One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern
By Etelvina Castillo
One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern is a project for the community and it encourages people to read and share their thoughts on a single book. This year the chosen book for the community was The International Bank of Bob written by Bob Harris. The book focuses on microloans that are given to people in developing countries and is based off of Kiva loans. As one of the students who participated in the event said, “This book is eye opening, it shows you what the media doesn’t.”
Kiva loans are micro financing loans. Anyone can go to kiva.com and donate money, for example, $25 which will be loaned to someone in a developing country. Blanca who is 52-year-old women with four children moved from Argentina to Fiji with the help of Kiva loans. That is a big cultural shock. The person who receives the Kiva loans will eventually pay the money back and at any moment can get another loan.
Taft College showcased an event for students in English 1000 that read The International Bank of Bob. Kamala Carlson’s, Danielle Kerr’s, and Mark Olsen’s students worked in teams to present the research they did on two developing countries. The students were judged by local educators such as Dr. Dena Maloney who is the Superintendent/President of Taft College.
Meagan Arnold and Debbie Garcia
All the students had a board that they created based on their research. One group of students I got to speak to compared Fiji and India. The two girls, Meagan Arnold and Debbie Garcia, had a beautiful board that compared Fiji and India with one another, and it explained how Kiva Loans can help people in developing countries such as in Fiji or India. An example of a person the girls researched who received Kiva loans would be of Durlabh who is a 48-year-old women from India. She wants to a toilet because she has never had a toilet of her own. Kiva loans made it possible for Durblabh to buy a toilet for her and her family.
Deacon Norton and Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez and Deacon Norton were also a group of students who did research on two different developing countries. They explained how the book was eye opening to them and that most people have the ability to make something out of their lives but they don’t have the resources. For Jose and Deacon this is a book that they would definitely recommend because as Norton said, “This book shows you stuff the media doesn’t project.”
All the participants including the judges seem to have had a great time. The event was informative and very educational.