Subject: Join TeamFreecell at kiva.org
Date: Sat May 16 23:09:21 2009
User: mabb
Message:Helen has graciously started a TeamFreecell at kiva.org. I just joined up, so now we have 3 members, with myself, helen and snowguy.
The idea of kiva.org is to provide small loans to struggling entrepreneurs around the world. The smallest amount you may give at one time is $25.00 (US). You may loan in whatever currency your country uses, via paypal or credit card. The entrepreneurs pay back your account, and then you can loan the money again, thereby helping people around the world to help themselves through hard work, responsibility, and initiative. The loans are actually made via a Field Partner, which is a microfinance institution responsible for screening each entrepreneur and administering the loans.
If you are interested, go to kiva.org. Look for the tab at the top labelled "community", and click on it. In the search box, type in "teamfreecell" and then click on "join this team". If you like, you can use your netcell name as your first name, then request that only your first name be displayed, for privacy.
The next step will be to choose a recipient or entrepreneur. Then, each of us can individually make a loan to that recipient, and in the loan process you are given the option to apply that amount toward a team total.
I'll link to one possible loan recipient. It is a young man in Senegal named Mouhamadou Touré, and his business is selling sewing supplies. His loan request is small, $225, so it would be a reasonable amount for a new team to target.
Thanks, helen, for getting the team started...and to snowguy, for being the first one to join up!
Link: Possible kiva loan recipient
Date: Sat May 16 23:23:06 2009
User: mabb
Message:Update, Mr. Toure already has been loaned $25, so his total remaining need is only $200. If we want to choose him, we might need to hurry, or his loan will be fullfilled!
We can take turns choosing loan recipients. If our team grows in numbers, we can target larger loans.
It should be a fun way to make a positive impact in the world...you know how we're always asking, "what can one person do, anyway?" (well, at least, ~I'm~ always asking myself that question...)
Date: Sat May 16 23:33:30 2009
User: mabb
Message:Also, below is the link to Helen's kiva page. She has made 11 loans already (the amounts are not listed), and one of them has been repaid. If you look on the right side, you will see a link to "map view"....click on that and you can visually see all the places in the world that Helen has reached with her loans!
Yay, helen....you go, girl!
Link: helen's kiva page
Date: Sun May 17 01:14:50 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I see Mr Toure's need has already been fulfilled, before I even got in. ($225 loaned.) Let me check for somebody to suggest. Be right back.
Date: Sun May 17 01:24:24 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I chose
Teopista Kabaganda's Group
Uganda
I will link it below. First loan made, with small gift to Kiva.
I feel good! (Their primary activity is a food market.)
So far, $826 of $2350 need by the group has been raised.
Link: Teopista's group
Date: Sun May 17 01:36:24 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Okay. I just signed-on-far for a loan to Alowata Empola Group.
I hope TeamFreecell grows fast. We could do a lot of good, one small piece at a time. Thanks, helen and mabb.
Link: Akwata Empola Group
Date: Sun May 17 10:41:08 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I just went in, logged on and lent money to a woman who plans to expand her small bakery
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=108657
but it appears that our group isn't getting the credit. I guess I'll always start at the TeamFreecell page from now on. Hopefully that loan will be credited to our group somehow.
Anyhoo, I have to step back now and let things settle down a bit before venturing in again.
(Remember, all entities we lend to have a repayment schedule. It's almost certain that we will be repaid. Default rates in the US should be as low as the 1% through Kiva.)
Date: Sun May 17 10:48:54 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:By the way, of the three local sponsoring organizations for the ones I have lent to, all have a 0.0% delinquency and a 0.0% default rate. Try THAT at our local Savings and Loan!
Here is the repayment schedule for Ms. Nyagbloto:
Link: Repayment schedule
Date: Sun May 17 14:25:46 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Just to show how fast these things can move, only a few hours later, Ms. Nyagbloto's loan has been fulfilled. (New oven should be ordered straightaway, methinks!)
Above, I mentioned how Teopista's Group needed $2350 and $825 has been raised? Now the status is:
$2,350.00 Loan Request
$1,950.00 Raised so far
$400.00 Still needed
It's pretty clear that loan will be fulfilled today, too.
Field Partne Pearl Micro Finance has already distributed over $1.5 Million, and has a 0% delinquency and loan rate. Awesome!
Date: Mon May 18 05:45:39 2009
User: malr
Message:Go team! Go team!
.shakes pompoms
Helen
Date: Mon May 18 05:52:49 2009
User: malr
Message:mabb, I've bestowed captainhood on you, since you started the whole idea off.
Welcome aboard, Captain Mabb...
Helen
Link: Captainhood+hath+been+bestowed!
Date: Mon May 18 12:42:39 2009
User: mabb
Message:Many thanks for your enthusiasm, Helen...we can be co-captains!
Like snowguy said, I didn't realize how fast these loans are fulfilled. All three of the ones that snowguy mentioned are now fulfilled and moved into "active" status (starting repayment).
So...it looks like we'll just individually choose and make loans, until we have more in the group and then we might move toward targeting a loan as a team.
Thanks for your support and participation, snowguy! It looks like your loans were credited to teamfreecell, it just takes some number of minutes before it shows up in the totals.
I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Martín Miranda in Bolivia. He still needs another $525.00 to complete his loan request of $1,000.00. The loan is for home repairs and start-up of a small home business.
Link: Martin Miranda in Bolivia
Date: Mon May 18 12:56:22 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Martin's request is a double-impact loan. It reads in part:
" Martín is a police official and with that income he supports his family. The loan he is requesting is to fix the stairs in his house, since they have deteriorated which makes them dangerous for his young children. He also wants to remodel a room in his house so that his wife can open a grocery store and her earnings would increase the family's income."
He will likely be funded before nightfall. I love it! (By the way, some Lending groups include hundreds of members. We have room for a few more FreeCellers...)
Everybody in here who is impressed by this work should tell their church/fraternal organization about this program! So much good can be accomplished at the grass-roots level.
Date: Mon May 18 14:44:13 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:One thing that impresses me is the rate of repayment. For example, Akwata Group's loan is jut now funded. Here's the repayment schedule!
Repayment Schedule for Akwata Empola Group
Expected Repayments Actual Repayments Comments
July 2009 $231.25 Available Jul 15
August 2009 $925.00 Available Aug 15
September 2009 $1,156.25 Available Sep 15
October 2009 $925.00 Available Oct 15
November 2009 $462.50 Available Nov 15
(These people don't mess around!) By the way, the spacing on the above could be thrown off when I post.
Date: Mon May 18 18:03:15 2009
User: RambleTamble
Message:How is this not a scam?
Date: Mon May 18 18:42:18 2009
User: hotnurse
Message:I was just wondering the same thing. KMc
Date: Mon May 18 21:30:15 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Because people are being repaid their investments. Kiva has an excellent reputation.
Link: Linkedin on Kiva
Date: Mon May 18 21:38:35 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Here's the highly respected financial site "The Motley Fool" on Kiva.org.
Link: Motley Fool on Kiva
Date: Mon May 18 22:56:02 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:NIcholas Kristoff in the New York Times syndication on Kiva. (I read his columns regularly.):
Link: Kristoff
Date: Mon May 18 23:06:27 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I would think anybody who believes in Capitalism should be happy that Kiva is doing its work. Its the very foundation of capitalism, and is spreading capitalist success worldwide.
You borrow from somebody who has money, start and expand a business, work hard, pay back your investors and end up giving jobs to other people. And your own family's future advances because of your initiative and hard work. And, because some private investor gave you a chance by lending you the money to get started.
Lent, didn't "give" or donate. Me? I'm proud to be a banker for some industrious folks in Africa.
Date: Mon May 18 23:13:48 2009
User: mabb
Message:Kiva is a non-profit organization, which doesn't automatically guarantee honesty, I know. However, they are upfront about possible risks to investors. The current default rate for all loans is less than 2%, out of more than $34 million in loans. See the link below for an explanation.
Link: Risk reviews
Date: Mon May 18 23:17:49 2009
User: mabb
Message:My thoughts exactly, snowguy! THIS is the kind of "wealth re-distribution" that I can get behind...no need to wait around for a damn government check to make your life or someone else's life better! Share your wealth according to *your own values*, and reap the personal benefits of finding joy in the success of others.
Date: Tue May 19 08:20:11 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I would like to see our group double in the next two weeks. Six people. (Some interest groups have hundreds of lending participants.) We don't pool our money. We each make any investment we see fit, but with the team getting the overall credit, along with our own accounts being credited for the loans we make. Repayment comes back to our individual accounts.
Remember: PayPal protects you from people getting into your credit card. You must authorize any transfer of funds, as is always the case with PayPal. And, a single $25 investment not only makes you a lender, but it also makes you one of us.
Can you spare a single $25 loan to help some small entrepreneur get started?
Why not join us?
Link: TeamFreecell
Date: Tue May 19 08:36:22 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Some groups number in the thousands, and their loans go well into the hundreds of thousands. Most have been active for a year or two, and have lent so much money, that if something were amiss they would have recognized it by now.
My guess is much of the money lent is actually recycled money from repaid loans.
Could we have *ten* members by the end of May?
You can actually join without lending! It would be a good way to "check things out." I notice some of the smaller, newer groups, haven't lent any money at all yet.
Link: Kiva lending groups.
Date: Wed May 20 09:00:14 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I see Martin Miranda's loan has been fulfilled, mabb. I was tempted to chip in, when I saw how slow the money was coming in, compared to some others. But I decided to hold off for a while.
Now, when I resume, I think I'll try and focus more on Africa, and possibly Haiti.
Anyhoo, I was glad to see Martin can get started on his renovations and his wife should be able to start selling groceries in their home-store.
Date: Thu May 21 01:54:49 2009
User: mabb
Message:Thanks, snowguy...yeah it was fun to get the e-mail update that the loan had been passed along to Martin. I'm looking forward to hearing about his progress.
I think it's generally wise to be concerned about risks when lending to people you don't know. However, given the small amounts, I hardly view it as a "risk" at all. I spend more than $25 on dinner and a movie every week or two, so if the loan turns out to be a donation (even though unlikely, statistically), I'm okay with the "loss". And I know the economic situation is hard right now, but since it is a global economy, think how much harder it is for these 3rd world entrepreneurs, without some financial assistance.
We have a lot of compassionate, altruistic and "worldly" people around this site...I sure hope a few of them will take up your challenge, snowguy, and join in the fun of helping others succeed.
Date: Fri May 22 05:58:00 2009
User: malr
Message:Thanks for the links to Kiva articles - that was really interesting. My husband has amex, I might pester him to vote.
Snowguy, you're absolutely right! I had a policy of choosing really short term loans to start off with, and now, whether I put more money in or not, around the middle of each month, I have enough repayments accumulated to lend out to someone else.
My husband's work is going through changes at the moment, so during April & May, I haven't added any new money - but I still got to make two more loans.
And although we're working our way through savings, I think these will be the last 'savings' we liquidate.
I was kinda sad to see that there are no loans requested in Somalia. Given the thread about piracy that's going on in P&R, it would be nice to make a tiny contribution to more peaceful solutions there. But I can understand that the challenges of places like Senegal are enough for now.
Helen
Date: Fri May 22 06:34:15 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Yes, helen. I believe loans can only be made to areas where there is a stable and reliable intermediary(or "field partner" that can handle the money and the details. (Like Pearl Microfinance in Uganda.)
Kiva is not interested in just throwing our money at people who haven't been vetted and through some agency that has not proven to be reliable.
I feel as you both do. I expect that the money will be repaid, and I will likely recycle it into new loans. But say somebody defaults because of floods, bad weather, etc. Too bad. Then, I will consider it to be like a one-time donation to some charity.
You experiences, helen, are very telling. Your loans have been repaid so far. So far, TeamFreecell has only three members. You all know who we are. I will be highly disappointed in our Freecell community if nobody else steps forward.
Remember, you can join without making a donation. Several newer groups I found have a few members and haven't made a loan yet.
Join us, please. It's a worthy and noble cause.
Link: TeamFreecell
Date: Fri May 22 07:24:27 2009
User: sillama
Message:Okay, I joined. see you in the kiva.
Link: Sillama1
Date: Fri May 22 15:10:45 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Thanks, sill. I see there are many projects awaiting funding in Asia, although I haven't noticed any yet for Korea. (The Philippines, Pakistan and Tajikistan, as well as Viet Nam, Cambodia and a few others, are very well represented.) While I am concentrating for the moment on southern Africa, you might consider one of the closer-to-home projects. (Or not!)
By the way as a reminder for all, absent such lenders as Kiva, people who want to start a business would have to forget about it, or rely on local money lenders, who can charge 100-200% per year. It can be difficult-to-impossible to make a go with that kind of a burden.
************!!!!!!!!!!!!!(By the way, I just had a thought. Could it be reasonable to say that thousands of daughters have not been sold into slavery to pay a debt from a failed business and inability to pay a money lender? Might there now number many thousands of young girls, some pre-teens, who are working in their family business instead of enslaved in a brothel?
(Read Nicholas Kristoff some time.) Okay. I readily found a piece and am linking it below.
Join TeamFreecell, like sill did, and make a difference in somebody's life. You don't have to lend money, at least a first. Just join us and look around. Helen's experience should be reason enough to know this is no scam.
(Could we have ten TeamFreecell members by the end of May? We have four now.) Thanks.
Link: Child prostitution and slavery in Cambodia- Kristoff
Date: Sat May 23 04:55:24 2009
User: malr
Message:If you're holding fire because you think anything you do would be a drop in the Ocean - the Ocean is made up of many, many drops and they all matter.
There's a huge difference between doing something tiny, and doing nothing at all.
Helen
Link: When we are together, we are one
Date: Sat May 23 08:38:22 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:While I have been concentrating in southern Africa, I found this short article and video (From a Kiva group in Phnom Penh) to be not only interesting but entertaining as well. In any case, the point is that local partner groups include some highly qualified, and dedicated, people. Here's the story of one group of volunteers who help manage your money.
(It also gives me lots of hope for our younger generation.)
Link: "Breaking up the Band"
Date: Sat May 23 15:08:54 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I see that one of the twenty-three lenders to one of my entrepreneurs (Olivia Afare) is a small Aussie group, MagicTrix. This is a woman and two daughters. Their loans are shown below.
Their group lent to seven entrepreneurs, with three of them 90%+ repaid. I would suspect that their loan to Olivia and a couple other new loans were funded from repaid loans. You can see their investments in the link below.
Link: MagicTrix Group
Date: Sat May 23 15:24:53 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:At the bottom of the linked page is the detail sheet on repayments by one of MagicTrix's entrepreneurs (42% repaid, and in compliance with her schedule.) The woman is an onions seller, and is now into her second loan, to expand her business. (Her first loan was repaid.) You can read the details on her sheet.
Again, her repayment schedule and progress can be found at the bottom. Gotta love that Aussie woman and how she is bringing up her two daughters!
Link: Roukéya Idrissou-- Ghana
Date: Sat May 23 15:26:44 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:OOPs, I titled the link wrong. Ms. Idrissou lives and works in Togo, not Ghana. My bad.
Date: Sun May 24 05:25:31 2009
User: mabb
Message:Welcome, sillama!
Snowguy...I love your random thought about preventing child prostitution. Inspiring! You are such a prince of a guy!
helen...you are just all-around amazing!
.hugs
Date: Sun May 24 23:53:18 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:You're pretty amazing yourself, mabb. Thanks for starting this thread. (Mabb, do you think we have any hope of achieving 10 members by the end of the month? I sure hope so.
Date: Mon May 25 00:40:47 2009
User: damgud
Message:guys, i would dearly love to join. however. hubby lost his job last nov due to the car accident that totalled our vehicle (for which we have seen NO money yet...so have no car yet)...is awaiting surgery to his neck (for which we have NO clue how we are going to pay...if allstate hasn't paid us for the car yet....how can we expect them to pay for his surgery???)...and my measley $647 disability isn't going to go very far. hubby has found a job (which cut salaries 3 1/2 mos after he started...he now makes a whopping $10/hr...less than a third what he was making), so we can at least eat...and our landlord is graciously keeping us busy enough to pay the rent...working at something i shouldn't even be doing but have no choice at the moment. we are trying VERY hard not to lose the harley we bought 2 years ago (when things were good) that we waited THIRTY YEARS to acquire.
this is not a sob story...we are still better off than many, MANY people around the world. we have a roof, food, and each other. but when i see projects like the one you're involved in, the situation we're in thanks to the economy (not to mention a drunk and his nasty insurance company) pisses me off even more. so, while i can't contribute financially.....my prayers are with you all AND your project. good luck!
Date: Mon May 25 07:28:59 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:That's okay, damgud. I can understand that some people are totally unable to participate by lending. And, I do grieve for your situation and your hubby's. (Especially having once been the victim of a head-on drunk driver collision myself.) I really do grieve for you.
If you choose, you could still join our group and be a true member, and financially a "member in spirit." To join requires no financial commitment, and no financial or personal information is ever required. Only an email and a password for identification. If you would like to be a member, we would be proud to have you join us!
For everybody else, remember that you can join without obligation. Whenever you decide to participate, the transaction goes through Paypal to protect you, your personal and financial information.
In any case, damgud, we really do understand and appreciate that you would help if things were different in your situation.
.hug damgud
Date: Mon May 25 10:08:38 2009
User: malr
Message:damgud, we'd be proud to have you as a member - like Snowguy says, no money required just (im?)moral support will do.
Hope you get some better luck soon -
Helen
Date: Mon May 25 14:34:14 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:I see we now have six members! Closer to our goal of ten members in May!
(Maybe we can even exceed that number?)
Date: Mon May 25 15:25:25 2009
User: damgud
Message:ok, so now we have 7. how could i refuse such an eloquent invite??? i wanted to put one of you down as the person who "referred" me...but couldn't find any of your email addys. sorry. you know who you are! hopefully things will look up soon and i can help with a few bucks. $25 doesn't sound like much, but right now.........it may as well be $1,000. but that COULD change any day!
good luck, guys
Date: Mon May 25 16:51:01 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Here are the members to date!
Link: TeamFreecell
Date: Tue May 26 12:01:16 2009
User: chrissie8madrid
Message:Hi there, I didn't mean to sneak in the back door, but we had computer problems and I didn't get round to saying that I had joined before the system crashed!!
I'll put a photo in when I get back home to Madrid next week. I also joined the Facebook group. Not used to so much time on my hands!!
Date: Tue May 26 14:10:04 2009
User: Ponychick
Message:Wow, I wish i had looked at this sooner, but thanks to Snowguy speaking to me in another thread, it made me read this one and I'm going to join too!
Mabb, thanks for posting this and while I "sped read" alot of the posts here, I totally agree w/ you about "redistributing according to our values" and snowguy's commentary on capitalism! YES!!
...heading to TeamFreecell now......
Date: Tue May 26 14:39:42 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Hey, folks! We now have nine (9) members of TeamFreecell! Not everybody has lent funds yet, but that's the idea. Join up, look around, take your time and lend twenty-five bucks whenever you're ready.
By the way, your loan will come with a request to donate an additional 15% to keep Kiva itself going. No obligation to do so, but since it's tax deductible, charitable organization under the US Tax Code, any donations to Kiva will be deductible on your US income taxes. Possibly the same in other countries.
But again, no requirement to donate to Kiva in order to make a loan.
Welcome to our newest members, "William" in Texas, and Pony. One more to go for ten! (Perhaps we can inch it up to a dozen in May?) And, welcome to anybody else I missed along the way.
Date: Tue May 26 19:15:04 2009
User: mabb
Message:"Mabb, do you think we have any hope of achieving 10 members by the end of the month? I sure hope so."
Snowguy, had I responded to your question Sunday, when you posted it, I would have tried to seriously downplay all my skepticism...but wow! Dream Big, as they say! Good going! Any way I can re-bestow captainhood on you, snowy?
hehe..
Anyway, welcome to all...excited to have you on the "team"!
.highfives to Pony, chrissie, William, damgud, Megan and Denise
btw, damgud, thanks for joining despite all the trauma you're living through right now. Have you heard that song, "It Sucks to be Me"? I like to hum that one during my daily bouts with my teen-agers....it's always just the right kind of cheerful self-pity that I need to stay in the fight! Anyway, praying and hoping that things turn around for you soon... proud to have you on the team, regardless!
.hugs
Date: Tue May 26 19:29:24 2009
User: Snowguy
Message:Nope, but thanks anyway. mabb. I prefer being a grunt and a cheerleader.
We need one more for our ten, and two after that for our dozen.
.highfive mabb, helen and all our team members!
Date: Tue May 26 22:52:21 2009
User: mabb
Message:Alrighty then, snow... just make sure your kiva pic shows you in that awesomely-cute cheerleader skirt! (I'll understand if you don't shave your legs...it's a huge hassle, I know)
;)
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