kiva poetry auction winners (3)

• Shahnoza Juraeva - "She has applied for a Kiva loan to buy seasonal materials and additional national dresses" in Tajikistan.
• Saneam Soeur Village Bank Group - "Fourteen people in Preak Thom Village in Kandal Province [Cambodia] form one group in one Village Bank".
• Khuraman Sheydayeva - "Now this family requests a loan to buy 2 calves" in Azerbaijan.
• Myriam Lugo - Selling jewelry in Paraguay.

kiva poetry auction winners (2)

Our next four winners are:

• The Ram Group in Sierra Leone are going for some firewood.
• Sergei Avromenko is selling clothes and shoes in the Ukraine.
• Adela Flores Fierro sells cosmetics in Nicaragua.
• Mounitarou Yakoubou will be buying spare parts and a motorcycle to repair and sell.

And still more to come...

kiva poetry auction winners(1)

You may remember this. Well, lesser kudu ponied up $300 (to which I will add $100). Most generous of LK - so three cheers from everyone please.

I am in the middle of writing LK's poem on hope - of which there will be many variants I suspect. In the meantime, here are the first four entrepreneurs I have given the money to:

• Youssef - who needs a new floor-polishing machine.
• Fabiola Dilone - who needs to buy some inventory for her clothing business.
• Seang Sok - who is gunning for a motorcycle and a pumping machine.
• Rose Mensah - who is up for more stock for her food trading.

Go them! More to follow shortly...

kiva poetry auction update

Remember this? So far we have 2 bids:

• Andrew Mitchell weighed in with AU$100.
• Lesser Kudu upped the ante to $150 for "hope". Not bad for someone with hooves (do they cause problems with the keyboard LK?) and funky stripes.

Come on - you can band together to get the cash remember? For the cost of a good meal for 4 people, those same 4 people can:

• Contribute to the well-being of many human beings.
• Influence the behaviour of one specific human being (for better or humorous).

What could be better? Post your bid now.

kiva poetry auction

Inspired by Johnnie's gift, I am instituting a Kiva poetry auction. Here is the skinny:

• You can bid for a special poem. What makes it different to an ordinary one? I will video a performance and put it on YouTube. You decide the topic of the poem. And you get to decide any "special" requirements for the video performance*.
• You then get to choose the Kiva entrepreneur (or entrepreneurs) we give the money to. I will feature regular updates from them on my blog - and if you are a blogger you will do the same.
• I will add AU$100 of my own.
• The closing date is midnight March 31st.
• The bidding starts at AU$100.
• Bids are made in the comments box of this blog post.
• Given the cooperative nature of Kiva, consortiums of bidders are allowed.

*I will not go nude. I will do not anything illegal or health-threatening. But apart from that, it's all fair game.

johnnie's response - kiva chain

Meet Johnnie. He wanted a poem about action points. Johnnie's has decided on what his response will be - a Kiva gift certificate. Excellent choice, Mr Moore.

Meet Kiva. "Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. By choosing a loan on Kiva, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the entrepreneur you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back."



Meet Lay Sok. A budding construction magnet from Cambodia, he is the first recipient of EwF's largesse. Why did I choose Lay Sok? My due diligence team scrutinised his business plan and accounts for weeks. I like Cambodia and like the idea of him building stuff - in part because it links to Annette's poem (though I am sure things will end better for him).



In loaning someone else's money to Lay Sok, I join Paul from Illinois, Ville from Helsinki and Frode from the other side of Sydney harbour.

Kiva Rocks!!!