Funding micro-businesses with SSiW - Kiva

It’s been a while since we talked about the SSiW group on Kiva (the rather brilliant micro-financing platform that lets ordinary people help finance hard workers in difficult situations all around the world).

The SSiW group has now loaned $6,200 in 243 separate loans - which is absolutely fantastic. HUGELY proud of everyone in the group… :sunny:

If you’d like to join the SSiW group on Kiva, the link is here:

@Deborah-SSi - when was the last time we gave this a plug in the email? Maybe due for a new one? :sunny:

You’re right! It’s been a while - next email :slight_smile:

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One of the reasons I think Kiva is really excelllent is because you can keep on ‘giving’ without having to contribute extra cash - once the loan is repayed, they let you know, and you can lend again - so I’ve lent $300 but I’ve only actually deposited $85 (over the four years or so that we’ve been doing this) - makes it seem as though the money is going much further… :sunny:

And the fact that SSiW has triggered $6,200 in loans is just absolutely superb.

So it would be lovely to see some more members on the SSiW Kiva team!

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I was so glad to find out about Kiva, especially this week… It’s great to be able to do a small, positive thing even when you’re stuck at home and not able to be active in the wider world.

And with Christmas coming up,what to buy for the friends and relatives who have everything (and more)? Kiva gift cards, so they can also have the fun of watching their gifts change one life after another…

The Kiva team is an example of everything that’s wonderful about SSiW. Thank you!

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Delighted at your delight… :heart:

Yes, Kiva is a super-wonderful-thing.

Started doing Kiva about a year ago but had forgotten there was a SSIW team. Added myself when it was mentioned in the five things thread!

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Kiva is one of life’s little pleasures. I only found it through SSiW and am very grateful for the chances it’s given me to make a small difference. It’s a bit like the lottery but in reverse.

You put in a little money and get to be the agency helping good causes and, as Aran says, once you’ve got some money in the pot, you get to spend it again and again and again :slight_smile:

Go on, sign up, you know you want to!

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Our little SSiW lending team is getting close to having lent $20,000 through Kiva now - I think we’ll be there by Christmas!

I joined almost a year ago, and recently lent money to a woman in Tajikistan so she can buy a traditional oven to make flatbread, and to a group of indigenous people in Mexico replanting pine forest. And when they repay their loans, I’ll be spoiled for choice about who to lend the money to next - a Palestinian mum for her children’s school fees? A Ugandan social enterprise selling safe cooking stoves which also charge your mobile phone?

Of course, with a few more people on board, we could lend even more, and aim for $50,000 in loans…
To join the SSiW lending team, click on the link below:

Last Christmas, I sent $25 Kiva cards to my best friends, in the hope that they’d get as hooked as I am, and put some of their own money in, too. It worked! So if you can’t think of a gift for the person who has everything, how about a Kiva card?

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Oh, no way?! That’s so awesome. Diolch o galon i ti for flagging it up :star: :star2:

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Just $100 short now of $20,000 worth of loans!!! And there’s still time to send a last minute gift to someone, via the SSiW lending team (details above)… season’s greetings, everyone!

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Just re-lent and picked water purification. Drinking polluted water is just so dangerous! I thank this thread for introducing me to Kiva!

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Time for a quick annual plug for the SSiW Kiva team. To date, we have lent $26,600, enabling over 700 people in 65 countries to kick-start businesses, repair their homes, send their kids to school or pay for medical treatment. At this time of year, $25 Kiva gift cards can solve the problem of what to give to friends and family who have everything they need already. It would be great to have a few more members on the team, so if you have some spare cash to invest, please do it through SSiW (links above)!

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Brilliant reminder - it’s breath-taking how these tiny bits of support all add up - that $26k is completely amazing, and you’re all brilliant… :star: :star2: :heart:

@Deborah-SSi - time for another email plug?

@beca-brown - might make an interesting story? :slight_smile:

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Thanks Bronwen for 'plugging; this on Slac. I once looked at Kiva ages ago, however, I did not take the plunge and lend anything. Now that I know there is a SSIW group, I’ve decided to lend. Just $25 to start with but will obviously look out for another worthwhile recipient. If anyone has a particular recipient in mind that they think warrants a loan, then perhaps post it here. I just think it would be nice if, as a group, we could support the same person/project. My first loan was in support of someone who Bronwen has lent to. This was ‘Solome’, a young lady in Uganda, but she is already fully financed. I shall have a look for my next target!

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One way of doing this (which I often forget, in my eagerness to re-lend my money) is to go first to the SSiW team page, and see if another team member has lent money to someone whose loan is not yet fully funded.

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Syniad Da, I’ve explored the website a bit more now, and yes, everything’s there if you want to find project that other SSIW’s have supported. I can see from the number of loans you’ve made that KIVA is something very close to your heart.

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If you’re stuck for a birthday or Christmas gift for someone, Kiva can also make a great choice. You give them a Kiva card with their first $25 US loaded on, and they get to choose who they want to give it to.

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Christmas is coming, so as @Deborah-SSi says, a $25 KIVA card would be a great present for the person who has everything. Instead of chocolate or perfume, they can support a cocoa farmer in Peru or a perfumier in Jordan. And when they get repaid, they can lend the money to someone else - the gift that literally keeps on giving! If you’re considering this, please join our SSiW lending team first - links above - so we can encourage each other’s efforts. As of today, 44 of us have made 867 loans totalling $34,525 to people in 68 countries.

This group is an example of what makes SSiW so special - it isn’t only concerned about threatened languages and supportive of language learners, but also demonstrates solidarity with people across the world.

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This is such an inspiring stat - thank you so much for updating us. I :heart: the SSiW Kiva community… :heart: :star2:

P.S. Our team has had its best ever year - we’ll have lent almost $10,000 by the end of December! We need a few new team members each year to keep up the momentum, so if you know anyone who would like to join the fun, please mention it to them.

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