Oh the power of technology!

Here’s a little slice of yesterday. (An emotional day to say the least, but I’ll focus on the positive slice this time. I know a blog is the place to air all one’s troubles, but I promised fewer downers. Prepare to be upped.)
So technology. Yesterday I just happened to be on facebook, and just happened to see on my “publisher” page a friend’s status update:

had dinner last night with Kiva.org co-founder Jessica Jackley Flannery. You should see her speak tonight at MSU, she’s an amazing person with one of the most amazing jobs in the world.

Jessica Flannery! I nearly leapt with joy. It was just about a year ago that I got to see her speak at Drury (and by chance got to chat with her in the bathroom afterwards. both times inspiring.) This lady is pretty much the Tina Fey of social entrepreneurs, in that I both want to befriend her and be just like her.

So think about it: random facebook update lets me get to see a personal hero speak.
“Oh technology!” moment #1.

Now for “oh technology!” moment #2.
If you don’t know Kiva.org, you should. Go hang out there a while and then come back.

It’s awesome, right? It’s all about individuals helping individuals through microfinance loans, and the power of stories to connect people across the world. A website that has grown from $3K, financing just 7 loans, to $70 million in 3.5 years.
Oh technology!!
Seriously, go to the website for more deets, as they can explain it better than I can, and I’d rather just gush about how inspiring Jessica Flannery is and how empowered I feel after hearing her speak.

We all NEED every day, and we all have something to GIVE every day.
The world needs a lot of work done. Find out what’s stopping you, and get STARTED.

You can tell she’s genuinely passionate about her work, and excited that she gets to do her dream every day. She believes in the power of stories to change the world, in the good of individuals to make a difference, and in the possibility of taking a leap to try something good.

MMMM Good stuff!

And it’s amazing, isn’t it? thanks to this website, and the generosity of strangers,
a taxi driver in Bulgaria
a butcher in Afghanistan
vegetable growers in Kenya
(And not just “someone like…” but SOMEONE.)
can all thrive and grow and give back.
and the world is bigger and smaller all at once.

I love it. Can you tell?

Jessica Flannery, Co-Founder and CEO of Kiva

I am so excited that Kiva is represented here at the Social Finance forum. Kiva is a great example of an online, hi-tech social innovation tool that has revolutionized the way people the world over engage in the microfinance model championed by Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.

The social innovation in this case? Changing the mindset and getting people in the developed world to think about people in the developing world in a completely different manner – see the example of the woman in sub-Saharan Africa below.

If you haven’t had the chance to check out Kiva, I would encourage you to do so.

Notes on Jessica’s talk:

Jessica started talking about her background story, her first exposure to poverty on a trip to Haiti (please correct me if I am wrong)

Took philosophy and political science in college in order to
a) think strategically and
b) understand who was making the rules in order to change the rules.

After a few years out of college, trying to figure out what to do (as I am sure with every other twenty-something college grad)…

Heard Muhammad Yunus speak and the rest, as they say, is history.

Kiva sometimes thinks like a tech company (being located in San Francisco), and sometimes like a development company

Stressed that Kiva is about people, sharing their stories – each story is significant and meaningful – expanding shared possibilities

Loans do a lot to alleviate poverty – Kiva’s hope is to changes the way we think about and see what is possible in our lives.

Example:

Lender comes across the story of a woman in sub-Saharan Africa. They would not see this woman as needing ‘help’ in the traditional sense, but as an equal, as a business partner. The woman receives funding, not just money but money with heart – that allows her to grow her small micro-enterprise. In turn, this woman starts to think about herself and how the global community sees her in a much different way.

Kiva has managed to raise $50 million in micro-credit loans in the past three years, transforming hundreds of thousands of lives all over the world.

—

Charity Banking Initiative

Through a bold and innovative Charity Banking Initiative (CBI), Citizens Bank of Canada and Vartana will offer a full suite of financial products and services and provide education and outreach that supports organizational capacity-building for the not-for-profit sector (NFP) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Ontario. With retail banking services delivered through our Front Street branch location and National Contact Centre, the successes and opportunities learned through this pilot program will support the development of other Charity Banking Initiatives across Canada.

The official launch of CBI is scheduled for early 2009

And although I have linked the CBI to a job posting on the Citizen’s Bank website, I am told that they have already filled the position of Community Business Manager.

Notes on the CBI presentation:

Vartana

Was started by an Ashoka Fellow and social entrepreneur, Aaron Pereira, who is now currently a Skoll Fellow at Oxford University

Interesting tidbit of information…. Aaron was one of our keynote speakers at our inaugural conference on social entrepreneurship held in Waterloo last year

Vancity / Citizens Bank

Vancity Savings Credit Union

- Founded in 1946
- Working with people and communities to help them thrive and prosper
- Largest credit union in English-speaking Canada
- $14 billion in assets
- 400,000 members
- 60 branches

Citizens Bank of Canada was formed to take Vancity beyond the borders of BC

- Retail banking transactions via the internet, national contact centre, and selected boutique branches
- Citizens Bank of Canada remains the first and still, the only bank with an ethical policy that states position on key social and environmental issues

—

UPDATES on all of the other sessions at the Social Finance Forum will be coming soon…

]]> http://littlefriend.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/start-wearing-purple/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:29:19 +0000 bryanterry http://littlefriend.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/start-wearing-purple/

Yahoo’s ‘Start Wearing Purple’ campaign is all about living life on your own terms. phearcreative was hired to create six short docs on people who do just that. Watch these here, or catch them on yahoo.com, in your local elevator, or while catching a yellow cab downtown…

Jeff Clark

Larry Jackson

Josh Spear

Jessica Flannery

Simone Lengo

Nic Harcourt

I wonder if Jessica and Matt Flannery, Kiva co-founders, meant to create a Microfinance Fund to help local entrepreneurs in developing countries have money to grow or help their business. When I decided to join Kiva as a Kiva fellow I told my friends I was going to work for a Microfinance Fund. Last week I understood I was completely wrong. Kiva is a global community, not a microfinance fund based on small individual lending.

The other Friday, June 6^th 08, I posted a journal about a client I visited the previous day. Nothing special, that’s one of my main tasks here. However, the client, a disable woman, mentioned that her wheelchair was broken and that she hasn’t been to Church in almost 2 months, and therefore was considering using a next loan to buy a wheelchair. I wrote that. The following morning I read a comment on the journal written by a Kiva Friend saying that KivaFriends would be willing to donate a new wheelchair to Regina Jose (picture below). The next day Jill, the KivaFriend, created a new thread at KivaFriends and on Monday, June 9^th, when I opened Kivafriends.org for the first time in my life I saw that more than 300 people had seen Jill’s message and there were around 30 replies. People around the world were committed to give Regina Jose a new wheelchair, and then, for the first time, I realized I was working for a community, not for a Microfinance Fund. Now this message board has been seen for more than 900 people!!

For those not familiar with KivaFriends, it is a parallel non-profit organization that was created by very committed Kiva lenders, with the intent of helping further Kiva clients and Kiva itself. I am quite impressed by the power of Internet and global instant communication. Within 10 days the wheelchair was chosen and will be acquired next week, with delivery scheduled for the following week, hopefully in time for me to deliver the chair (representing KivaFriends) and take a few pictures on the occasion.

I am thrilled to see so many good people in the world wanting to help a client in a very poor neighborhood in the outskirt of Mozambican’s capital city Maputo. So many people have given advises and tried to help! A few even joined KivaFriends for the first time to help with donation!

If Jessica and Matt wanted a microfinance fund, they have it. Kiva is a fast growing fund on its way to be one of the largest microfinance funds in the world. Congratulations for that. But I believe they need a long applause for the community of good people they put together for the cause – helping alleviate poverty and promote economic development.

I’ll keep you posted on Regina’s wheelchair story!

Khanimanbo.