Earlier this year I made a $25 loan thru Kiva to a man in the Congo who wanted to expand his biscuit-selling business. This week I got an email from Kiva with an update on the loan. It said:
José vend des gaufres, galettes et beignets. Il est très content car le crédit qu’il a obtenu au mois de février dernier lui a permis d’acheter une friteuse pour fabriquer des beignets en grande quantité. Il faisait avant en utilisant la braise qui coute cher et détruit la foret. José a maintenant beaucoup de clients et son activité a augmenté en stock et revenu. Il remercie très sincèrement tout le monde qui l’a soutenu financièrement.
The more observant among you will notice that this update is in French, and since I don't read French, a quick trip to Google Translate gave me this translation:
José sells waffles, pancakes and fritters. He is very happy because credit he obtained in February enabled him to buy a deep fryer to make donuts in large quantity. It was before using the embers which is expensive and destroyed the forest. José now has many customers and increased activity in stock and income. He thanked most sincerely everyone who has supported financially.
How cool is that! Thanks Google, and thanks Kiva for keeping me updated.
We use a different microloan company, but I like that Kiva sends you updates. What a great feeling to know just how your money has helped.
Your email from them reminds me of our notifications regarding the French Open tickets we applied for last year. All in French. Without Google I wouldn't have even known if we actually got the tickets or for what date!
Hey, someone else from the Triangle!
I think this is the first time I've actually used Google Translate, though like most things Google I've had some vague notion that it's been there for a while. It's pretty handy.
And yes, I like that Kiva sends updates, too. I suspect it's an effective marketing tool for them (since it reminds people that they recently loaned money to someone thru Kiva and therefore might want to loan some more), but it's also just neat to get information about you loan.
What microloan company do you use? Kiva's the only one I really know anything about.
Спасибо за статью, всегда рад почитать вас!
[Google Translation: Thank you for your article, always glad to read you!]
Спасибо за пост. Позновательно.
[Google Translation: Thanks for the post. Poznovatelno.]
Thanks for the useful info. It's so interesting
Kiva does great work indeed. Thank you!