Update on our work with KIVA

Kiva

We began our venture of making loans to Kiva in the fall 2010 when the club collected $216 through Happy Hat. The dollars we collected have been loaned to six different groups or individuals.

As of August 2011, we have made 6 loans. Two of them have been fully repaid. The first loan to

Mujeres Audaces, a group of “bold women” who opened a general store in Mexico, was repaid earlier this calendar year and the second loan, to Maria Chacha Guaquipana who used the loan for supplies to grow and market maize and rice in Ecuador was repaid this summer. When we receive information that loans have been repaid or are partially repaid, we can reloan the dollars.

Currently we are one of many lenders who are supporting (1) a group of weavers in Guatemala, (2) a tailor in Kenya, (3)a group of female tailors in Cambodia, and (4) a group of women in Cambodia who use their loan for farm supplies. All of these borrowers are working steadily to make payments on their loans and are repaying them on time.

At our July/August Board meeting, we decided to continue loaning funds through Kiva. The International Service committee within the club will review options and make the loan decisions. We have just designated some of our reloaned funds to Ali, a flatbread baker in Tajikistan. We will be reloaning to others soon. A photo of Ali follows this report

Thank you for your generosity to the Happy Hat each week and month. As you can see, the results of these contributions reach across the globe.