walk

kiva's lost touch

I had been following the Kiva story on Sasha Dicter's blog and now it looks like it hit the NY Times.

This whole thing made me sad. It made me want to stop lending through Kiva. It made me want to stop giving to organizations that I don't really know.

Kiva had a story that touched me. I would spend time looking at photos and needs. I would pick people in places where I had a connection. I would think about the risk of non repayment and would get excited about playing a part in a person's life. I would often think back to the person I lent to. Did I play some part in helping make life a bit better for them?

Kiva broke my trust. They broke my relationship. They broke my story.

The problem with my feelings are that they are all about me rather than those postively impacted. It makes me feel ashamed of myself.

But I still don't want to lend through Kiva. I'll find someone else.

When you sell a story built on emotion, you'd better deliver. Lost trust is tough to earn back. It's a bugger that way.

the power of brains, guts and determination

This story reminded me of a lesson I once learned. I led a team of people to the inner city of Chicago to serve an organization that was helping people in need of better health services. Our job was to gut an old building that would be used as a clinic. The building had been known as "the murder building" because of the frequency of that event in and around it. This organization was redeeming it.

Our team had one wheelbarrow to haul out pieces of wall, floor and other debris. In the early afternoon of the first day, the tire went flat. I was inclined to stop work and head to the store to find a replacement. Those that I was leading had a different idea. Our work was too important and the time we had was too short. Rather than quit, they kept going - carrying the wheelbarrow rather than rolling it. There were no excuses. There was no quit. They showed me the power of grit, determination and ingenuity. 

We never have all the right tools - except we usually do. I'll take brains, guts and determination over money and resources any day.

There aren't enough people like this.

element tea

http://www.elementtea.com/

hammer nutrition

The folks at Hammer are brilliant.

I placed my first online order with them. With it, they sent me a bunch free of samples of other things.

I placed my second online order with them that included gel. They sent me a gel flask as well.

Two orders - two extra little gifts that made me really happy. 

I wonder how much that cost them. Likely not as much as I'll spend.

spinsters

san francisco literary city

credit here