Daily Blog
Become a Microlender. Change a Life.
No two days are alike when you work at Kiva. We come into the office every day, ready to put our heads down and do the work necessary to help facilitate microloans around the globe, never knowing what the day will bring. However, nothing prepared us for the day in March 2008 when we received an unexpected visitor - California First Lady Maria Shriver! Once it had a chance to sink in that the First Lady of California was getting a tour of our office, everyone sat down around the conference table while Maria told us about how she believed that Kiva could play an important role in empowering entrepreneurs right in our own backyard.
She was right. Poverty exists everywhere – even in the richest countries in the world. There was no reason that we couldn’t apply the model that we had built, helping entrepreneurs in need in the developing world, to entrepreneurs here in the United States.
Since its beginning, Kiva has been about making unlikely connections to help alleviate poverty, and Kiva is really proud that the unlikely connection that we made that day with Maria has blossomed into a great partnership with both the First Lady and the Women’s Conference.
Since that day, we’ve been working together, along with microfinance institutions across the United States to make this idea a reality. As Maria reminded us, we can each have a huge impact in the world for as little as a $25 loan, and we’re happy to work together to add the United States to the long list of countries where Kiva lenders can make that difference. We invite you to help us celebrate the June 10th launch of our domestic microlending program by joining Maria Shriver's Lending Team. Become a microlender. Change a life.
Obama's Nomination: Sonia Sotomayor
On Tuesday May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama announced his Supreme Court nomination – Sonia Sotomayor. Ms. Sotomayor, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents, grew up in a public housing project -- but went on to graduate from Princeton University and Yale Law School. For the last twelve years she has served on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York City. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, and only the third woman.
This Memorial Day, Remember Our Military Families
Suzanne Hogan is a military wife and daughter. In this piece, she honors the families that have sacrificed their sons and daughters -- reminding us that it is because of their sacrifices that we can honor Memorial Day this Monday. I saw a mom today, with her boy. There she stood letting go of his hand as he walked towards uncertainty. There he stood looking back at his life and all things familiar. I saw a mom today with her boy. I saw a boy today with his mom.
LA City Council Approves Budget to Test Rape Kits
Los Angeles has a backlog of more than 5,000 untested rape kits. (A “rape kit” refers to the DNA evidence taken from a woman after she is raped to identify her attacker. ) The good news: On May 18th the Los Angeles City Council approved a measure that would add 26 more employees to the city’s DNA crime lab and fund external lab work in an effort to test the backlog of rape kits. For the funds to successfully transfer, the mayor must now approve the proposed budget.
Breakthrough: Kuwait Elects 4 Women to Parliament
The results came in this past weekend -- four women will now sit in Kuwait’s parliament of 50, making Rola Dashti, Salwa al-Jassar, Aseel al-Awadi and Massouma al-Mubarak the first women to be elected to the country’s parliament. Their election comes only four years after Kuwaiti women were first given the right to vote, and against the urging of conservative Islamists. Some hypothesize that the women’s election to parliament comes in response to voter frustration over political gridlock between the parliament and cabinet.
What makes your mother special?
Mother’s Day brings to mind slow, late breakfasts, bouquets of flowers and lazy Sundays. It’s the one day of the year dedicated to recognizing mothers for all that they do. Whether your mother lives near or far, Mother’s Day gives you the opportunity to honor what she has done for you this year and throughout your life.
Taking Back the Power of Self-Worth
Does someone else need to acknowledge our worth to make it real? Do we crave outside affirmation of our value because we are insecure by nature? If women are insecure as a gender, we’ve been given reason to be. A woman’s culture – our upbringing, our environment, social cues, and our own strongly held beliefs that nuance our experience – defines female status. And though it’s quite obvious that women have made enormous gains in terms of rights and participation, the global picture of the status of women and girls is not so rosy.
Project to paint the modern portrait of the American woman
On Tuesday, April 15, 2009, Maria Shriver announced a new project called, "A Woman’s Nation", which will take a new, empirical look at American women, who for the first time in our nation’s history, make up half of all workers and are becoming the primary breadwinners in more families than ever before. This is a multifaceted project in partnership with the Center for American Progress and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy. TIME magazine will also be involved in research and reporting, as well as co-presenting discussions and roundtables around the country.
Celebrating Women in Art
If you search for the keyword "women" on Google, you can stumble upon a great video called "Women in Art" on Youtube featuring 500 Years of Female Portraits. Each famous painting depicts the face of a woman which then transitions/morphs into the next painting. Awarded the Most Creative Video during the 2007 YouTube Awards, this video was created by Philip Scott Johnson and is both beautiful and inspirational. To go to the "Women in Art" Youtube page click here.
Twitter Status
HuffPo reports that for the "price of six jumbo gourmet coffee drinks" you can support an American entrepreneur
http://bit.ly/17aa7L
