which she takes to the capital city to sell. Bertha needs a loan to buy more grains to sell. She wants to begin saving money so she can start a small business raising guinea pigs.

Alicia is married and has two small children. She sells herbs which she gathers at dawn, dries them, and sells them by the kilo. Alicia needs a loan to buy more herbs and expand her business. She wants to begin saving for a machine that dries herbs.

Eulalia is married and has five children. She sells salt, grains, and herbs. She gathers the herbs in her community and takes them to the capital to sell. Eulalia needs a loan so she can increase the number of products she sells and thus earn more money. Her primary goal is to save enough money to buy a vehicle to use for transporting her merchandise to the capital."



Now I sit back and wait for the payments to come in so I can loan it out again. I earn no interest from these loans but receive the satisfaction that I have helped out some hard working people somewhere in the world. These are the best investments I have ever made.

If you want to investigate helping out yourself, click here.