Kiva.org Update: Furkat Sultonov

From kiva.org
Loan has been disbursed

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Furkat Sultonov by MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan in Tajikistan. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 10 - 16 months, MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Posted by Madina Umarova from Khujand, Tajikistan
Sep 6, 2007

Kiva.org Loan Update: SANFO ISSIAKA

From Kiva.org
Loan has been disbursed

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to SANFO ISSIAKA by Afrique Emergence & Investissements in Cote D'Ivoire. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 15 - 21 months, Afrique Emergence & Investissements will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

How can people believe something that isn’t true?

We've been talking a lot about 9/11 in class and have discussed various conspiracy theories and the publics perception of 9/11 & the Iraq War.
Looking through Google News I found this interesting article from CBS News (9/12/07):

Polls, Truth Sometimes At Odds
CBS' Kathy Frankovic: Political Views, Psychology Can Make People Believe In Falsehoods

How can people believe something that isn’t true?

A significant number of Americans say Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That number rose above 50 percent in the run-up to the war in Iraq in 2003. While that belief has since declined somewhat, for many Americans it still exists. In the latest CBS News/New York Times Poll 33 percent said they believe Saddam was personally involved in the 9/11 attacks. As has been repeated over and over, there was and is no evidence of any such link. So why do so many people believe something that just isn’t true?

What do you think?
You can read the rest of the article here.

Kiva.org, "A little goes a long way" Update

With the great popularity of Kiva.org since being featured on Oprah we have managed to loan money to three people. Not all classes have been able to do it and so far there have been a lot fewer student donations than I would have liked. Therefore, I think that we will be tracking the loans as a school rather than as individual classes.
More info to come.
In the meantime, here's the rundown on who we've lent money to(click on the pictures to find out more):

SANFO ISSIAKA from Cote D'Ivoire in Africa

Fukart Sultonov from Tajikistan

Martha Álvarez from Ecuador

There is also more info about Kiva.org at the PBS's Frontline World site. There is an article, a video link, and more if you click here. Or the video link is here.

Check it out.

Kiva.org: Scooped by Oprah & Bill

From Kiva.org: Due to a recent surge in support ignited by viewers of the Oprah Winfrey Show , there is currently a shortage of businesses in need of loans. The Kiva.org staff and our Field Partners are working overtime to get more businesses on the website.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience!

I was really excited about getting my classes involved in Kiva.org this year. I was home sick on Wednesday when Oprah & Bill Clinton told the whole world about the site. Now it’s inundated with givers—so much so that there is often no one to lend to and lenders who are up there stay up for minutes at a time. While I’m happy that so many people are participating it looks like some of my classes will have to hold off for a while. I was able to make loans with 1B & 2B classes though.

More updates in the future.

Microlending with Kiva.org

Over the next week we'll be looking into making a few small loans using Kiva.org. You can find out more on their website (click on the picture).
Normally you would get your money back if the person pays the loan, but since some of the loan terms are over 12 months, the money will instead be rolled over into the next lending cycle and/or next year's class. If classes fall short of the $25 necessary for a loan, I'll kick in the rest of the money. Any class that raises more than $30 I'll help them to the next level of $50.
As a class we'll decide who to sponsor and we'll track the loans in class.
Thanks!