India Pearman
Features Editor
Mira Costa Spanish teacher Felise Shapiro inspires her students to loan money to individuals in Central and South America by forming The Living On One Club.
Every year, Shapiro shows her Spanish 4 class a documentary titled “Living On One Dollar,” and when she showed it this year, she proposed the idea of starting a club that would raise money to make microloans, or short term loans, to entrepreneurs in need. The Living on One club is in its beginning stages, but currently has 10 core members. The first official meeting for new members will be March 7.
“We could theoretically help 10 different people to start,” Shapiro said. “As those loans get paid back and we raise more money, we can keep helping new people because the money keeps getting paid back.”
The club is planning to hold fundraisers and then donate the money they raise to Kiva, an organization that allows people to make microloans to entrepreneurs in foreign countries. These loans would allow people who are living below the poverty line to make investments in their businesses, which could both help the club and double the incomes of the people who receive loans.
“I’m really excited because when I showed this documentary to the students and said that it would be a good way of giving back to these types of communities, seven people showed up to the first meeting without me even sending a reminder,” Shapiro said. “As a Spanish teacher, I love the idea of us giving back to communities within the Spanish speaking world and for the kids to get more involved in these communities.”
In the Living On One club’s second meeting, the 10 core members voted juniors Izzy Stein and Emily Eddins as co-presidents. Other roles the club has yet to fill are vice president, accountant, publicity director, fundraiser leader and associated student body representative.
“I am really excited to raise awareness about situations like those in Peña Blanca on the issues of education and health,” Eddins said. “I really hope that the club can raise enough money to get at least a couple families to a more stable financial place in their lives.”
The documentary, “Living On One Dollar,” made by Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci, was the inspiration behind the club, Shapiro said. The video depicts what life would be like to live on a dollar a day in Peña Blanca, a rural town in Guatemala. The documentary is on Netflix, and Shapiro plans to show the video during Office Hours after break in order to encourage more people to join the club.
“I thought it’d be great if we tried to start something to help people in Central America and South America, considering I’m a Spanish Teacher,” Shapiro said. “I thought it’d be great to do this by lending them money through microfinance and giving back.”
The Living On One club hopes to encourage more members to join them in aiding several low-income entrepreneurs. The loans in Kiva are usually repaid, so the club hopes to continue to expand and grow the amount of money they are able to loan out to people. The idea of potentially visiting a Spanish-speaking community and volunteering time in a community in need is exciting to Shapiro and the rest of the club, she said.
“I’m excited because I think that this could really be something that we could continue doing and do some real good in the future,” Shapiro said.
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