Kiva Update

Here's an update on the micro-loans that curieux contributed to with the money from our summer garage sale (decluttering) event. Through the umbrella organization Kiva (www.kiva.org),  we distributed $400 in loans to 4 women entrepreneurs - 2 in Nigeria and 2 in Cambodia. Below, you can read a bit about them and their businesses.  Our money was combined w/ funds from other Kiva lenders  (sometimes w/ 20 or so lenders contributing small amounts for each loan.)  The monies were distributed in early October, and all 4 women have already made the first installment in paying back their loans.  When a loan is fully repaid, we'll have the option of re-investing our money in another small business.

Along w/ the money we have relayed to these women, let's also try to open a compassionate place in our hearts for Philomena, Alice, Yim and Phorn, and send along some prayers of blessing and hope for their families.

"I am proud to have been a LAPO member for five years now," says Mrs. Philomena Igudila. She is 39 years old and is married and mother of four children. She lives in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Philo sells food items to people in her community. She needs a small loaUS$ 400 to boost her business by adding to her inventory. She has been in this business since 1994.

Mrs. Alice Ebako is 48, married, and has six children. She sells bread and provisions to earn her living. She needs a small loan in the amount of US$ 400 to enhance her business, i.e., buy more bread and provisions for resale. This will enable Alice to earn a better living as well as taking better care of her family. She has been a faithful and trustworthy member of LAPO for the past 7 years.

Mrs. Yim Srey Mom is 27 years old and lives with her husband and 3 school-aged children in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. (This is a picture of her husband because Mrs. Srey Mom was unavailable.)  To support her family, Mrs. Srey Mom sells live fish in her community, which enables her to generate around $5 in income each day. Her husband is a worker and makes only $2.50 each day.

This loan is vitally necessary to them and will be used to expand Mrs. Srey Mom's fish-selling business as well as to fix their house in order to keep it from leaking during the rainy season.

Mrs. Phorn Sokhum is a 36-year-old mother of three children and works selling food and some grocery products to the people in her community, where she can typically earn around $ 4 each day. Her husband is self-employed as a construction foreman and also works as a farmer, earning only a meager sum.

Mrs. Phorn Sokhum has recently applied for a loan to expand her inventory by adding more grocery products and invest in her business to grow it.