Reilly Cisar                                                       Kiva Project                                        10-28-15

When I went onto the Kiva website, two people really stuck out in my mind was, Ruth’s goal to buy land, and Francis’ goal is that he wants money to buy a motorcycle so he can bring produce to the market.

Ruth is a youthful, 40-year-old farmer from Kabati, a remote village in the Thika area of Kenya where people live in shanties made from whatever materials they can find, usually sheets of corrugated tin. According to residents, the people of Kabati are forgotten or ignored by the county government of Thika. But within the remote village of Kabati, Ruth is working hard to pull herself out of the dismal conditions. She has four children which she loves and cares for, but she needs help. These are the main reasons why I would want to raise money for her. She is a hard worker, and wants more for her family. When I think about poverty, I think about our own country, even Baltimore. There are people struggling everywhere so it is important to do as much as you can, so that globally we can be a strong world. When one country is doing bad, it affects all the other countries. For example, EBOLA, when this came to our country it threatened our health. So its important that we all work together.

Francis is a role model, and a mentor and an inspiration to many young farmers in his village because of his resilience despite personal challenges, because of his passion to support his children as a primary caregiver. Living conditions in the Kericho area are very tough and you need to have tough skin in order to survive. Francis has always shown the resilience to beat all odds. This is why I think he deserves to have a motorcycle to be able to drive to the market. If he is given this gift he will provide for others. Like Ruth, he is a hard worker and wants more for himself and his community.

            When I went over the two people I decided to pick Ruth. I think I picked her because she has four kids that also needed to be fed, loved and cared for with that money. I think she will be able to do a better job of taking care of her kids. I am also concerned about her kids. I have two brothers and I cannot imagine my mom having to provide for all of us by herself.