matter very much.

是很重要的

The stories we tell ourselves about our own lives matter.

我們說給自己聽的故事，也很重要

And most of all,

而最重要的事

I think the way that we participate in each other's stories

我想是我們所參予彼此的故事

is of deep importance.

重要性更甚

I was six years old

我六歲時

when I first heard stories about the poor.

第一次聽到窮人的故事

Now I didn't hear those stories from the poor themselves,

我所聽的這些窮人家的故事，並非出自窮人口中

I heard them from my Sunday school teacher

這些故事是小時候主日學老師

and Jesus, kind of via my Sunday school teacher.

所告訴我們的，傳達的是耶穌的訊息

I remember learning that people who were poor

我記得我學到的是，

needed something material --

窮人都需要物質面的東西

food, clothing, shelter -- that they didn't have.

像是食物、衣服、收容所這些他們沒有的東西

And I also was taught, coupled with that,

然後我又學到，除此之外

that it was my job -- this classroom full of five and six year-old children --

我們的責任 - 我與教室其他5、6歲的小朋友的責任

it was our job, apparently, to help.

就是幫助他們

This is what Jesus asked of us.

這是耶穌要求我們做的

And then he said, "What you do for the least of these, you do for me."

祂說：「你們為這些人做的，就是為我而做」

Now I was pretty psyched.

當時我很興奮

I was very eager to be useful in the world --

我急著想要幫忙

I think we all have that feeling.

我們都有過那種感受

And also, it was kind of interesting that God needed help.

還有，我覺得上帝需要幫忙這件事，還蠻有趣的

That was news to me,

對我來說很新奇

and it felt like it was a very important thing to get to participate in.

急著想要一起參與，覺得這事很重要

But I also learned very soon thereafter

但我不久後就得知

that Jesus also said, and I'm paraphrasing,

耶穌又說了，我重述

the poor would always be with us.

貧窮會永遠伴隨我們

This frustrated and confused me;

聽起來很困惑、挫折

I felt like I had been just given a homework assignment

好像我剛被交付的作業

that I had to do, and I was excited to do,

一定要完成、急著想做的作業

but no matter what I would do, I would fail.

不管我做的怎樣，都一定會失敗

So I felt confused, a little bit frustrated and angry,

我有點困惑、有點挫折、生氣

like maybe I'd misunderstood something here.

好像是我自己弄錯了

And I felt overwhelmed.

我覺得壓力好大

And for the first time,

生平第一次

I began to fear this group of people

我開始害怕這群人

and to feel negative emotion towards a whole group of people.

對窮人有了負面的感受

I imagined in my head, a kind of long line of individuals

我想像的是，一群大排長龍的人

that were never going away, that would always be with us.

永遠擺脫不掉、離不開我們

They were always going to ask me to help them and give them things,

他們會永遠的要我伸手幫忙、捐東西

which I was excited to do,

我原本很興奮要做的事

but I didn't know how it was going to work.

卻不知道應該如何動手才好

And I didn't know what would happen when I ran out of things to give,

擔心如果我有天沒東西捐了怎麼辦

especially if the problem was never going away.

尤其是不論如何，問題都解決不了

In the years following,

之後幾年，

the other stories I heard about the poor growing up

我長大後聽到關於窮人的故事

were no more positive.

一個比一個差

For example, I saw pictures and images

比如說，我常會看到

frequently of sadness and suffering.

傷心、災難的照片

I heard about things that were going wrong in the lives of the poor.

我聽說那些窮人生活上的挫折故事

I heard about disease, I heard about war --

我聽說疾病、戰爭的故事

they always seemed to be kind of related.

這些故事都是相關的

And in general,

整體來講

I got this sort of idea

我對於窮人的看法是

that the poor in the world lived lives

他們的世界是

that were wrought with suffering and sadness,

充滿災難、傷痛、

devastation, hopelessness.

毀壞、絕望的

And after a while, I developed what I think many of us do,

不久後，我開始跟很多人一樣

is this predictable response,

有了一種制式的反應

where I started to feel bad every time I heard about them.

當聽到他們的故事，就心生憐憫

I started to feel guilty for my own relative wealth,

對於我相對來說的富裕，感到罪惡

because I wasn't doing more, apparently, to make things better.

因為我沒有努力的想改善他們的生活

And I even felt a sense of shame because of that.

也因此覺得很羞愧

And so naturally,

自然而然的，

I started to distance myself.

我開始建立距離

I stopped listening to their stories

我停止聆聽他們的故事

quite as closely as I had before.

不像以前這麼近距離接觸

And I stopped expecting things to really change.

我也不去寄望事情會有所改變

Now I still gave -- on the outside it looked like I was still quite involved.

我還是會捐，表面看來好像依然積極參予

I gave of my time and my money,

我付出時間、金錢

I gave when solutions were on sale.

解決辦法出售的時候我就買

The cost of a cup of coffee can save a child's life, right.

像是買杯咖啡就捐幾元拯救孩童

I mean who can argue with that?

誰會說不呢？

I gave when I was cornered, when it was difficult to avoid

當我被逼到必須這麼做的時候

and I gave, in general, when the negative emotions built up enough

一般來說，我還是會捐錢，因為這種負面情緒的累績

that I gave to relieve my own suffering,

給錢，是為了不讓自己難過

not someone else's.

而不是為了他們

The truth be told, I was giving out of that place,

老實說，我捐錢的原因

not out of a genuine place of hope

不是因為真的抱有希望

and excitement to help and of generosity.

慷慨、期待的想幫助別人

It became a transaction for me,

對我來說，這開始變成一種交易

became sort of a trade.

以物易物

I was purchasing something --

我用錢去買什麼東西一樣

I was buying my right to go on with my day

我用錢買我繼續生活的權利

and not necessarily be bothered by this bad news.

聽到負面的故事，一點都沒有影響

And I think the way that we go through that sometimes

我想我們都經歷過這種情況

can, first of all,

這樣首先會

disembody a group of people, individuals out there in the world.

分解對於世界上那特定群體的形象，

And it can also turn into a commodity,

也會將此變成一種商品

which is a very scary thing.

這是很可怕的

So as I did this, and as I think many of us do this,

所以我漸漸的，也許很多人都如此

we kind of buy our distance,

用金錢買距離

we kind of buy our right to go on with our day.

用金錢買繼續生活的權利

I think that exchange can actually get in the way of the very thing that we want most.

我想這種交易，會阻撓我們去得到最想要的那樣東西

It can get in the way of our desire

因為這樣會阻礙我們

to really be meaningful and useful in another person's life

參與另一個人的生活，讓自己有意義、有用處

and, in short to love.

簡單說，就是愛

Thankfully, a few years ago, things shifted for me

幸運的是，幾年後事情有了轉變

because I heard this gentleman speak, Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

因為我聽了穆罕默德‧尤努斯博士的演講

I know many in the room probably know exactly who he is,

相信在座各位都知道他是誰

but to give the shorthand version

對於沒聽過他演講的人

for any who have not heard him speak,

我還是簡單介紹一下

Dr. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago

尤努斯博士幾年前獲頒諾貝爾和平獎

for his work pioneering modern microfinance.

因為他首創的小額借款概念

When I heard him speak, it was three years before that.

當我聽到他演講，是在他得到諾貝爾的三年前

But basically, microfinance -- if this is new to you as well --

基本上，小額貸款，如果你首次聽到

think of that as financial services for the poor.

是一種給窮人的財務服務

Think of all the things you get at your bank

想想你到銀行所接受的

and imagine those products and services

所有產品、服務

tailored to the needs of someone living on a few dollars a day.

為這些每天只靠幾塊錢過活的人所量身打造

Dr. Yunus shared his story,

尤努斯博士分享了他的故事

explaining what that was,

解釋這個概念

and what he had done with his Grameen Bank.

以及他創立的鄉村銀行(Grameen Bank)

He also talked about, in particular, microlending,

他也特別提到了小額借款

which is a tiny loan

就是種微型借款

that could help someone start or grow a business.

可以幫助別人開始創業

Now, when I heard him speak, it was exciting for a number of reasons.

當我聽到他的演講，我很興奮，有幾個原因：

First and foremost, I learned about this new method of change in the world

首先就是，我學到一個改變世界的新方法

that, for once, showed me, maybe,

就這次，我認為也許

a way to interact with someone

這個和他人互動的方法

and to give, to share of a resource in a way that wasn't weird

這個給予、分享資源的方法並不奇怪

and didn't make me feel bad --

並不會讓我對他們感到可憐

that was exciting.

是很興奮的

But more importantly, he told stories about the poor

但更重要的，他所講的窮人故事

that were different than any stories I had heard before.

與我以前聽的截然不同

In fact, those individuals he talked about who were poor was sort of a side note.

他所述說的這些人，好像很窮這點只是備註一樣

He was talking about strong, smart,

他講的是關於堅強、聰明、

hardworking entrepreneurs who woke up every day

努力的企業家，每天一起床

and were doing things to make their lives and their family's lives better.

就做著那些會改變他與家人生活的事

All they needed to do that more quickly and to do it better

他們所需要讓事情好辦一點的方法

was a little bit of capital.

就是一點資本而已

It was an amazing sort of insight for me.

這對我來說是很棒的領悟

And I, in fact, was so deeply moved by this --

事實上，我真是深受感動

it's hard to express now how much that affected me --

很難用言語表達

but I was so moved that I actually quit my job a few weeks later,

我感動到幾週後便辭去工作

and I moved to East Africa

並搬到非洲東部

to try to see for myself what this was about.

去看看到底是怎麼一回事

For the first time, actually, in a long time

很久以來的第一次

I wanted to meet those individuals, I wanted to meet these entrepreneurs,

我想與這些人見面，我想見見這些企業家

and see for myself what their lives were actually about.

親眼看看他們的生活是什麼樣貌

So I spent three months in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

我在肯亞、烏干達、坦尚尼亞待了三個月

interviewing entrepreneurs that had received 100 dollars

與那些借了一百美元的企業家面談

to start or grow a business.

他們用這些錢創業的過程

And in fact, through those interactions,

事實上，透過與他們的互動

for the first time, I was starting to get to be friends

生平第一次，我開始與這些人交朋友

with some of those people in that big amorphous group out there

這些毫無組織的廣大群體

that was supposed to be far away.

照理說應該離我們很遙遠

I was starting to be friends and get to know their personal stories.

我開始和他們做朋友，聆聽他們的故事

And over and over again,

一次又一次的

as I interviewed them and spent my days with them,

我與他們對談、相處

I did hear stories of life change

我聽到關於生命改變的故事

and amazing little details of change.

多麼美妙的細微轉變

So I would hear from goat herders

我聽牧羊人述說他們的故事

who had used that money that they had received to buy a few more goats.

他們是如何用借到的錢去多買幾隻羊

Their business trajectory would change.

事業發展是如何改變

They would make a little bit more money;

然後可以賺點錢

their standard of living

他們的生存標準

would shift and would get better.

開始漸漸提升

And they would make really interesting little adjustments in their lives,

他們開始對自己生活做出轉變

like they would start to send their children to school.

像是有錢送孩子到學校上課、

They might be able to buy mosquito nets.

有能力買蚊帳、

Maybe they could afford a lock for the door and feel secure.

或許加個門鎖，會比較安心

Maybe it was just that they could put sugar in their tea

又或許是在我登門拜訪時

and offer that to me when I came as their guest

替我的茶加顆糖

and that made them feel proud.

這對他們來說是很驕傲的

But there were these beautiful details, even if I talked to 20 goat herders in a row,

這些都是很美妙的瑣事，就算我連續和20位牧羊人聊天--

and some days that's what happened --

有時候我就真的這樣做--

these beautiful details of life change

這些關於生活轉變的枝節

that were meaningful to them.

對他們來說都是極具意義的

That was another thing that really touched me.

感動我的另一件事就是

It was really humbling to see for the first time,

第一次，我非常謙遜的

to really understand

去真的了解到

that even if I could have taken a magic wand and fixed everything,

就算我有魔法，揮一揮魔杖就可以讓一切變好

I probably would have gotten a lot wrong.

我可能也做不到這樣的程度

Because the best way for people to change their lives

因為要人們改變生活最好的方法

is for them to have control and to do that in a way that they believe is best for them.

就是讓他們掌握自己的人生，做他們深信對自己有益的事

So I saw that and it was very humbling.

看到那樣的景像，我感到很卑微

Anyway, another interesting thing happened while I was there.

總之，我在那發生的另一件趣事就是

I never once was asked for a donation,

從沒有向我要求捐款

which had kind of been my mode, right.

我本來是想說

There's poverty, you give money to help --

哪裡有窮人，錢就丟哪裡

no one asked me for a donation.

但並沒人要我捐錢

In fact, no one wanted me to feel bad for them at all.

事實上，沒有人想要我的憐憫

If anything, they just wanted to be able to do more of what they were doing already

要說的話，他們只想要做他們已經會的事情

and to build on their own capabilities.

並建立他們的能力

So what I did hear, once in a while,

我在那邊遇到的

was that people wanted a loan --

偶爾有人希望借款

I thought that sounded very reasonable and really exciting.

我覺得這真是很合理也很興奮

And by the way, I was a philosophy and poetry major in school,

對了，我大學主修哲學和詩選

so I didn't know the difference between profit and revenue when I went to East Africa.

所以我到非洲東部前，根本不曉得利益和收入有什麼不同

I just got this impression that the money would work.

我的概念就是，錢可以解決事情

And my introduction to business

開始接觸商業

was in these $100 little infuses of capital.

是從這些百元鈔開始的

And I learned about profit and revenue, about leverage, all sorts of things,

開始學到利益、收入、籌碼之類的

from farmers, from seamstresses, from goat herders.

是從農夫、裁縫師、牧羊人身上學到的

So this idea

所以這想法

that these new stories of business and hope

這些關於事業、希望的故事

might be shared with my friends and family,

可以看我的親朋好友分享

and through that, maybe we could get some of the money that they needed

透過分享，我們就能夠籌出資金

to be able to continue their businesses as loans,

以貸款方式幫助他們事業發展

that's this little idea that turned into Kiva.

就是這想法創造了Kiva

A few months later, I went back to Uganda

幾個月後，我回到烏干達

with a digital camera and a basic website

帶了數位相機，架了個網站

that my partner, Matthew, and I had kind of built,

我的另一半Matthew和我一起弄的

and took pictures of seven of my new friends,

並和我的七個新朋友拍了張照

posted their stories, these stories of entrepreneurship, up on the website,

將他們的創業故事放到網站上

spammed friends and family and said, "We think this is legal.

瘋狂寄信給親友，跟他們說「這應該是合法的」

Haven't heard back yet from SEC on all the details,

「證交會(SEC)沒人說不行」

but do you say, do you want to help participate in this,

「你們覺得呢？要不要一起參與」

provide the money that they need?"

「提供他們借款」

The money came in basically overnight.

資金一夕間就湧了進來

We sent it over to Uganda.

我們寄到烏干達

And over the next six months, a beautiful thing happened;

半年後，一件很美妙的事情發生了

the entrepreneurs received the money,

這些企業家們收到貸款

they were paid, and their businesses, in fact, grew,

之後他們的事業開始成長

and they were able to support themselves

他們有辦法自立自強

and change the trajectory of their lives.

然後改變生活型態

In October of '05,

2005年十月的時候

after those first seven loans were paid,

第一批的七個貸款都還清後

Matt and I took the word beta off of the site.

我和Matt將網站的"試用版"字樣移除

We said, "Our little experiment has been a success.

我們告訴自己「實驗是成功的」

Let's start for real." That was our official launch.

「該開始玩真的了」之後就是第一次上市

And then that first year, October '05 through '06,

之後的第一年，2005十月到2006年同月

Kiva facilitated $500,000 in loans.

Kiva共借出五十萬貸款

The second year, it was a total of 15 million.

第二年，增加到1500萬

The third year, the total was up to around 40.

第三年，總數約到四千萬

The fourth year, we were just short of 100.