On March 21, our Spanish department hosted two representatives from Kiva, Catherine Vo and Olivia Cornfield. Kiva is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization with a global reach.  Kiva’s mission is to connect individual lenders with people around the world who need micro loans to improve their lives through small businesses, education, green energy, and a number of other projects.

Kiva relies on volunteer translators to communicate borrowers’ needs. Many seeking loans are from Spanish-speaking countries. Our Grade 7 students spent time in Spanish class learning about Kiva and using language skills to translate sample loan profiles from Spanish into English. This use of the Spanish language is powerful and allows students to apply their understanding of vocabulary to real life situations.

Ms. Cornfield and Ms. Vo shared a brief history of Kiva, highlighted borrower profiles, and shared specifics about three Kiva-supported organizations (Sanergy, Sistema Biobolsa, Solar Sister). Hamlin girls then asked questions about how borrowers are vetted and how repayment works.

The afternoon culminated with our students receiving codes in order to lend $25 to a borrower of their choice.

In video below, students are selecting a loan recipient:

To learn more about Kiva, please visit: https://www.kiva.org/