I was just reading about Vincent Van Gogh the other day. He is one of my favorites; I’m particularly fond of his sketches from the Hague period of his life. As for his story, I knew (and know) very little, I must confess. I retained what most children do about Van Gogh: he was crazy, he cut off his ear and he was under-appreciated during his lifetime. And though I’ve been to retrospectives of his work since grade school—for some reason the story of his relationship to Gauguin, or his long-running romance with a prostitute, have faded. All I’ve got left are my childhood notions of the artist. And thus, I was drawn to parts of his story I encountered whilst looking for a particular sketch of his on the internet. Did you know that Van Gogh, before becoming a painter, was an art dealer, a teacher, and a preacher? Perhaps you did. You’re a pretty savvy audience. Well, I didn’t. At the age of twenty-seven he decided to become an artist, teaching himself to draw and paint. At twenty-seven? I know, I know; that seems young now. But in 1880, when the life expectancy was 40 for a man like Van Gogh, twenty-seven was middle aged. For me this was a light bulb moment. Van Gogh didn’t latch onto his talent–what must have been an innate gift–until he was in his “twilight years.” And between 1880, when he first got the notion to become an artist, and 1890 when he died, he painted and drew over 2,000 pieces. Incredible!

Self-Portrait

Now Van Gogh clearly had some very real psychological problems, and struggled financially his entire life. I don’t view him through rose-colored glasses. But his trajectory, the story of his development–that, I admire. I’m collecting stories like that—stories of people who change their direction in mid-swing. I posted not too long ago about musician Juana Molina—an Argentinian comedic actress, turned singer/songwriter. She talked about a moment in her career as an actress (a successful actress, mind you) where she turned around and said, “This isn’t what I want. I want something else. I’m going to do it.” I wonder if Van Gogh had the same notion. Was there a light bulb moment for the infamous painter? Did he turn around one day and say, “I have something else to offer. And I’m going to invest in that starting today?” I like to think so. You can read some other stories of career transformation here at CareerBuilder.com.  A reader sent it my way. There are some truly inspiring “Van Gogh” stories in there.

A friend of mine down here is working on a tremendous project called BeDo (as in the independent words “be” and “do.”) They describe the project this way: “For us, BeDo is not just a name. It is a special place, where we connect identity with action, a place of purposeful pursuit and passion.” The team behind BeDo come from varied backgrounds, but all had a similar premonition: While the efforts of many corporations towards sustainability or social responsibility were growing, as employees, at some point in their story, many did not feel connected to the mission and values of the corporations for which they worked. Sound familiar? It rings true for me. And so they built an initiative with the following agenda:

Online or live, on a small or large scale, we want to be the coaches, catalysts, matchmakers and cheerleaders on your journey for good.

• Create products and services to help people find their purpose.
• Develop the virtual and physical infrastructure to facilitate action.
• Facilitate online connections and communities of purpose and action.
• Promote cultural expressions and celebrations.

I imagine that BeDo isn’t the only initiative of this kind. And certainly there are many out there, all on their own, making a shift mid-swing towards a little inner voice nudging him or her in another direction. Hoorah to you! I applaud your courage. And I invite you to share your mid-swing story with us. Or perhaps you know another Vincent Van Gogh tale of transformation. We’d like to hear it! It’s those kind of narratives that inspire us here at HarmonyWishes, where we value diversity, spirit, tolerance—and most certainly—a brave shift mid-swing.

Good news!  Our die-hard leader here at HarmonyWishes, Meg, recently received word that she’s been accepted as a volunteer Team Leader with Kiva. Congratulations, Meg!  If you haven’t heard about the good work Kiva does to make a difference in the lives of fledgling entrepreneurs around the globe, then take a look here.

Kiva Lending Chart, by country

Or you can even join our lending team at Kiva here. Come help us make a difference in supporting equitable opportunities without borders.  A portion of our proceeds at HarmonyWishes, and your dollars as members (!),  goes to support the efforts of entrepreneurs around the world.  So, feel proud.

Meg’s new post with Kiva got me thinking about some of these “newer” systems of investing and giving.  Micro-lending has become a hot topic of late, especially with organizations like Kiva modeling new ways to help people who are already working to help themselves.  The idea behind micro-lending is to provide financial services to those with little access.  Traditionally, banks don’t often provide those services in poverty-stricken areas; thus, the poor often turn to local money lenders, whose interest rates can be astounding.  In many of the small villages I’ve visited around Oaxaca there are no banks to speak of at all.  People must travel hours away to the nearest city to access bank services.  However, small credit unions and lending companies (not regulated by the State) set up shop, setting very high interest rates on the money loaned.  It can be the only, and often oppressive, option many people have.

In answer to this very real need, organizations like Kiva, Pro Mujer and Grameen Bank are utilizing micro-lending systems to help bring opportunity and financial services to the doorsteps of the poor.

Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank

They’ve got some unique ideas and practices.  I’ve heard arguments for and against lending of this kind.  I’m curious to know what you think.  We’ve all been on the receiving or giving ends of loans before, no?  How different would it be for you to lend that same money to a stranger?  Is it easier to lend the money, or just give it away? I’m curious.

I think it’s an exciting time to consider—or reconsider—the ways in which organizations and individuals look for funding assistance.  Micro-lending organizations are living examples that individuals can make a powerful difference with the small resources they have to lend.  I’m trying to put that lesson to the test with some of my work here in Oaxaca.

Oaxaca State

Over the last several months I have been working with a partner here in Oaxaca to build a youth radio workshop for teens in the indigenous and poverty-stricken villages of the state.  The kids we’re teaching come from some of the most marginalized populations in the country.  Access to the basic services (education, drinking water, electricity) is limited, let alone access to extracurricular educational activities like radio.  But my partner Kiado and I think it’s important that youth from these villages have a space where their voices, opinions and ideas are valued.

Of course one of the great challenges to our work has been funding. Traditionally projects like ours would start by looking for funding from foundations, government departments or big donors.  That source of funding can often take time, requires a formal entity (i.e. 501(c)(3) status, which costs money to set up) and is highly competitive.  So, we’ve decided to use a little something called crowdfunding to get our project off the ground.  Crowdfunding, or crowdsourcing, operates off the idea that you can tap into a font of money in small amounts, from lots and lots of sources.  Rather than one foundation or donor shouldering the cost of the project, it is shared by many people in an amount that’s reasonable for each of them.

Crowdfunding is not an unusual idea here in Oaxaca, where people have little access to credit and loans.  There’s a common practice called “tanda” here that’s very similar to the crowdfunding system.  Here’s how it works: I need a loan of 10,000 pesos (around $770) so I can go to my sister’s wedding next month.  I rally 10 friends.  We each draw a number 1-10 from a hat; I automatically get number 1 because I organized the tanda and my need is most immediate. Every two weeks each member of the tanda sets aside 1,000 pesos and that’s given to the first person on the list (10,000 pesos total).  Two weeks later the next person on the list gets his/her 10,000, and so on.  It’s a loan system amongst friends; there’s no interest, and people hardly ever default because it’s their own friends they would let down.

What I appreciate about crowdfunding, and even micro-lending is that in addition to the financial resources you gain, you also harness a great deal of enthusiasm and momentum for your work from those supporting you.  Politicians do it in their campaigns, so why not little efforts like ours!  It’s been a really energizing experiment.  I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

I encourage you to think of the ways in which the support of the myriad people in your network could help you solve a problem. After all, crowdsourcing can be used for more than just funding issues. People all over the globe are opening up to the ideas and knowledge that the many can offer in small efforts. Just think of how things like Wikipedia have grown over the last few years. We here at HarmonyWishes could use your help, too. If you’re enjoying our blog and the services on our site, please help us spread the word. Or better yet, send the message on by using one of our e-cards! Help us grow our community of users and participants. Together we can make a huge impact.

Saludos,

Megan

It’s no secret that HarmonyWishes has a soft spot for Kiva - the microfinance organization that lends money around the world. We use a portion of our proceeds to make loans to people all around the globe. Here are just a few:

We would love it if you would join our lending team and help us spread good will, good fortune and support to provide a dignified means of lifting people up out of poverty. It’s simply good karma. Just click on our link to find us at Kiva: HarmonyWishes Lending Team