The Unbreakable Leo

In March Vittana held its first ever fundraiser called March Microfinance Madness. The goal of the fund drive was to raise $50,000 to fund student loans in countries like Vietnam, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Peru and Mongolia. Little did the people at Vittana know that the public would respond with overwhelming support.

Looking back at the month of madness, people from the United States, Europe and Australia signed up and lent as little as $25 and as much as $500 to help students build a foundation toward their dreams. Like me, these students are paralyzed by a never ending circle of financial uncertainty. While most people watched Northern Iowa shock Kansas in the NCAA tournament, lending groups from businesses, social groups and religious organizations sprang up to lend over $55,000 and fulfill the loan profiles of 105 students.

The two groups I created put Southern California lenders on the map. The Muslim Youth Group of the Islamic Center of Southern California lent $344 and the CommUnity Funders group lent over $100. Although it should be noted that the Muslim Youth has lent over $1,400 to date, being apart of the fundraiser was just another means for the youth to become involved in the wider global community. While tons of emails were sent out to friends all across the country, the CommUnity Funders group attracted many people from all walks of life including a newlywed couple who chose to use their wedding gift money to support educational efforts.

For Vittana and myself this is only the beginning to tackle the greater problem of financing education. The fundraiser is over but the work has just started. In due time Vittana will expand and rightfully so. Twice during the final week of the fund drive it "sold out" of students and worked frantically to post more profiles. It seems that many people around the world have not forgotten the dreams they held while forging toward an educational goal. This is the connection that Vittana was created for and March showed all of us that no dream is too small as long as their are people in the world who are willing to give you a helping hand.