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!
Showing posts with label Maureen Arthur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maureen Arthur. Show all posts

26 January 2012

Meet the Team: Maureen Arthur

Today is Australia Day. Amidst the celebrations, please take a moment to think of those affected by this week's floods and other local disasters, and those who work long hours or risk their lives to keep us safe. This week's guest post is by one such person - Genealogists for Families team member Maureen Arthur from Queensland, Australia.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I live on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. I work for Queensland Fire and Rescue as a communications dispatcher (I love my job!) My hobbies include researching my family history, transcribing documents for the Queensland Family History Society, and reading, especially biographies and true crime.

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

I can see that my input is being directly utilised by people in need. I have had concerns in the past about how much money is used administratively by some organisations. However, I feel that I can directly contribute through this project - no 'middle man' to speak of.

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

I can't say that I do. I read the biographies carefully and chose a group that appealed to me and who I thought could make a real difference to their village.

Is there a borrower whose success story inspired you?

I have seen several. I love reading about lenders who have had their loans repaid and are so excited to get their gift back into circulation with another person in need.

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

Just a small jar in which I place change. I don't have a lot of money to spare, but this way I don't miss it if it's spare change.

Your Web site or blog?

Shamrocks, Shortbread and Shenanigans (http://shamrocksshortbreadandshenanigans.blogspot.com/).

Your main family history interests?

ARTHUR c1850 Liverpool, TORPEY (same as Arthur), BURTON from Cumberland, OXFORD from Dorset, McNALLY from Fermanagh, GIBBONS from Tipperary, MANSON from Caithness, McDONALD from Invernesshire, are some of my main lines. The ARTHUR line is my reinforced concrete brick wall!
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Join Genealogists for Families. Together we can make a difference!
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