Connecting

Eleven years ago, when I first moved into the neighborhood where I now live, I held a block party. I wanted to meet my neighbors – didn’t want to drive home, politely nod at folks I hadn’t met, but lived next door.

So, I had a block party. It worked. In fact, for the past ten years, it’s rotated from house to house. But, after the seventh year it started to get a little long in the tooth. The desire to “connect” was waning.

I miss the connection. Not just in the neighborhood, but in other ways, too. Too much pop culture, not enough real culture. So, I’ve been looking. People to people stuff.

Then about eight weeks ago, my son said I should check out the Kiva site. Something made sense – in a simple way. I was particularly taken by the lenders. Like me, they seemed to be looking – to connect. Person to person. Neighbor to neighbor.

So here I am, on B.A. Flight 0065 to Entebbe via Heathrow. A Kiva Fellow volunteering to serve in Kampala Uganda.

The world has gotten a lot smaller since I was born 57 years ago. Virtual worlds easily meet real worlds. Kiva is a conduit, where people connect to people. So, for the next four months, I’m just going to “journey” across the street to visit my neighbors. I invite you to join me.

Doug

/>