I Heart Kiva

I've been waiting for this. Kiva now has Filipino borrowers to whom CLC can provide micro-loans. I am so proud and excited to be able to loan to a fellow Filipina. Filipinos are a hard working people. They are the McGyver's of survival. Resourceful, persistent and even in the throes of poverty, always optimistic and deeply grateful for what they have. Every year, I go home to the Philippines and am profoundly touched by the persistence of the human spirit. For 2 weeks, I see it all arond me every day. In spite of the hardships they face, they are thankful for what they have, never forgetting the One ultimately responsible for their blessings. I could stand a lesson or two in gratefulness because there are days when I'm a whiny idiot.

So here's our first micro-loan to a "kabayan." I've copied the entrepreneur's profile straight from Kiva's website.

Gloria Dayot is a 48-year-old mother to five children, almost all of whom are already of legal age. She is optimistic about the battle against poverty. She hails from the island village of Kinagatan in the town of Binangonan, Rizal Province in the Philippines.

She joined ASHI (Ahon Sa Hirap, Inc.), an MFI and KIVA partner in the Philippines, in 2006 with full of determination to cut the string of poverty that hinders her way to success. She invested her loan in the resale business. For her fifth loan, she proposes the amount of 25,000 pesos as additional capital for her resale business. She will purchase 3 sacks of rice, 3 gallons of cooking oil, and 10 chairs made of bamboo.

She is looking forward to expanding her business and being able to resell in the nearby markets, to be able to let her youngest child finish college, and to have savings for emergency purposes.

I'm looking forward to tracking Ms. Dayot's progress. Please, if you haven't done so already - check out Kiva - Loans that change lives.