Microfinance - lending through Kiva

Today, I lent money to a lady in Cambodia to build a toilet. How? Through the wonders of microfinance.

I'm hoping you have heard of Kiva. I first heard of it a few years ago via twitter and have been a fan ever since. Today, I financed my third loan with them.

So what is microfinance? Well, it's "a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.Microfinance is also the idea that low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty if given access to financial services. While some studies indicate that microfinance can play a role in the battle against poverty, it is also recognized that is not always the appropriate method, and that it should never be seen as the only tool for ending poverty." - (via the Kiva website)

I'm not naive enough to think that my $25 contribution to Vesna's loan will lift her out of poverty and into financial abundance. But I hope that it will make a difference to her life. What is more important than having a sanitary place to go to the toilet?

You can fund loans for all different types of business ventures or reasons. You can lend to people all over the world. If you find the choice overwhelming, it helps to have an idea in mind of who or what type of venture you'd like to contribute to.

Today, I used the messageboard of one of my "teams", Nerdfighters, to find Vesna's loan. Teams are simply self-organized groups of Kiva lenders where members connect and have shared lending goals. Someone else had funded her and posted a message about it.

I knew that I wanted to lend to a female, and usually I focus on those who are trying to start or maintain a business to support their family. My last two loans were for a lady in Kenya for her clothing shop and a lady in Uganda for her beauty salon. But today, Vesna's situation spoke to me and I didn't hesitate to hit the lend button.

Now, Kiva has been criticized for various things over the past few years, and I'm not unaware of the issues surrounding some of their loans and practices. In particular is a worry about partnering with Strathmore University and its association with Opus Dei. They addressed these concerns here. However, at the end of the day, I'm satisfied that the loans I'm making are helping those who need it. I encourage you all to do some googling and research before lending via Kiva or using any sort of microfinance website, in the same way you would look into any sort of charity before handing over your hard-earned money for a donation.

One last thing - I was not sure about Kiva's loans to First World country borrowers. What possible reason could a person in the US need to access microfinance? Would I be funding someone's food van startup in Brooklyn? But then I realised that even in the First World, there are people that are unable to access bank financing. It's a personal question, but one worth thinking about - does Dennis from Newark deserve to have the right to ask for a loan to fund his window cleaning business, as much as Karo in Armenia for tyres for his truck?

*This is not a sponsored post. I just wanted to share my latest loan with you all, and put down some thoughts about Kiva that I've been having lately.

A lesson in patience

I had the most horrendous train ride one morning last week.Well, it was more eye-opening than anything.

A mother got on with her two young boys. My first two thoughts were "Who takes small children on a peak hour service?" and my second "Who brings small children into the Quiet Carriage?". Then I tried to squash these thoughts. Because -
1. She probably had to; and
2. She probably didn't know or if she did, didn't care.

Because these two kids, though angelic-looking, were not very well behaved. I think that's putting it politely. Every minute of the 40-minute journey to their station was spent with mum trying to get them to sit down, stop fighting and stop yelling. Basically, to behave in a socially-acceptable manner in public.

By the end of it my heart was just breaking for her. She was so patient, so consistent. I could tell she was a fan of speaking to her kids like they were adults, and there was nary a "stop that!" to be heard. Instead, she just asked them to behave better, reminding them of where they were going.

And I'd like to give a kudos to my fellow passengers too. There wasn't any tsk-tsking, rolling eyes or big sighs. Nobody told her to keep her kids under control, or suggest she leave the Quiet Carriage.

When she finally got off, still encouraging her unruly children instead of rousing, I thought - THAT COULD BE ME ONE DAY. And also I HOPE I'M A MUM LIKE HER.

I got a lesson in patience, something I think we all could do with from time to time.

Getting Ready for Storm Season

Get ready, Queensland.

No, seriously, you need to get ready. Why? Because storm season is once again approaching! I've blogged about prepping for the unexpected before, and one of the things I am hellishly passionate about is being somewhat ready for things like rain, hail, wind, lightning, floods, bushfires, blackouts, cyclones and plagues. Ok, maybe not so much that last one (though speaking as someone who has lived through the horror of a mouse plague, I would not wish one on my worst enemy).

This year, Queensland Government has launched Get Ready Queensland week. It runs from 14-20 October and focuses on knowing the risks, being prepared, staying alert and knowing when to take action. Visit their website here for more info,or hit up your local council site. My council, Moreton Bay, will be having stalls at local Bunnings as well as sausage sizzles around various neighbourhood centres, to help educate people on how to prepare for storm season.

You can even download their brochure here. It's full of great tips!

Yesterday, hubby and I decided to muck in and try to clear some of the shed-building debris that has accumulated in our yard. There were steel offcuts, wooden fence palings and the entire old garden shed to be gotten rid of, plus some old chairs that we have been meaning to throw out for years.

 

 So we borrowed a trailer from a friend and loaded it up. Twice. Two trips to the dump later, we have managed to get rid of most of the major risks. Can you imagine if any of this stuff had gotten airborne in a windstorm?

It was a heck of a lot of work but very worth it - not only for the peace of mind but having that junk out of the backyard is pretty great too!

There are still quite a few things we need to do to be completely ready - clean the gutters, do a battery check on all our torches, do an inventory on our go-bags, check the drains, do a stocktake on the pantry and make sure we have bottled water on hand.

And THEN, I might feel prepared for what mother nature decides to throw at us this year.

Do you prep for storm season? Got any hot tips?

The pleasure of food

I never understood "foodies" and their boundless enthusiasm for food. Still don't. Sure, I enjoy food and I get as much pleasure out of eating peanut butter out of the jar as the next person. But I don't go into paroxyms of delight over fancy restaurants and their menus of food I've never heard of. I don't fangirl on chefs (except tv ones).

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But cooking... ah cooking is different. I didn't get some people's passion for cooking until I got older. The only subject I didn't do well in at high school was Home Economics. In fact, if my friend didn't save my meringue or jam every time I probably would have failed.

Fast forward to the last few years, to when I've become a homemaker. At first, cooking was a chore. Then it was occasionally diverting. Then I discovered tv cooks and actually got interested in recipes and cooking. I totally missed the beginning of the Jamie Oliver bandwagon (remember The Naked Chef? I was all PFFFT WHATEVS at the time) but now I'm firmly on it. Nigella is a bit of an idol. Hugh from River Cottage inspires me.

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This week, I've been having a shit time at work. Well, let's be honest, it's been a stressful month. Monday night I came home and made a Nigella recipe I've never done before (Pea and Pancetta from Nigellissima). Tuesday night I challenged myself to do a Jamie 15 Min Meal for the first time (Grilled Steak, ratatouille and saffron rice).

And heck if I didn't enjoy it. Get pleasure out of it. The creation of the food felt joyous. The eating part was good too. It was a great stress-buster.

Tonight was a bit of a fail because I came home and had a drink then didn't feel like cooking. But maybe two awesome meals is enough for this week.

Oh and I'm totally saving my pennies for Save with Jamie. Why? It combines two things I'm passionate about at the moment - frugality and lessening food waste! 

Do you love cooking? Baking? Why? Tell me I want to know.

Problogger Training Event Takeaways

Today is a week since I attended Problogger Training Event on the Gold Coast. I was admittedly nervous for my first blogging conference but it ended up being non-painful; and happily, also personally valuable.

I invested in my ticket price waaaaay back at the beginning of the year. Why? I'm still not even sure. I asked my hubby if I could spend 250 of our hard-earned clams because "it's something I'm interested in". He agreed, because he's a good guy.

Yes, in the back of my brain I'm a little interested in the fact that people earn an income from blogging. And I was excited to meet people from the internet who have become friends. It was also fun to see "big" bloggers in the flesh. 

But the best part was the learning. I was a little sponge, soaking it all up. I realised I totally miss uni. Not the exams, but the finding out of interesting things. I am interested in blogging, therefore a whole conference of speakers addressing blogging issues was totally cool to me!

And the best part was managing to sort through and solidify some of my writing goals. I've always written online - way back to my Livejournal days at uni- but the content has changed a lot. I used to be all about sharing my online life - cool fandom stuff, fan fiction and such. Now I write about my offline doings - what I call "real life". 

Problogger has helped me to identify some of the reasons I blog and also point me towards some goals that click with me. It's funny, I went expecting to be excited about the technical side of blogging: google analytics, cross-platform marketing, ebooks. Instead I was intrigued by the emotional aspect of what I do - telling a story, helping readers find solutions, writing for good.

My favourite sessions:

Blogging for Beginners - Pip Lincolne

Sure, I'm hardly a n00b at this game but I couldn't pass up the chance to see Pip's session. I have admired her work for so long, and she is just so infectiously enthusiastic about STUFF. She talked about the rewards of building a community of engaged readers, which I loved. She advocates using your blog for good and being a good blog citizen by reading and commenting on others' posts. I learned from her that sincerity is should be at the heart of everything you do. I also liked that she uses the word "amplification" instead of marketing. 

The Fortune Cookie Principle - Bernadette Jiwa

I cannot believe I had never heard of Bernadette. Her marketing philosophy - focused on people, not product placement, was so refreshing. She told me that every click on my blog was a person looking for something, and never to forget that each of them is giving me the gift of their precious time. Think about trying to answer their problems or make a difference in their lives. Look at what people are reading most on your blog, not how many. Relevance is the key. The main message though was that people like things for how they make them feel (not what they actually are) - when you apply this to blogging, you can try to build a lovely community of folk who care about the same stuff. 

Blogging for Community - Joy Toose, Emma Stirling & Renee Bugg

I was excited about this session because I've been thinking for so long about how to incorporate more acts of social good into my life. These guys talked about digital volunteerism and how charities are often not social-media savvy and most would welcome any blogger outreach. They talked about using a blog's influence to spread word or causes and raise profiles of campaigns. I also heard  about Blog Action Day, an annual event I'm keen to learn more about. 

In short, my brain is now buzzing with ideas. I want to write all the things. And I hope you all will help me!

Have you ever been to a blog conference? What did you learn? Did I meet you at PBEvent and I'm not following you on social media? Let me know!

PS - Meanwhile, how much exposure did QT Gold Coast get from this event? Trendy hotel, savvy PR folks.

--> Linking up with Slapdash Mama for The Lounge.

Behind the eightball

I woke up this morning, stumbled into the kitchen, took one look at the mess and started making pancakes. 

Chores in my household are a bit behind at present - life has gotten in the way the past week or so. 

In between building the new shed, having a houseguest, a family emergency (impromptu trip to the farm) and two days of Problogger Training Event, I guess we have an excuse. 

As I attempted to wash up the mountain of dirty dishes, I shared a bit of a lightbulb moment with my hubby; that instead of focusing on the things that haven't been done, I should take stock of what HAS been achieved. 

Our massive dream shed is over halfway up. We were blessed that my mum was not injured badly in her accident. And I spent two days just learning about blogging, which was a great investment in myself. So what if the washing wasn't done?

What have you achieved this week?

Problogger Event Prep

So. Problogger Training Event.

MAN, it has come up quickly. It only seems like a few weeks ago I was buying my ticket.

This will be my first blogging conference, and I am not ashamed to admit I’m more than a little nervous. Mainly because I’m not great at meeting new people and social situations are a challenge.

So, in order to confront my fears and make sure that I do get the most out of the 2 days of talks I’m going back and reviewing the reasons I wanted to go in the first place.

- I wanted to learn more about blogging! Easy!
- This year’s event is on the Gold Coast, so I can feasibly go. Previous events in Sydney or Melbourne were just not even in the realm of financial possibility.
- To hear some of my favourite bloggers speak

And some things I shouldn’t worry about:

- What I’m wearing; because I’m not a fashion blogger and should not really care about being judged on appearance anyways
- Making friends with everybody; because this is unrealistic
- Not having a laptop or iPad; because I shouldn’t feel inferior for not having gadgets
- My phone battery running out; because there’s nothing I can do to stop that happening!

Things to take:

- Notebook & pen (I’m old school)
- Iphone for tweeting and instagram, with backup battery pack
- Cardigan for air conditioned conference rooms
- Snacks (just in case)
- A positive attitude

Wish me luck!