In October this year I am going to be taking a 6 month unpaid career break from my job as a fundraiser for the NSPCC to volunteer for the charity, Kiva.

Kiva is a microfinance organisation whose main aim is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Put simply, the organisation enables people like you and me to join together and make loans to entrepreneurs across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

I have placed some examples of entrepreneurs in the gallery section of this page. These are the people for whom Kiva makes a real positive impact.

I am going to be taking on the role of a Kiva Fellow. A Kiva Fellow is an unpaid role, which enables volunteers to be on the ground, meeting the people who are receiving the loans, and working directly within the local microfinance institute.

The role of a Kiva Fellow involves facilitating connections between Kivas borrowers and lenders through journal postings, video diaries, blog entries etc; meeting the people that are receiving the loan, and reporting back to the lenders on the impact that loan has made on their business, their family and the community around them.

I will also be supporting Kivas mission, product and procedures; promoting the policies of Kiva locally, developing progress reports on the loans received to ensure that they are being paid back on time, collecting and posting new borrower profiles, and sharing best practice and policy with local staff.

This is a 100% voluntary role. Because of the complexities of microfinance I will be travelling to San Francisco for an intensive training course. I will have to cover the cost of the flight, the accommodation and living expenses for this trip.
I will then be flying to my destination country to work as a Kiva fellow (this has not yet been decided out of the many that Kiva work within- I find out later in September). Again, I will have to pay for the flight, accommodation and living expenses for the trip which could be up to 6 months. During this time I will have no income and will be working 9-5 for Kiva.

I estimate that this trip will cost me in the region of 4000. So I am asking you to help support me in this endeavour, however much you can afford. And hopefully together we can make a difference and help entrepreneurs lift themselves out of poverty.

To find out more visit www.kiva.org/fellows.

Thank you!