spring brings color

Okay, I'm not normally one to just post another cliche, but this view ROCKED tonight.

four. julia piedad castro moran

(A loan from my mother)

About the Loan

Location:	Guayaquil (suburbio), Ecuador		Repayment Term:	14 months (more info)
Activity:	Catering		Repayment Schedule:	Monthly
Loan Use:	For rice, seafood, cement and concrete blocks.		Currency Exchange Loss:	N/A
			Default Protection:	Not Covered

Julia, 58, lives in a periurban area in El Suburbio, Guayaquil; she sells prepared lunches from home. All of her children are married and she lives alone because she separated from her husband a few years back.

Julia started her lunch business when her children got married and she separated from her husband. Because she lacked income she decided to invest her savings in rice, vegetables, meats and seafood for her lunches. She started to home deliver them among her friends and neighbors and gradually her business grew.

Now she sells lunches using her home’s dining room where customers can come eat because she doesn’t have enough money to have a place to set up a restaurant.

She will use the loan to buy rice and seafood and she’ll use part of it to buy cement and concrete blocks to remodel her house.

She would love to have a place for her restaurant and a minimart in the future.

Translated from Spanish by Michael Bujazan, Kiva Volunteer

Julia de 58 años, vive en una zona periurbana en el Suburbio de Guayaquil, actualmente vende almuerzos en su casa. Ya todos sus hijos se casaron y vive sola ya que se separo de su esposo hace unos años atrás.

Julia empezó el negocio de almuerzo cuando sus hijos se casaron y cuando se separo de su esposo. Por la falta de ingresos decidió invertir sus ahorros en arroz, legumbres, carnes, mariscos para la venta de almuerzos, comenzó a repartir almuerzos a sus vecinos y amigos en sus casas, poco a poco fue creciendo su negocio.

Ahora ella vende almuerzo utilizando el comedor de su casa para que las personas vallan a comer porque no tiene un local para un restaurante por falta de dinero. Con el préstamo quiere comprar arroz, mariscos y también una parte del dinero quiere comprar cemento y bloques para remodelar su casa.

En el futuro quiere tener un local para su restaurante y también un minimarket. 

three. amaris del rosario escandón gòmez

About the Loan

Location:	San Jacinto-bolívar, Colombia		Repayment Term:	14 months (more info)
Activity:	Crafts		Repayment Schedule:	Monthly
Loan Use:	The purchase of thick yarn to produce hammocks woven on a vertical loom and to make purses and backpacks.		Currency Exchange Loss:	Covered
			Default Protection:	Not Covered

Amaris Escandón Gómez is 55 years old and lives in San Jacinto, a municipality in the Bolívar town center known for the production of artisinal goods like hammocks, purses, and backpacks. Amaris is shopkeeper and producer of artisinal goods, a traditional activity inherited from her mother. The products that she makes the most are backpacks that she makes at night, and hammocks that she makes with her sisters and mother. Additionally, Amaris works in a company in the morning, while her husband does field work. She has had two loans with Fundación Santo Domingo which have improved her family income and allowed her to improve her living conditions. The loan she requests will be invested in the purchase of thick yarn to to make woven hammocks on a vertical loom, and also to make purses and backpacks.

She expresses that she has seen difficult times during periods of violence when her husband could not work in the countryside, when it was up to her to take charge of the majority of household expenses; thank God the situation has changed and today most sajacinteros[those from San Jacinto] can work in the countryside again. In the future, Amaris dreams of improving her home, which she owns, and of helping one of her three kids finish their university studies this coming year.
Translated from Spanish by Flavia Garcia, Kiva Volunteer

Amaris Escandón Gómez tiene 55 años y vive en San Jacinto, municipio del centro de Bolívar conocido por la elaboración de artesanías, tales como hamacas, bolsos y mochilas. Amaris es comerciante y productora de artesanías, actividad tradicional heredada de su madre. Los productos que más fabrica son las mochilas, las cuales elabora en horas de la noche y las hamacas que las elabora con sus hermanas y su mamá. Además, Amaris trabaja en una empresa en las horas de la mañana, mientras su esposo se dedica a labores del campo. Ha tenido 2 créditos con la Fundación Mario Santo Domingo los que le han aumentado su ingreso familiar e hicieron que pudiera mejorar sus condiciones habitacionales. El crédito que ahora solicita lo invertirá en la compra de hilaza para producir hamacas tejidas en telar vertical y también para la elaboración de bolsos y mochilas.

Manifiesta que ha visto tiempos difíciles durante tiempos de violencia cuando su esposo no podía trabajar en el campo debido a aquella problemática y entonces a ella le tocó encargarse de la mayor parte de los gastos del hogar; gracias a Dios la situación se ha cambiado y ahora los sanjacinteros pueden trabajar en el campo de nuevo. Más adelante, Amaris sueña con mejorar su vivienda, la cual es una casa propia y con ayudar a uno de sus tres hijos para que realice sus estudios universitarios el año que viene.

two. inna savchina

About the Loan

Location:	Kherson, Ukraine		Repayment Term:	8 months (more info)
Activity:	Grocery Store		Repayment Schedule:	Monthly
Loan Use:	To increase the assortment of food to sell		Currency Exchange Loss:	Possible
			Default Protection:	Covered

Inna is married with two children. She has a business that sells various kind of food. She started this business 15 years ago with one small table at the market. Today Inna has two kiosks at the market and a small store that sells food items in bulk for other vendors. Inna has very strong entrepreneurial skills. Her business story is a great example for her friends and colleagues to follow.

Inna would like to borrow 14,700 UAH to increase the assortment of food she sells. She hopes to increase her sales during the coming Christmas season

one. thalia lizeth escalera sánchez

About the Loan

Location:	Nuevo Laredo, Mexico		Repayment Term:	15 months (more info)
Activity:	Teaching and Schools		Repayment Schedule:	Monthly
Loan Use:	To pay for school fees		Currency Exchange Loss:	Possible
			Default Protection:	Not Covered

Thalia Lizetha Escalera is a mother of two small children and is studying to be an accountant. However, right now she is requesting a loan to pay her school fees since she doesn't have the money necessary to pay them.

She works as a seller at a telephone company which is the income that she uses for her studies and will use to repay the loan, since her husband Roberto Coronel covers the household expenses.


Translated from Spanish by Donald Allen, Kiva Volunteer

La señora Thalia Lizeth Escalera es madre de dos pequeños hijos y está estudiando la carrera de contador público.
Pero en este momento solicita un préstamo para poder pagar la colegiatura y el titulo profesional, ya que no cuenta con el dinero necesario para liquidar.
Ella trabaja como vendedora en una compañía de teléfono, este es el ingreso que tiene para sus estudios y pagar el crédito ya que los gastos familiares los cubre su esposo el señor Roberto Coronel.

the micro loan

So I got an email from Kiva today to remind me that Mother's Day was coming up.  They had some gift certificates that they wanted to sell.  Kiva is a pretty cool non-prof though.  I think I first heard about them from watching A LOT of commercials on Hulu.  And getting to know the company by checking out their website was pretty cool.  I've really enjoyed doing micro loans to people.

A friend of mine named Frances said that it was her goal this year to make one micro loan.  What a great goal that is.  I think I'm going to follow her lead.  My goal, to get someone else to make a micro loan.

So in that light, I'm posting 3 posts (is that redundant?) about the people that I have loaned money to in hopes that it will get you to think about doing the same.

Woot.

singing, "schools out for... two weeks"

Well, finals are done.  My last one was today. Yikes, that was an intense semester ("like the circus, and camping." ha!)

Things are winding down, and we all know what that means.  Yes, it's a short break before summer semester begins.  I really wish I had more time to myself to relax, but I am self-imposing these schedules so that I can graduate without killing myself.  Although, I have been running into some major snags along the way.

I got my acceptance letter from SLCC (...huzzah...) but it said I wasn't a resident of Utah.  Okay, shut the front door.  I'm totally a resident.  Jerks.  I had to call them and settle the whole thing.  It didn't take too long, but I was informed that before I could sign up for classes, I would have to come in and do their orientation.  Having been a college student far longer than I would like to admit, I didn't feel it all that important.  But, I COULDN'T register for a class until it was done.

I found out that I could do it online.  I was stoked.  It took ten minutes and I was feeling quite good when it told me that it would take up to two more days for them to process my online orientation.  And here I thought when I pressed the "Complete" button, I was done.

All-in-all I got it all set up and I tried to add the class.  Red letters sirens and all such forth were overwhelming me and I soon found out why.  The class was full.  Not only full, but TOO full.  In the books, it's a class that seats 35.  That is a great class size and I was pretty excited to have a Physics class that wasn't over 200 students.  But there were 51 enrolled.  Yeah, you heard me.  51 enrolled students in a class of 35.

I called the professor and asked if there was anything I could do.  When I didn't get a response, I emailed her.  Seems like she won't add anyone else into the class until at least 10 people drop out and she said that won't happen within the first week and she wasn't willing to let someone in after the first week.  Sheesh.

Well, So here I am, getting ready to take Physics from the U which I was avoiding in the first place.  I guess you can't always win... Maybe I'll get the time to myself to relax after all.