GAfilk, Kiva and Kenyan dairy farmers

Above: Steve Savitsky, at GAfilk a couple of years ago.

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm leaving tomorrow for Atlanta to attend GAfilk, where Allison, Jodi and I are delighted to be Guests of Honor this year. Linda Melnick is the Toastmistress, Summer & Fall are the Interfilk Guests, and S.M. Stirling is the Super Secret Guest. I'm VERY much looking forward to all the music as well as seeing old friends and making new ones. After the convention, I'll be visiting for a few days with Bill and Brenda Sutton.

A quick link before I go...

One of my favourite Christmas presents was from my cousin's partner, Lisa: a $20 certificate for an organization called Kiva, where you can lend money to small businesses in the developing world.

From the site: "By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can 'sponsor a business' and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back."

Here's the individual to whom I chose to give my loan: a farmer in Nakuru, Kenya, who is hoping to start a small dairy farm business. My $20 is going to help him buy two cows...how cool is that? So far he's collected $850, needs $675 more. If the $20 is ever repaid, I plan to re-invest it in another business on Kiva.

If you're curious, please do check out the site, or you can also read what the press says about Kiva.

Back to packing...



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