Success for the Warren Parkes Memorial Fund
GREAT NEWS!
Thanks to your donations to the Warren Parkes Memorial Fund, three small business owners have improved their businesses and their lives. I just got word this week that we have received full repayment from three of the nine businesses that were part of the Fund's first round of recipients. And, I just checked our profile on Kiva, and the remaining six recipients are all making payments as scheduled and should fulfill their loans soon as well.
THE FIRST THREE SUCCESS STORIES
Together, in Warren's memory, we helped:
(1) Small grocery store owner Blanca from Honduras to increase her inventory and grow her customer base.
(2) Embroidery company owner Habiba from Afghanistan to buy three sewing machines (for her apprentices) to attract more clients.
(3) Used clothing vendor Maria from Mexico to increase her inventory to allow her to start selling at a local market.
NEW LOANS
The returned loan money has now been reloaned to the following three small business owners (photos and text from Kiva's website). I'll keep you posted on their progress, as well as the other six recipients.
Koffi from Togo (Africa)
Koffi Sowonou is the man sitting on the far left. The others in the photo are his apprentices who are learning the trade of tailoring. Mr. Sowonou is 45 years old and the father of 6 children. His tailor shop is located in Avenonou, a small village located about 120 kilometers from Lomé, the Togolese capital. With this loan, he would like to buy 3 sewing machines as well as fabrics suitable for men, to make clothes to sell to his clients. He hopes that with this loan he will be able to expand his business and with the profits he will gain from making and selling more clothes, he will be better able to cater for the needs of his family.
Heab from Cambodia (Asia)
Mrs. Heab Kong, 29, is a mother of three children that stays at home looking after the children and cooking food for her family members. After the house work, she works as a tailor and normally earns around $4 a day. Her husband supports the family as a motor-taxi driver, making around $3.50 a day of profit. To increase their standard of living they request to loan from Kiva to purchase another motor-taxi for their son to run as a business.
Macario from Ecuador (South America)
Macario is in the business of selling clothes and other items. He travels around the community and also to the rural sector, specifically targeting friends, family, and acquaintances. Macario has been selling clothes for about six years. Although his business is somewhat profitable, it does not always provide enough for him and his family. Therefore, Macario also buys and sells rice. He travels in his truck to rural Ecuador where he buys directly from the rice farmers. He sells the rice to many small stores around Guayaquil. Macario is on his third loan with this organization. He has proven to be a very responsible client who is a savvy investor. With this loan he wants to buy more school supplies as he knows that the new school semester is approaching and kids will be looking to restock. Macario is 53 years old and has two kids. His wife works as a housecleaner and sometimes gets jobs taking care of the elderly.
IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH KIVA...
The Warren Parkes Memorial Fund uses Kiva, a nonprofit organization that "lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world—empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty." The loan amounts are small ("micro-loans") but sometimes a few hundred dollars is all that a small business owner in a developing country needs to completely change their lives! Check them out for yourself at www.kiva.org.
Thanks to your donations to the Warren Parkes Memorial Fund, three small business owners have improved their businesses and their lives. I just got word this week that we have received full repayment from three of the nine businesses that were part of the Fund's first round of recipients. And, I just checked our profile on Kiva, and the remaining six recipients are all making payments as scheduled and should fulfill their loans soon as well.
THE FIRST THREE SUCCESS STORIES
Together, in Warren's memory, we helped:
(1) Small grocery store owner Blanca from Honduras to increase her inventory and grow her customer base.(2) Embroidery company owner Habiba from Afghanistan to buy three sewing machines (for her apprentices) to attract more clients.
(3) Used clothing vendor Maria from Mexico to increase her inventory to allow her to start selling at a local market.
NEW LOANS
The returned loan money has now been reloaned to the following three small business owners (photos and text from Kiva's website). I'll keep you posted on their progress, as well as the other six recipients.
Koffi from Togo (Africa)
Koffi Sowonou is the man sitting on the far left. The others in the photo are his apprentices who are learning the trade of tailoring. Mr. Sowonou is 45 years old and the father of 6 children. His tailor shop is located in Avenonou, a small village located about 120 kilometers from Lomé, the Togolese capital. With this loan, he would like to buy 3 sewing machines as well as fabrics suitable for men, to make clothes to sell to his clients. He hopes that with this loan he will be able to expand his business and with the profits he will gain from making and selling more clothes, he will be better able to cater for the needs of his family.
Heab from Cambodia (Asia)
Mrs. Heab Kong, 29, is a mother of three children that stays at home looking after the children and cooking food for her family members. After the house work, she works as a tailor and normally earns around $4 a day. Her husband supports the family as a motor-taxi driver, making around $3.50 a day of profit. To increase their standard of living they request to loan from Kiva to purchase another motor-taxi for their son to run as a business.
Macario from Ecuador (South America)
Macario is in the business of selling clothes and other items. He travels around the community and also to the rural sector, specifically targeting friends, family, and acquaintances. Macario has been selling clothes for about six years. Although his business is somewhat profitable, it does not always provide enough for him and his family. Therefore, Macario also buys and sells rice. He travels in his truck to rural Ecuador where he buys directly from the rice farmers. He sells the rice to many small stores around Guayaquil. Macario is on his third loan with this organization. He has proven to be a very responsible client who is a savvy investor. With this loan he wants to buy more school supplies as he knows that the new school semester is approaching and kids will be looking to restock. Macario is 53 years old and has two kids. His wife works as a housecleaner and sometimes gets jobs taking care of the elderly.
IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH KIVA...
The Warren Parkes Memorial Fund uses Kiva, a nonprofit organization that "lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world—empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty." The loan amounts are small ("micro-loans") but sometimes a few hundred dollars is all that a small business owner in a developing country needs to completely change their lives! Check them out for yourself at www.kiva.org.