I wanted to tell you a little bit about one of the philanthropic things my family does, and that is microfinancing. We lend money to entrepreneurs in countries around the world, through an organization called Kiva. What is really cool about Kiva is that they help us lend money to people in places where there may not be enough of a banking system for them to get loans, or their needs are too small for banks.

Quite often, we will lend as little as $25 to someone, and that money is pooled with funds from other investors, until the people have managed to borrow the amount they need. Then, they repay the loan through Kiva or it’s affiliate organizations.

Below is an update email I received on one of our loans.

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This is an update on your loan to Kalamnisso Azizova in Tajikistan.

Dear Kiva Lender,

My name is Boris Mordkovich and I’m a volunteer from New York who has spent the last two months working at a Kiva field partner in Tajikistan:

MLO HUMO & Partners. Kiva has been working with HUMO for over a year in order to reach borrowers in Tajikistan. Through this critical partnership, lenders like you can lend funds directly to entrepreneurs in this region to help them improve their businesses and their standard of living.

The Borrowers

Kiva lenders have supported more than 5,600 borrowers in Tajikistan, more than 1,500 of whom have received assistance from HUMO. For many of them, starting their own business is the only way to support themselves and their families. Job opportunities are scarce, and even if people do find full-time work, their salaries are usually not enough to cover living expenses. For example, a teacher in Tajikistan makes about 280 Somoni (about $75) per month, while it costs at least $300 to 500 per month to feed and support a family in the city.

If you’d like to view some of their stories, I invite you to visit the “Stories of Five Micro-Finance Borrowers”:

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/03/26/the-stories-of-5-micro-finance-borrowers/

Current Economic Crisis

Due to a lack of developed infrastructure and industries, the country’s economy has been supported primarily by remittances sent by migrant Tajik workers, who are based primarily in Russia. However, as the world’s economic crisis worsens, many of these migrant workers are now unable to find work abroad, just as the situation is getting more dire in Tajikistan itself.

Access to micro-credit is becoming more important than ever in order for people to sustain their businesses and themselves during these difficult economic times. Many of the bigger banks have stopped their lending activity altogether or have significantly increased their rates. Smaller micro-finance institutions, such as HUMO and others, remain one of the few reasonable options for the low-income population.

If you want to find out more about the impact of the economic crisis in Tajikistan, visit:

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/02/10/impact-of-the-economic-crisis-in-tajikistan/

How Does Your Involvement Make a Difference?

Over the two months I’ve spent at HUMO, I’ve wound up explaining how Kiva works to dozens of people. Most of them were aware of the organization, but not everybody fully understood how it worked. When they learned about the hundreds of lenders that were behind all of these loans, they were often amazed and impressed by people’s generosity and their desire to help. On behalf of Kiva, HUMO, and its borrowers, we thank you for supporting our work.

To see current fundraising loans from HUMO on Kiva.org, please check:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=63&status=fundRaising&sortBy=Old+to+New&_te=mj

If you have any follow-up questions or comments, feel free to contact me at boris.mordkovich@fellows.kiva.org and I’d be more than happy to try to address your concerns.

Signing off from Tajikistan,

Boris Mordkovich [Kiva Fellow, Class 7]

Additional notes from Kiva:

1. This update was posted from Tajikistan by Kiva’s Field Partner, MLO Humo and Partners. If you appreciate this update, please consider supporting another entrepreneur listed by this Field Partner. You can view other fundraising loans of MLO Humo and Partners here:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=63&status=fundRaising&sortBy=New%2Bto%2BOld&_te=j

2. If this journal entry is in a foreign language, please feel free to use an online translator such as Google Translator:

(http://translate.google.com/)

3. Also, please feel free to add a comment online about this update that will be shared with the Field Partner:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=comment&id=63292&ent=132833&_te=j

4. And finally, if you do not wish to receive these emails, you can disable them by logging into your Kiva account and clicking “My Account”

where you can set your email preferences.

https://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=account&_te=j

Thanks for lending to the world’s working poor on Kiva!

Best Wishes, Kiva Staff

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