Yes we will
Saraya’s a Tanzanian mama
Who heads up a team called Obama.
Her guesthouse is the charm
Of Dar Es Salaam
But a drinks bar would give it more glamour.
There’s something about Kiva microfinance loans that fills me with optimism. A feeling obviously shared by the members of the team, dressed up for the photograph.
I’m wondering why they called their group Obama. I guess it’s the Tanzanian connection with US President Barack Obama. I dare say that the Kiva Team Obama thinks so as well, as they joined me in lending money to Saraya.
The group’s fifth loan through Kiva, aimed at improving the guesthouse Sayara runs in Dar Es Salaam. I managed to dig up the loan page for the second loan, and there’s another photo of the group:
I channel my taxi tips through Kiva, recycling the repayments into more loans and while it’s not much, at $US25 a shot, it’s something that makes me feel a useful part of a global team.
And isn’t that what it’s all about? We’re all part of the same planet, the same biosphere, the same human family. Individually, there’s not much any single person can do – unless maybe he’s the President of the USA – but together, Yes We Can!
Kiva is such a good idea. I love that it’s not charity as such but it encourages independence and responsibility.
And I love your attitude! Yes! we are all part of a global team! I wish more people felt the same.
I knew about Kiva, but it wasn’t until I read Muhammad Yunus’s inspiring book Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
that I realised how well microfinance meshed with my own views.
These small (credit-card-sized or less) loans help break the cycle of poverty and helplessness. Especially amongst the women of the Third World. The opposition Yunus faced in establishing the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh came mainly from established authority figures in government, commerce and religion – all male.
The tales of hope and optimism and success he relates are thrilling. It only needs a few dollars for the poorest of the poor to break free of the traps set for them by unlicensed money-lenders and tied suppliers.
Hi Pete – are you in town? Are you going to the pub tomorrow for bookcrossing?
Yes! I’ll be there!
I might even bring some books with me.