Thursday, October 29, 2009

Which Religion Should I Follow?

This link from 'The Friendly Atheist' will either...

___answer that question...

___start a conversation???

___just make a whole lot of people angry as hell :)

later man, jan
(thanks Gord)

Equality - what a concept...

We need more testimonials like this one...

later man, jan

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Kiva lending is such a 'feel good' thing...

This video was posted on a loan that is 47% paid back. I just love the look of pride in this man's eyes as he shows off his accomplishments. This is the kind of connection that makes lending through Kiva such a worthwhile use of my time.

later man, jan

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Vittana - Invest in Education, One Loan at a Time

Vittana is new and Vittana is growing. They have asked me to tell 5 of my friends. I'm not sure I have 5 people who actually read my blog... but you never know.

I loaned $25 to Maria in May, a 22-year-old studying administration in Paraguay. She has a husband who works but they could not afford her tuition up front. She made her first repayment on Oct 6th and my PayPal account was credited with $7.39. Woohoo!

I loaned $25 to Nardith in September. She is a 23-year-old studying laboratory sciences in Peru. She is now fully funded.

Today I loaned $25 to another Maria. She is a 23-year-old studying bank administration in Nicaragua. I worked for a bank all my life. I hope she does well. Her loan is 49% funded so far.

later man, jan

Friday, October 09, 2009

After the Storm, A New Morning Comes...

One of the Kiva Fellows, Mary Reidel, is newly arrived on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. She posted today on her blog that she attended a Catholic morning devotion. This video was in Mary's words...

"followed by a moving talk about hope and service. We were all encouraged to think about what we could do for the community- “Take out your cell phones and text yourself– ‘what is the legacy of service I’d like to leave behind?’ He then asked, “Could we give up some time today to pack relief goods?” This is a true reflection of the type of organization ASKI is, they go beyond microfinance with their ASKI foundation arm."

It always amazes me that people who have the least are usually the ones who can always find it in their hearts to give more. The employees working for this microfinance organization in the Philippines work for small wages and spend long hours trying to reach and help people in remote and under-served areas.

We are so fortunate in our beautiful Canada. We have much to be thankful for this weekend. Let's not forget to set aside a little of what we have and give it to someone who needs it more.

later man, jan

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Tchau Mocambique

Sometimes we can begin to get negative at Kiva Friends. Nothing in life works perfectly and Kiva.org is built and run by fallible humans just like me. Yesterday was such a day. But today, when I see and read something like Cameron's blog from Mozambique, I lift my head and smile and go looking for someone else to lend to. Life is terrific for us, I want to help make it better for someone else.



later man, jan

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

What Joy comes from a Pre-Schooler...

It is a privilege to carry a little one to pre-school and back.

Being woken up early in the morning with cold little hands saying "get up, Gramma, get up" :) I open the front door and turn on the lights and then climb back into bed. I sometimes even get a chance to drift back off to sleep before he arrives.

It's fun watching a small child inhale a whole apple juice box in pretty much one long suck and then stuff down the last crumb of raisin toast because he *knows* he won't get one of Gramma's candies if he doesn't finish breakfast.

Enjoying that look you get when he catches you brushing your teeth in your hands under the tap. And that long discussion about why Gramma's teeth fell out because she didn't look after them when she was a teen. And the joy when he quickly ran to the other bathroom and standing on tippy toes, he turned on the light, reached in the cabinet for his toothbrush and quickly brushed his teeth, all by himself!

Every time we go, Gramma parks in a different spot and it's fun to go 'find where the car is hiding'. He's getting really good pushing the remote to lock and unlock the door and today we had a giggle because for some reason, the trunk popped open.

Today is really special because I now have a Thankful Tree to put up on my fridge. The items on the tree are mommy and daddy and Peter and "Hoot" and jellybeans and Spiderman toy and my dog and my blue blankie and macaroni & cheese. What an assortment. And what wonderful teachers to take all that time to explain his picture.

And now I must go bake chocolate chip cookies for the Sunday School's big and little ones this weekend. It's a privilege. Don't worry, I'll save us a few for Thanksgiving at the cabin as well.

later man, jan