The power of the Internet has allowed Kiva to create social impact on a global scale. At any given moment, Kiva’s website hosts thousands of borrower profiles and loan requests from all over the world. Given the international nature of Kiva’s outreach, many of these profiles require translation and editing before being posted to the website. It is the role of Kiva’s Review and Translation Program (RTP) to help facilitate this process.
RTP works with hundreds of volunteers who review, translate, and edit loans daily to ensure adherence to Kiva’s policies and to help give a voice to borrowers by skillfully traversing the language barrier. These individuals typically review about 16,000 loans per month. Just last year, they contributed to over 143 million dollars in fully-funded loans.
This month, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of three individual volunteers: Emily, Darlene, and Tricia. We are incredibly grateful for their dedication and for their help in contributing to the creation of a more financially-inclusive world. Without their contributions, and the efforts of all RTP volunteers, Kiva’s capacity to create social impact wouldn’t be the same. Without further ado, let’s introduce our volunteers!
Emily Christie, Kiva Volunteer of the Month, July 2023
“We often get loans for women whose husbands or sons are working in Russia and sending money home, and seeing those loans gives me a peek into the lives of the people on the other side of the story.”
Location: Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Language: Russian
Team: Russiva
Time with Kiva: 6+ years
Outstanding Contributions to Kiva: Since she began volunteering, Emily has reviewed over 194,192 words!
Darlene Schimmel Stockman, Kiva Volunteer of the Month, August 2023
“I love meeting people from all over the world and having a window into their lives–I love it.”
Location: Michigan, USA
Language: English
Team: Only the Loanly
Time with Kiva: 4+ years
Outstanding contributions to Kiva: Since she began volunteering, Darlene has reviewed over 297,241 words!
Tricia Patton, Kiva Volunteer of the Month, September 2023
“The other day my youngest son said that he guessed he should think about translating for Kiva now that he had graduated. I was so happy to know that Kiva felt like an integral part of life to him!"
Location: Pennsylvania
Language: Spanish
Team: Los Kivatores
Time with Kiva: 10+ years
Outstanding Contributions to Kiva: Since she began volunteering, Tricia has translated over 2,324 loans and reviewed over 343,565 words!
