We enable people without access to traditional banks (including many women) to expand their businesses, educate their children, save for the future and raise themselves out of poverty. Through Kiva, a non-profit organisation working with microfinance institutions, you choose a borrower to support with a loan of just $25. Similar loans by other lenders are combined until the required total is reached. As your money is repaid you can withdraw it or lend it to someone else. Money that is loaned over and over again does more good than a one-time donation. Join 'Genealogists for Families' - together we are making a difference!

29 March 2012

Meet the Team: Roger Moffat

This week's guest post is by Genealogists for Families team member Roger Moffat from Caledonia, Michigan, USA.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a very proud New Zealander who considers Christchurch his home town, even though I haven't lived there in more than 20 years. I'm retired, but was previously Manager of New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica, preceded by four years at New Zealand's Campbell Island weather station in the Southern Ocean. I've been pursuing family history since attending a family reunion in 1989. I'm active in the Clan Moffat Society in the USA, and with the Western Michigan Genealogical Society, whose databases website I run.

How did you hear about the Genealogists for Families project?

I joined Kiva in 2011 after seeing some publicity about it on Facebook. Prior to that I had been aware of the organisation and looked over information sent in the mail, but hadn't become involved.

What do lending and participating in this project mean to you?

It's such a small amount that means so much to those who receive it, and unlike many groups which take your money and then immediately ask for more, with Kiva you get good feedback on the progress of 'your' dollars. And when it's done, you have 'your' dollars back to then lend to someone else.

Did you choose particular borrowers because their occupations or situations have some significance in your family history or your own life?

Both of my parents were born on farms in New Zealand, so I tend towards those looking to improve their situations in a farm setting.

Do you have a strategy for raising funds or saving for your $25 loans?

No, I started with one loan, and when that was half paid back added enough to make another loan. I expect that by the end of a year I might have four loans going.

Your Web site or blog?

Roger's Ramblings (http://LisaAndRoger.com/). It isn't as up to date as it could be as I've tended in the last year or more to use Facebook as my blog - a habit I tell myself I must break.

Your main family history research interests?

My Dad's ancestry is (seemingly) entirely Scottish, and my Mum's is predominantly English, with a line or two of Scottish. Six generations are shown on the pedigree chart on Roger's Ramblings. The surnames of my 8 great grandparents are Moffat, Stoddart, Dewar, Breingans, Lineham, Lansberry, Scarlett and Mulvey/Mulvay.
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Join Genealogists for Families. Together we can make a difference!

2 comments:

  1. Roger, thanks for supporting Kiva and our team. I would love to hear more about your time in Antarctica, so I will have a look at your blog in case you have some stories there.

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    Replies
    1. Alas Judy the stories about Antarctica are still just in my head :-( I did make some progress late last year when I used a Groupon to get $200 worth of digital scanning done for $80 at ScanDigital. So I have half my Super VHS-C tapes on DVD now. And I've recently purchased another $200 worth for $80 on another Groupon that will cover having the rest done. Then some snippets of them might appear on YouTube :-)

      The stories though - that's another story

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