Walking, Running and KIVA

I wanted to introduce two men and one organization that are very inspirational to me.  I don't know either of the men, but ran across their stories during my blog hopping.  Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.  Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

1. Jonathon Stalls and his dog, Kanoa, will embark on a coast-to-coast cross country trek covering an estimated 3,000 miles from Delaware to San Francisco, CA - and he’s taking Kiva with him.  He will be walking through hundreds of towns, cities, and communities in Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California.  You can follow his progress at www.kivawalk.com.

Why is Jonathon going on this cross country trek?
“Since living in Ireland (2005-2006), visiting Honduras in 2007, and swapping life stories with many ‘travelers,’ I have craved an adventure that would challenge my daily activities, expectations, and priorities. The speed and growth of our commodity driven and over-communicated culture feeds a personal call to engage in quieter, slower, and more intentional experiences with less. 
This walk will be a journey in listening, eating, sharing, and growing with: strangers, neighbors, officials, hikers, animals, wind, and dirt.”

Why is he partnering with Kiva?
"I wanted and needed a larger purpose that would stretch far beyond my own personal attractions to such a trek. I came across Kiva in my social entrepreneurship class at Metropolitan State College of Denver in the fall of 2007. I craved to do more the minute I clicked on the link, browsed the website, and began donating. After meeting and engaging Kiva staff and many hours of creative brainstorming ‘we’ have cultivated an exciting relationship to spread Kiva’s mission and build lending communities across the country. I am more than enthusiastic to work with one of our nation’s leading incubators in the fight to alleviate extreme poverty across the world – GO KIVA!” 


2.  Martin Parnell is a 55-year-old from Canada and began running when he was 47.  He will attempt to run 250 marathons in 2010. His goal is to raise $250,000 for Right To Play. Right To Play is an humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace with children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Right To Play also works in Canadian communities to inspire children and support their right to grow and learn through physical activity. More than 4,500 schools in Canada use the Right To Play program. To raise $250,000, Martin will run all 250 marathons between January 1st and December 31st 2010.  If you're interested you can follow his progress at www.marathonquest250.com.  As of today, he has completed 25 marathons.

3. I discovered KIVA through reading information from World Vision.  I made my first loan of $25 in October of 2009 to Aciy Grace.  She is in the business of selling various foodstuffs at a restaurant and requested a loan to stock more rice and beans to sell. Aciy is 30 years old and is married with a husband that is an engineer. She has 6 children, and her children go to school. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to pay school fees for her children.  She lives in Gudele, South Sudan.  She requested $325 and along with 9 other people from around the world, we were able to fund her loan.  To date she has repaid 30% of the loan.  When the loan is repaid in full, I can choose to withdraw the money or loan to someone else.  $25 doesn't seem like a lot of money, but with the combined efforts of other people we are able to help people like Aciy.  It's very humbling to think that such a little amount of money can have such a huge impact on someone's life.  I think very differently now about how I spend my money.

I am inspired by people who put action to their beliefs.  Jonathan, Martin and Kiva give me great hope.

A Thoughtful Paws from Woody & Ellie

Do you say 3000-mile walk?  When do we leave?