Kiva.org is a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur across the globe. You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty.
You make a loan on Kiva. All Kiva loans are made possible by the Kiva Field Partners, who vet, administer, and disburse each loan.
Throughout the life of the loan, you will see progress updates from Kiva through your email, and if you come back to the site.
As the borrower repays the loan, the money becomes available in your account. This is called your Kiva Credit.
You can then use it to fund another loan, donate it to Kiva, or withdraw it to spend on something else.
HOLA (Heart of Los Angeles) has the opportunity to win the $100,000 LA2050 Grant. The Goldhirsch Foundation and GOOD are giving away ten $100,000 grants to organizations dedicated to improving the future of Los Angeles. HOLA’s Visual Arts program is in the running for one of these LA2050 grants, and they need your help to vote and spread the word.
The LA 2050 grant will help HOLA’s Visual Arts program grow, including their new Public Art Project which allows youth to use art to engage with their communities. By voting for HOLA, youth who receive little or no art instruction will have access to classes, workshops, artist talks, field trips and public installations in and around Los Angeles. With a simple click, you can help HOLA bring art to countless youth in the community.
A diverse coalition of non-profit organizations will host a citizenship fair on Saturday, April 13th 2013 to assist up to 300 eligible permanent residents with their naturalization applications.
The event hosts are Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD), Public Law Center, North Orange County Community College District (NOCCCD)/School of Continuing Education, Unite Here Local 11, and Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO).
At the free event, eligible attendees will receive direct assistance with the naturalization application, identification photographs, photocopies of documents, information on the fee waiver application, access to pro-bono attorneys, and their completed application.
The fair is part of OCCORD’s huge effort to smooth the path to citizenship for 3,000 Orange County immigrants, a countywide effort to encourage eligible legal permanent residents to apply for U.S. citizenship and become full participants in the American political process.
“In a changing Orange County, there are more than 200,000 Americans who are just a few steps away from fully realizing the power of citizenship,” added Orange County Labor Federation Executive Director Tefere Gebre.
“Citizenship is important, it opens up political and economic avenues and access to basic human rights including health, safety and labor protections.”
WHAT: U.S. CITIZENSHIP FAIR
WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH 2013
WHO: OCCORD AND PARTNERS
WHERE: North Orange County Community College District
1830 W. Romneya Dr., Anaheim, Ca 92801
The Central Orange County Job Fair was held in Fountain Valley on April 2nd and some cool employers provided some links for those who weren’t able to attend. Visit the OCGente Facebook page for the listings of jobs currently available.
The program was hosted by the Orange County Workforce Investment Board which partners with the Orange County Small Business Development Center, the Orange County Business Council, the Employment Development Department, the Small Business Administration and other State, regional and local agencies to provide employers premier business services.
One-Stop Centers, and satellite centers, are conveniently located throughout Orange County. Each center offers a wealth of training, information and assistance for businesses and job seekers.
The Vietnamese International Film Festival will be screening the “The Crumbles” on Friday, April 12, 2013, from 7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. The Crumbles is an independent film about young musicians navigating friendship, romance, and L.A.’s indie music scene. A cast of colorful characters holds day jobs at coffee shops and bookstores to pay the rent while aspiring to be actors and musicians. Directed by Akira Boch this is his first feature-length film. The cast includes Teresa Michelle Lee, Katie Hipol and Ebony Perry.
The 6th biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF) is set for 8 days, from April 4-7 & 11-14, 2013 at Edwards University Town Center 6 (Irvine), UC Irvine, UCLA, and Bowers Museum (Santa Ana). The film festival will feature 69 films, including a record number of 18 features, directed and produced from filmmakers all over the world including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, Vietnam and the United States. For the second time, Wells Fargo is the Title Sponsor of the film festival.
The films that will be shown include producers, filmmakers and actors Dan Tran (House in the Alley), Le Van Kiet (Dust of Life, House in the Alley), Van M. Pham (Beyond the Mat), John Wynn (Beyond the Mat), Teresa Michelle Lee (The Crumbles, Beyond the Mat), Frank Lin (Battle B Boys), Jonathan Phan (Battle B Boys), and the legendary Kieu Chinh (Joy Luck Club, Journey from the Fall).
Established in 2003, ViFF is organized every two years by the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) and the Vietnamese Language & Culture (VNLC). The mission of ViFF is to support, celebrate, and project a diversity of visions and voices from filmmakers of Vietnamese descent and films by, for, and about the Vietnamese people and culture.
Musician Draco Rosa has released the strongest album debut of his career with “VIDA” which conquered the #1 spot in the Latin Albums Charts. With thousands of fans turning out for in-store appearances across Puerto Rico, and the continued social media support of Latin Music’s Biggest Stars, Draco Rosa’s Celebration of life after cancer lands a number one debut on Billboard’s “Top Latin Albums” Chart.
Draco Rosa’s Chart-Topping “VIDA” Album Contains Collaborations With:
Marc Anthony, Rubén Blades, Enrique Bunbury, Andrés Calamaro, Tego Calderón, Calle 13, José Feliciano, Juan Luis Guerra, Juanes, Maná, Ricky Martin, Mima, Ednita Nazario, Romeo Santos, Alejandro Sanz and Shakira.
The new production includes outstanding duets with some of the biggest Latin stars in the world… this is an album where every single song will surprise you in one way or the other. Draco Rosa not only has given us the opportunity to celebrate life but also an outstanding work that very likely will be among the best Latin music albums of 2013″ said Latin-Music/About.com.
As the nation prepared to celebrate César Chávez Day, Cal State Fullerton paid tribute March 25, 2013 on campus with a special five-hour program, featuring speakers, a documentary and cultural entertainment.
Ambar Tovar, programs director for the César Chávez Foundation delivered the keynote address.
She said told the audience of mostly Titan students, faculty and staff members and community members, that April will mark the 20 years since his death.
“Interest in his legacy and values continues to grow,” Tovar said, citing the following recent examples:
* San Antonio became the latest city in America to name a major thoroughfare after Chávez;
* The first U.S. Navy ship was named for Chávez;
* President Barack Obama dedicated the César E. Chávez National Monument in Keene; and
* A major motion picture, produced by John Malkovich, about Chávez premiered.
Chávez’ legacy endures, Tovar said, because “he showed farm workers how to win against enormous odds, even if they were poor and uneducated.”
Esiquio Uballe, Cal State Fullerton associate dean of student life, spoke of Chávez’ impact on his own life.
“Cesar fought to restre dignity for those who toiled in the fields,” Uballe said. “I recall working in the fields in the Midwest. There were no bathrooms or protection from pesticides. Airplanes that sprayed pesticides, would fly directly over our heads without warning. The experience of working in the hot sun six days a week as a young boy did a lot to inspire me to work to better my family and my community…. As a valuable member of your community and potential leader, you owe it to our community to continue the fight for equality and social justice. Si se puede!”
HELP WRITE A PLAY BY SHARING YOUR STORIES! South Coast Repertory in partnership with Latino Health Access is working with Dialogue / Diálogos’ Story Circle project. They are requesting the experiences and help of the people in Santa Ana to create a play about the community.
What are your dreams, concerns, hopes and local history? What does it mean to live in Santa Ana?
Talk with playwright José Cruz González on Monday, April 1, from 2-5 p.m. at the Santa Ana Public Library, in Room A at 26 Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana. ALL ARE WELCOME! Spanish & English speakers. All ages.
Another meeting is scheduled for April 10 at Latino Health Access from 8:45-11:45 a.m. for Seniors.
No theater experience necessary. Food and refreshments will be provided.
Questions? Call (714) 708-5848 or email sara@scr.org
Latin Noir: Everything Happens on the Beach presents the fifth edition of the exclusively packaged Série Noir by Piranha Musik. This compilation features a selection of happy and sad musical treasures from Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, New York and both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.
The music fuses a gloomy homage for a new generation based on journeys between heartbreak and redemption, despair and hope. While that may sound depressing please note “The depth of the music grabs you like a dream and takes you on an unforgettable journey.”
Accordion master and Latin Grammy nominee Chango Spasiuk opens Latin Noir with “Tierra Colorada” a tango-like melancholy of Argentinian Chamamé music that combines complex rhythms of African and Creole-Spanish immigrants with those of indigenous Mbya-Guaraní Indians and Middle European settlers.
My favorite song from the album comes from Eddie Bobè and Orlando “Puntilla” Rios“Rumba Para Los Olu Bata”. In that song Nuyorican and Cuban musicians come together to remember that New York’s Central Park has been the meeting place for celebrating the Caribbean rumba tradition despite regular harassments by the authorities. Another unforgettable song is “Commandante Che Guevara” the band Estudiantina Invasora Santiago de Cuba’s finest remember the ghost of the revolution between promise, displacement, and t-shirt iconism.
On “Oh! Ma Belle” The Grandmaster Algerian-born Israeli-French pianist, composer and interpreter Maurice El Médioni meets Cuban super drummer Roberto Rodriguez. There is vast history in this collaboration the elder Maurice El Médioni an Algerian Jew from Oran via Paris to Marseilles and Roberto Rodriguez a Cuban wunderkind from El Vedado, Havana, via Miami Beach to Manhattan’s East Village immerse every listener into the historic similarities between Cuban expatriates and the Jewish diaspora.
There is also the 7 minute gem from Alfredo Gutiérrez “La Distancia”. The Colombian accordion player and singer is praised as the “King of Kings” for winning the “Vallenato Legend Festival” three times.
The bonus track “La Patera” by Watcha Clan concludes the album’s journey with an emotional lament about the boat-refugees who try to break the borders between Africa and Europe. All the struggles and triumphs have been packaged and with a finger on the play button can be yours to treasure endlessly.
The third and final featured speaker for the Vietnam War Museum of America Foundation’s (VWMAF) inaugural Free Speaker Series is Jose G. Ramos, founder of “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” (WHVVD). Ramos will share his selfless journey to honor America’s Vietnam War heroes, on Thursday, March 21, 2013, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at the Garden Grove Courtyard Center, located at 12732 Main Street. Light refreshments will be served.
Born in East L.A., the youngest of eight children, Ramos served with the U.S Army in Vietnam from October 1967 to October 1968 as a combat medic with the 101st Airborne Infantry 3/506 Currahee Battalion. His military awards include the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars–one for Valor for rescuing five wounded paratroopers while under enemy fire.
In 2000, Ramos began a six-year, national campaign to recognize those who had courageously served in Vietnam, but never received a hero’s welcome. His personal crusade led Ramos to bike from Whittier, CA to Washington D.C. to hand deliver over 25,000 postcards in support of the cause. In 2006, Congress officially proclaimed March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.
In 2009, California became the first state to adopt the Federal proclamation, and recently, Garden Grove became the first city in Orange County to acknowledge WHVVD. To date, 20 U.S. states have passed Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day legislation.
The VWMAF is dedicated to establishing an educational environment to remember, experience, and understand real and courageous stories associated with the Vietnam War. The VWMAF is committed to the creation of a future Vietnam War museum in Garden Grove—the first of its kind in Southern California.
A future continuation of the Free Speaker Series is scheduled to begin in November 2013.
Reservations are strongly encouraged. Please call the City’s Office of Community Relations at (714) 741-5280.
Kiva.org is a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur across the globe. You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty.
