By noon on Thursday September 10 some parts of Japan had received double the average rainfall for September. This caused mass flooding, and many people went missing, were injured, or died. Many people also lost their homes and belongings. As Kiva lenders we help those who have suffered in natural disasters.
By: Allison W. and Emma T.
#why_we_Kiva
Over the course of the last week, Ghana was hit by terrible flooding. Over 1.5 million people live in the capitol where the flooding occurred. Of those citizens, 9,250 people were affected by the floods and 1,125 houses have been severely damaged. At least 200 people died and 60 have been hospitalized.
Ghana expected to receive 600 million dollars in order to protect the flood prone capitol of Accra. This money was going to be used to install storm drains and gutters, but when the government delayed the pay unexpectedly, floods struck.
Because of the lack of storm drains, water leaked into underground gas pipes and caused the tank to explode. Hundreds of people were huddled under the overhang of a nearby gas station when the explosion occurred At least 150 of those people are dead but the death toll is expected to go up.
All of this is why we lend. this explosion happened because of money. if Accra had gotten the money they would have put in storm drains and that explosion wouldn’t have happened. We lend so that others don’t suffer.
Emma T.
I recently lent to a group called the Inn Du Village Group. This group consists of 18 men and 9 women. They all live in the same village and are requesting a loan for $5725 in order to feed and care for livestock, including ducks and pigs. This is basically their only means of income in the village. I decided to make this loan mostly because of the condition of their peoples lives. They have an annual income of only 200 dollars a year. This is equivalent to what we spend on one large trip to the grocery store. In Burma (Myanmar), where this group lives, there is on going conflict. This conflict has existed since 1948. Many people have fled the country because of the war.
By Emma
Cladys is a 44 year old woman from Peru. She is married and her children are grown. She sells honey and different beverages for a living. Cladys requested a $500 loan in order to update the presentation of her products and to better her and her husband’s living conditions.
In peru the average annual in come is $6,715. That’s living on $18 a day. Most people in the U.S. live on $145 a day.
By Emma
We loaned to Arif who lives in a country near Iraq and Iran. Arif is 28 years old and has 2 children. He needs the loan money to get running water in his house and build a fence. Can you believe that some people in poor countries don’t have running water?
The annual income in the country that he lives in is 6,171 dollars. Arif earns 180 manats a month, which is equal to 174.04 U.S. dollars; that means he lives on less than 5 dollars a day. Think about it, most of our breakfasts cost more than that.
We felt that he was the best person to help since he lives on so little a day.
Written by Caitlin and Emma