Kiva: Karomat Roziqova

Kiva's just had a great policy change!  Now, as the working poor repay their loans, the lenders receive back their funds (rather than waiting till the end of the loan period).  I've had enough paid back from Tajikistan, Bolivia and Pakistan (link to my lender page on Kiva) to be able to lend again - turning the money around to work again for someone else.  This time, my fifth loan, is to Karomat Roziqova in Tajikistan.

Why her?  Another needlewoman, a tailor, using her craft skills to support her family.  This is what I learned from her Kiva page:

Karomat Roziqova is a resident of Rudaki district. She's married and has a child. She embroiders cloth. To ensure smooth operation of her business, she would like to take out a loan to purchase beads and threads. She plans to repay the loan within 15 months. Her business brings in a decent income and so she is trying in any way possible to develop it.

There's a Kiva link over in the sidebar - why not click on that and see if you'd like to participate too?  Minimum loan is $US25, so it's not much, and it's a loan, so you can turn the money around and around again to help, as I've been able to do with this loan.  Microfinance is such a satisfying game to play! (In case you wonder, when it is paid back you can withdraw it if you wish - I prefer to keep playing).

.

Kiva: the Volver a Empezar Group

Kiva is microfinance, an easy way to lend directly to the world's poor and help them improve their lives. Among the many choices, I'm biased towards textiles and women, so my latest loan is to this group in Bolivia. Their name seems to translate generally as "start again". I'm aware of all the basic services I take for granted and they do not. Reading the stories of Kiva's borrowers is such a fascinating window into other people's worlds and lives.

About the Volver a Empezar group:

The center of Alto Lima is located in the Ballivian zone in the city of El Alto which is where the "Volver a Empezar" Association is found. They work with great responsibility with their payments and internal activities. Within the group, many of the women lack basic services in their homes. For example, doña Verni cannot rely on potable water that should be supplied by public water basins. What's more, like many others, she cannot rely on gas services and must buy gas in tanks. Lamentably, she lives in a zone where distributors of these tanks do not pass very frequently which is why she has to go to busy streets in the hopes that one of these trucks will pass by. She longs to be able to rely on these services in her home. The main activity of this group is the weaving of sweaters, scarves, and other pieces of clothing, in Alpaca wool that they later sell in the "16 de julio" market in the city of El Alto. Currently, they want to be able to increase their production so that they can sell their products to handicraft shops. It is for this that they need more capital for the acquisition of raw materials to make their sweaters. They have the security of increasing their income, in this manner they will also be able to improve the quality of life for their families.

Who are they?

Bertha Blanco, Reyna Apaza, Karen Quispe, Reynaldo Sinka, Martha Arroba, Emiliana Ramirez, Julia Ronquilla (not pictured), Gregoria Cora, Feliza Capajaña, Tomasa Calle (not pictured), Julia Quispe (not pictured), Lucia Mayta, Feliza Tola, Veneranda Sinka, Hilaria Mamani, Cristina Mayta, Nelly Villca.

You can lend as little as $US25. And, when it's paid back, you can lend it again to another Kiva borrower - it's a loan, not a donation. This group still needs several thousand dollars, so why not support them?

Of my earlier loans:

• Moriya Nabieva has paid back 60%
• Shamshad Iqbal's group has paid back 42%
• Cielo Group has paid back 33%

There's a Kiva link over in the sidebar with another business if you'd like to support a different one.