Welcome

Rotary Club of Camrose Daybreak
Eye Opener November 5, 2019 – KIVA Investing

November is Rotary Foundation Month

Meeting called to order, 14 members present, at 7:10 am with Alan leading O Canada and Rotary Grace

Glenda and Tricia will celebrate 2 years and Destiny 8 years of Rotary membership this month.

Dean offered Food for Thought about an indigenous panel presentation he attended at the library. Dark history of residential schools (last of which closed in 1996) is still lived today in the breakdown of family and culture. Reconciliation is starting and evolving but has much left to do. Discussion was generated on personal experiences with indigenous peoples and culture – in the 60’s children being flown out of Northern Ontario for education never to return, rationalizing taking children to better educate them and satisfy parents looking to adopt, the blanket ceremony where indigenous dancers are on progressively smaller blankets until there is barely room to stand indicating the shrinking of their land.

The presentation made Dean wonder how he would react if someone came to remove his 3 children. As a police officer he also spoke of the redcoats seen as protectors when the west was being settled, they dealt with unscrupulous traders and settlers. In the residential school era that changed as it was often the redcoats that were removing the children. Police – indigenous relations today are having to deal with that history.

Announcements:

Tricia drew the king of spades and will offer Food for Thought at next week’s meeting.

Happy Bucks were offered for the Chickadee trail near Gwynne, harvest, Pub Walk, going to Comox to celebrate wedding anniversary, delayed Thanksgiving with family, Remembrance Day, winning growler for summer social, off to Florida and the Amazon, snow, finding out grandfather was a Rotarian, off to Mexico, Pub Walk committee,  pubs, donors, walkers.

KIVA Presentation by Destiny started with an overview of the microfinance model. Individuals apply for loans for business, health, education or other needs to a local vetting organization. The applications are assessed using various criteria and if approved are posted to solicit funding. Note that the loans do carry an interest charge that may seem high to us but is reasonable in the environment where these loans are made. A bio of the individual, their loan need and amount, repayment term and funding deadline are made available. In KIVA we can refine searches using a wealth of criteria. Once we see a need we want to support we can invest as little as $25 toward meeting the goal. Investments are refunded if the loan isn’t funded by its deadline. Payments are made on successful loans and credited to our account.

Our injection of $3,679 of club funds a few years ago has generated $12,100 of KIVA lending in our name. We have made 126 loans in 36 countries. We currently have about $1,875 in outstanding loans and have about $1,450 to invest today. We invest primarily in women, so our delinquency rate is under 6%, half of the average for KIVA.

Today we concentrated on investing in women with loan requests close to expiring. We were able to complete some requests and move others closer to target.

Meeting closed 8:00 am with Alan leading the Four Way Test

Morris
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