Intrepid adventure driver Scott Brady has been featured in another episode of Mobil 1 The Grid, which airs on the Speed Channel. This segment continues his Central American adventure. The focus shifts from the jungle to volcanoes, beaches, and ultimately the literal “end of the road” in Yaviza, Panama. Enjoy!
The video can be viewed here.
- Chuck
A pallet of boxes containing copies of the Summer ‘09 issue of Overland Journal just arrived at the office and it looks great. Everyone should start checking their mailboxes!
In this issue:
Not to mention all the columns, gear reviews, and photos you’ve come to expect from Overland Journal.
- Chuck
I apologize for the delay, everyone! I got sidetracked with a video project for a week but I’m finally ready to post the identities of the lucky entrepreneurs. It looks like all of the entrepreneurs were successful in raising money - all five of the loans have been disbursed! This means the entrepreneurs have received the money and they can begin paying it back.
Slavojka comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is 47, retired and lives with her son who is studying. Her monthly income from pensions is not large and it is not easy for her to pay all costs, especially now that her son is at university.
Slavojka decided to request a loan of 1,200 KM from WWI (Žene za Žene International). She will use this loan to buy more clothes for resale. She hopes to earn additional money to make her life and her son`s life easier.
Gladys is a member of the Communal Bank Group “Madres del Futuro” (Mothers of the Future). She is a 41 year old single mother of two children (ages 27 and 26) who work and are independent.
Gladys helped her mother as a cook and after two years studied tailoring, eventually opening a shop in her home. She makes school uniforms. Using her savings she purchased a secondhand minibus, which her son drives. She also sells beauty products by catalog.
Since joining FINCA, Gladys has learned how to organize her business. She is punctual and responsible with her loans. Gladys needs a loan of 3400 soles to fix her car so that it will pass inspection. She will also buy more beauty products. She dreams of growing her business and purchasing another gas-powered minibus.
This is Victor and he is at an initial stage of business. This is his first activity in the market, as a beginner entrepreneur. His main activity is to manage a business but not work physically because he has problems with his health so he launched his own business not long ago.
He has requested a loan to purchase goods for a grocery, marketing food wholesale and retail, in the immediate vicinity of the central Ungheni town. Victor is working on licensing in food alimentation.
Currently, he has rented a shop for selling food, non-stop 24/7 selling foodstuffs (meat, spirits, cigarettes, juices) while preparing dinners for customers with a rich assortment, being equipped with a mini kitchen, a hall and booths for customers, and another cold room which is necessary for normal activity in the case our customers are required to stay in a row.
Microinvest is sure that Victor will succeed in his business and KIVA lenders wish him GOOD LUCK.
With this loan, Mr. Diallo plans to realize a monthly profit of 22,500 francs CFA that will enable him to improve not only his enterprise but particularly the care and support of his family. His ambition is to open a general store in Bougouni.
Saleh is twenty-eight years old and lives in Saida, in southern Lebanon, with his wife and their two children. Saleh has been working in furniture repair and upholstery since 2002. He requested a loan from Al Majmoua, a Kiva field partner, in order to purchase thread for his work and to repair one of his sewing machines. This is the first time that Saleh has requested a loan.
Saleh is exceptional in his work because he does it well. His clients can be anybody from his region. When he first started his business, things went well. Saleh decided to open this business because he had prior experience. In the future, he plans to improve his business by purchasing a new and bigger sewing machine.
I’ll be posting the every update I get from each of the entrepreneurs. I hope you guys get inspired to donate!
- Chuck
Greetings! I hope everyone had an excellent 4th of July! I apologize for the delay between blog posts, but I was on the road for a week or so.
Poverty is a global problem and in many places, things don’t seem to be improving. Charities can help, but oftentimes these are subject to local graft and don’t encourage self-sufficiency. Kiva aims to change that.
Kiva uses microfinance (the supply of loans and other financial services to the poor) to change this. Kiva connects business owners in developing countries with first-world lenders. Let’s say a woman in Nigeria wants $1000.00 to develop her laundry business. A local organization contacts Kiva, who alerts members. Members are free to donate as much as they want - the standard donation is $25.00. The more members Kiva has, the more effective it can be.
As a Christmas gift for a family member, I sponsored Charity Edewo and she is almost done repaying her loan. It’s a great concept with proven results.
To do our part, Expeditions West will be lending to four different people. This is a way to help change someone’s life at a very low cost to yourself.
Stay tuned tomorrow when we unveil the lucky four!
- Chuck
Expeditions West, Overland Journal, and Overland Training have been featured in the new ExOfficio newsletter. Check it out here and don’t forget to subscribe.
- Chuck
Over on ExpeditionPortal, a recent thread posed this question for forum members: “how many countries have you visited?” There are a ton of interesting responses - with one member having visited 80+ countries in his lifetime. Very impressive.
Here’s my list:
North America:
Bahamas
Canada
Mexico
Turks and Caicos
USA (I’ve been to 26 states, mostly out west.)
Central America
Belize
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
South America
Brazil
Ecuador
Europe
UK
France
Switzerland
Germany
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
Norway
Estonia
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Poland
Hungary
Slovakia
Italy
Netherlands
Belgium
Spain
Oceania
New Zealand
If my arithmetic is correct, that puts me at 34 countries. Not bad considering I just celebrated my 24th birthday? Head on over and make your own contribution here.
- Chuck
Scott, Jeremy and Nathan just completed another section of the Arizona Traverse project. They traveled from Wickenburg to Prescott on zero miles of pavement - 100 miles of dirt!
Here are some photos of them setting off on their expedition:
You can view more photos over at ExpeditionPortal. I hope everyone is having a good Friday - enjoy the weekend!
- Chuck
Canon is marketing it’s new D-10 as an adventure camera. It’s waterproof, freezeproof, and shockproof. It looks like a pretty nice value at roughly $300.00. The styling leaves a little to be desired but it looks like Canon paid attention to the most two most important factors: functionality and durability.
Engadget has nothing but good things to say about the camera. The camera was put through the ringer on a Central American vacation - a few of the same areas Scott visited on his Ends of the Earth expedition. A few minor quibbles aside, it looks like a solid buy. They mention that their camera shipped with the accessory kit. Unfortunately for us regular joes, the accessory kit looks like it will set you back a cool $100 bucks.
Anyways, here is the link to the review. It’s also on sale over at Amazon - it’s on sale for $286.00
Pangea Expeditions has posted an article offering a look at AEV’s J8 Milspec:
“While in Prescott for the Overland Expo, we had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of the upcoming American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) J8 MILSPEC. At first glance, this vehicle looks like a stock Jeep JK Unlimited, but the similarities end with the body shape. The vehicle is similar to the J8 “Sarge” truck that made the rounds at auto shows in 2008. The J8 MILSPEC is built as a CKD (Complete Knockdown Kit, ie kit car) from a MIL-spec heavy-duty Egyptian Jeep Wrangler LWB. The vehicle is delivered to the customer as a rolling chassis, with drivetrain installation done by the end user. Engine choices are either a 5.7L HEMI gas engine or a 2.8L common-rail Turbo Diesel engine.” Check out the rest of the article and a photo gallery here.
Sagen Media and Expedition Pictures have produced a video of the J8 Milspec in action. The video features EW’s Scott Brady behind the wheel. View it here.
Great looking vehicle!
- Chuck
Two new adventure articles have been uploaded to the EW website. Check out these links:
Enjoy the articles.
- Chuck