KIVA Donations made in December of 2021. Their stories:

 

Elis is an artisan from Indonesia who specializes in macramé handbags and decor accents. She would like to invest in a bulk purchase of cotton thread and bamboo.  "I hope my business can grow big so that I can keep providing work for my helpers. Most of them are my neighbors, friends, and even family. Many housewives make their income by working on my macrame. Giving jobs to my neighbors is one of the reasons why I want my business to grow. "Thank you for your kind support, it means a lot for us craftsmen. During this pandemic, I hope my business can survive and grow more. May God bless all of you."

Mary Joy is a 43-year-old woman. She is married and has two children, ages nine and five. She and her family live a simple life in the town of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat. She and her husband earn a living through running a small sari-sari store business. Thus, they work hard together to send their children to school. Mary Joy is requesting a loan for water connection inside their house; a dream she was aiming for a few years ago. With the help of a loan, she could definitely make her dream come true. From this loan she will buy a pressure tank, pitcher pump, jetmatic pump, PVC pipe, check bulb and pay for labor.

 

I am an African American lesbian female with one adult child. I facilitate in local jails then upon release, connect offenders with community sponsors for second-chance/re-employment. As a single parent, I started Platform of Hope with my savings account in a storefront in Decatur, GA.  We serve clients in extended-stay environments with a mobile brigade that provides food, clothing, and essentials. Platform of Hope is determined to open a women and children's shelter to ensure safe and stable 90-day housing. POH supports homeless single parents within shelters and extended stay motels.  Funds are used for used clothing, food, medicine, moving costs and/or deposits for utilities for stable housing move, transportation via rideshare for interviews, jobs, doctor appointments, and grocery stores. POH supports weekly distribution and DELIVERY of food, medicine, and supplies/necessities to immobilized senior. POH supports released female offenders re-enter society by providing transportation for court appointments, restitution, probation fees, interviews, uniforms, doctor appointments, costs for identification (IDs, birth certificates, etc) food, used clothing, toiletries, etc..

Bathybii 55, from Kyrgyzstan lives with his wife and 3 children in the Jeti-Oguz region. The mountainous area with spacious pastures is ideal for raising livestock.  He has been farming for 19 years, breeding cows, horses and sheep. He has 1.06 hectares of land where he grows hay for livestock. Baktybek is trying hard to develop his farm. He asks for support from Kiva in the amount of 20,000 som (KGS) to increase the livestock population. The income will help improve the material well-being of his family.

Bendu is 36 years old and married with five children. All of her children are currently attending school while living at home. Bendu runs a business preparing and selling cooked food. Her love for her business continues to grow every day.  Bendu is requesting a loan with the Kiva partner BRAC Liberia to purchase more ingredients to prepare food to sell. She will use her loan to ensure she can meet customer demand .

Josephine, a 33-year-old mom of four. She resides in a remote village in Kapsabet, in the Rift valley region of Kenya, she practices mixed farming.  Because of the immense knowledge she has of farming, Josphine commands a lot of respect from other farmers in her village. Her primary sources of income have been milk and crops.  Although she has been making profits from farming, Josphine has identified a market segment for selling cereals. The only big challenge she faces is a lack of funds, so she is requesting a loan to buy different varieties of cereal like maize and beans to sell in the local market. The market for cereals is never a problem because the demand is always high, and she plans to take advantage of that.   

This lovely woman is Rysbubu. She is 66 years old and married. She has a high-school education. She has been raising crops and animals since 1981 as the primary income for her family. Thanks to Rysbubu's hard work and her husband's help with the farm, her farm currently has 2 cows and 16 sheep.  In order to further grow her farm, she is seeking assistance from Kiva totaling 30,000 som (KGS) to buy livestock feed, in order to increase her income from livestock breeding. The income from the loan will help her expand her farm by increasing her headcount of pedigree livestock.