Volunteer Spotlight: “It’s amazing to understand the triumphs and challenges of people around the world”

July 20, 2020

At any given moment, Kiva’s website hosts thousands of borrower profiles and loan requests from all corners of the globe. As a result, many of these profiles require translation and editing before they can be made visible to the public. This is where the Review and Translation Program (RTP) steps in.

RTP is composed of hundreds of volunteers that review, translate and edit loans on a daily basis in order to see them fundraise on the Kiva site. These individuals typically review at least 16,000 loans per month. Their skills are so appreciated and in 2019 alone, they contributed to $141,536,950 in fully funded loans.

This month, we want to shine the spotlight on three individual volunteers: Marsha, Eduardo and Darby. We are so incredibly grateful for these volunteers who dedicate a large portion of their time to empowering borrowers and creating a financially inclusive world. Without their contributions and the contributions of all RTP volunteers, our capacity to support Kiva borrowers would be severely limited.

Marsha Berkowitz

Kiva Volunteer of the Month, April 2020

“It’s always important to give back to the community as a volunteer.”

City: New York, New York

Language: English

Team: Loanly Planet

Time with Kiva: 10 years

Outstanding contributions to Kiva: A frequent American Crossword Puzzle Tournament participant, Marsha has reviewed over 7,400 loans since 2010.

Eduardo Power

Kiva Volunteer of the Month, May 2020

“[My first Kiva loan] stayed with me because it made me realize that there are many people in the world that can benefit immensely from getting access to loans in order to make use of their skills.”

City: Buckhurst Hill, England

Language: Spanish

Team: Saliendo Adelante

Time with Kiva: 3 years, 4 months

Outstanding contributions to Kiva: Once he realized he could use his language skills to become a volunteer translator, Eduardo snatched the opportunity to work with Kiva. He has reviewed 1,474 loans since 2017.

Darby Dickerson

Kiva Volunteer of the Month, June 2020

“It’s amazing to understand the triumphs and challenges of people around the world.”

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Language: English

Team: The Loan Rangers

Time with Kiva: 2 years

Outstanding contributions to Kiva: A member of an ax-throwing league, Darby has reviewed over 13,851 loans.

Want to be part of this amazing community of translators? Join us here.