Kiva Update

This week I have received the first repayment installment on one of the loans that I have made to businesses in Nicaragua through Kiva.org.

Here s the email notification that I received:

Dear Iain,

The business you have loaned to, Miscelánea Yahoska (Yahoska's Convenience Store), has made a repayment of $67.00. The total amount repaid up to now is $67.00. The payment was collected and deposited by Prisma Microfinance. This repayment will be divided amongst all the lenders who helped to fund this business, depending upon the percentage each lender contributed. Note that you cannot actually withdraw or reloan these funds until after the loan term is complete.

Comment:

scheduled_repayment

Here is a link to my lender page on Kiva which show which businesses I have loaned money to and the status of the repayments.

If you are interested in helping someone in a less fortunate situation than you, please sign up and make a loan. You can loan as little as $25 and you will get that money back, so what are you waiting for?

Older Photos

I am slowly working my way thru adding older photos to my online photo album. Today I have been able to add photos from my trip to Montreal in Sept - Oct 2006 and my trip to British Columbia in Oct 2002.

I have yet to get all of the descriptions done so bear with me ;)

Photos

When my previous site was hacked I not only lost my blog but also my photo albums as well.

I have put most of my photos back online here. While the photos are there I have to go through and add comments to them so that people can understand what the photo is showing. As you can imagine this will take some time so please bear with me ;)

English Lessons

I received word today that one of the boys that I know from Granada will be able to start taking English lessons thanks to a local Granada volunteer. With plenty of emails back and forth we have finally worked out the details. Geraldo will receive English lessons 3-4 hours per week in 1 hour blocks for the (low) cost of $3 USD per hour.

As you can tell from the photo, Geraldo sells necklaces and bracelets to tourists. He lives in a one room house with his mother, sister and brother in one of the poor barrios outside of Granada and has a 30 - 35 minute walk each day to get into town. He sells 6 days a week and is the sole provider for his family. The plan is with the English lessons he will be able to increase his sales to tourists and in the long term be able to get a job in the tourist trade there when he gets older.

The other benefit is that as a volunteer his teacher will have some (much needed) additional funds coming in.

Just another example of how a small amount money in Nicaragua can make large differences in people's lives.

Loans that change lives

During my trips to Nicaragua I was amazed at how much can be done with so little money by North American terms. I had heard about microfinance and how it is used to help small business in developing countries.

After my return I ran across this web site thats sole purpose is to help the regular guy get involved in the microfinance business and make a difference in the world.

From their website:

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

The site allows the user to pick and choose what businesses they wish to support. I have decided that I will loan money to businesses in Nicaragua. Check out my lender page and get involved. You can make a world of difference for as little as $25 (and you get that money back) so what are you waiting for?

Blog 2.0

As some of you will know this is my second blog. The first one got destroyed in a hacker attack and was irretrievable. Unfortunately that meant that I lost all of my previous entries so I have decided to let all of the previous info go and just focus on the present and future.

I will post items of interest about my life and travels and of course, comments on stuff that gets peaks my interest.

As always, feel free to post comments on what I post ;)

First Post

This is my first post to this blog - check back shortly as I will updating on a regular basis.