SYDNEY AND FRANK ON KIVA

My sister Sydney and her husband Frank, artists in Bisbee, Arizona, have joined Kiva. Frank, a photographer, was able to join on a loan to a fellow photographer in Paraguay who needed $600 to invest in a DVD burner. That is the kind of connection that makes Kiva lending so addictive.

Sydney commented that they decided to join Kiva now because the organization will be mentioned on Oprah TODAY... big, big, big publicity. Even the brief mention on the Today show yesterday brought a slew of new lenders; borrowers needs are being funded in record time.

Now there is even BIGGER news about publicity - I lifted this quote from the posting of a Kiva staff member on Kiva Friends:

"Kiva.org is mentioned in President Clinton's new book "Giving" which is released today. Premal Shah will be attending the book release press event in Harlem, along with 3 Kiva Lenders. 2 Kiva stories are included on the website for the book (which I can't find right now, did they take it down?) written by 2 Kiva lenders - Glenda being one of them! (My note: Glenda is one of the very active Kiva Friends.)

"So, this is going to be a HUGE week for Kiva. We'll probably run out of businesses, but the good news is that we'll have SO many new lenders!! Yesterday we received $100k in loan funds as a result of the Today Show - and that was WITH the $25 cap on (lenders were only able to lend $25 at a time).

"Tonight, make a toast to Kiva - our lenders (that's you!), our entrepreneurs, our partners, our volunteers and our staff, who all work so hard together as one big team to make a difference in the world, one loan at a time."

We Kiva addicts who meet and share with each other on Kiva Friends are abuzz! Finally, as one Kiva Friend said, "Now, when I mention Kiva, other people will know what I am talking about!"

I have added links to Syd's and Frank's lender pages to the left side of our blog.

LIFE SPEEDS BY

We do many fun and interesting things that don't make it to the blog. I have the best intentions of sharing, but it doesn't always happen. I don't have good photo for illustration, or I get caught up in other online activities, or I have so MANY photos I can't decide which to post, or how to tie them together.

Every so often I "clear the decks" and accept that certain "noteworthy" items will remain undescribed; believe it or not, this includes some memorable meals (like the delicious Thai-Style Curried Mussels we had last night - we are on a mussel-eating binge).

Still, I couldn't let this photo languish, as it represents to me one of the fun experiences we have in our travels: meeting in person an individual we have only met online. (It is more accurate to say "I have met online", as I am the official correspondent for this team.)

It is a big step to go from the enjoyment of a "virtual" friendship, born of similar interests shared in thoughfully crafted posts on online forums and later nutured in personal email exchanges, to the reality of meeting in the "real" world. Actually, I seldom suggest it.

However, I didn't want to leave this area of the Pacific Northwest without giving a hug to a particularly interesting online friend, so Odel and I spent a recent afternoon matching a face to signature. It was a grand time, and I snapped this photo from her porch as the sun disappeared behind the Olympic Mountains, towering over the Hood Canal, while we relaxed with our new friends.

Traveling as we do has widely expanded our circle of friends, both in the real world and in the virtual reality of forums, blogs, and emails. I had a funny experience the other day: an email friend wrote to me with a link to a blog that described the Epicurian Excursion walking tour that Odel and I had taken in Portland. After reading Jo and Fred Wishnies' wonderful blog, I contacted Jo to rave about it.

In her reply, Jo revealed to me that it was our blog that turned her on to the Epicurian Excursion in the first place. Funny, huh? The Wishnies' Trip Journal is excellent; I hope we can meet up with them someday.

A KIVA UPDATE

Another member of our family is now a Kiva lender... The lender page for Odel's niece, Audrey, is now linked to our blog.

Kiva is about to get a big dose of publicity. The big news among Kivans last week was that the Today show is doing a piece on Kiva on Monday, Sept 3 (Labor Day). Even bigger: barring a change in scheduling, Kiva will be part of the Oprah show on Tuesday, when Oprah interviews Bill Clinton for a segment on his new book, Giving.

Matt Flannery, one of the co-founders of Kiva, has a great post on his blog that describes what is was like for him to participate in the taping of the show. It's a good read!