SHC’s Kiva Carnival has been on hiatus for three years due to Covid-19. However, this year the Kiva Carnival came back in full force. But what is the Kiva Carnival? Ms. Kayser, the moderator of the Kiva Club explained, “It is an afternoon of so much fun on the plaza. Senior Economics classes have been building businesses that will hopefully meet the interests of the student population here at SHC. They will be selling their products or facilitating any games they have going on, and the profits they make from these businesses will be invested through KIVA.”

All student profits will go toward funding microloans for small businesses in need of support. Laura O’Sullivan ‘23 described the process of how each group will invest in businesses: “We will first see how much profit we bring in and then work with our classmates to accumulate our money into $25 Kiva loans. We will then look through different borrowers’ pages on the Kiva website and decide as a group who we want to loan to. We then wait for the loan to be paid back and continue to loan to new borrowers.” These loans support businesses all around the world, such as in Kenya, Turkey, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Not only are the profits going towards good causes such as agriculture, technology, and women-owned businesses, but many of the seniors’ businesses are also making a positive impact on our world. Ries Chu ‘23 and her group’s business called Tea Turtles sold sustainable and eco-friendly boba. “When we were brainstorming product ideas, we all realized we liked boba and wanted to share it with the SHC community. Not only do we serve delicious homemade drinks, but we also use biodegradable straws and recycled paper products so that we can all enjoy our boba tea guilt-free.”

Many Senior groups were also inspired to sell products that resonated with them culturally. Brandon Guardado Matus ‘23 (from The BBQ Crew), reflected, “The inspiration [for BBQ Crew] was that our cultures have barbecues. I’m from Hispanic heritage, and barbecue is a really big thing for me, and it is in their cultures too, so we thought to come together to serve some good chicken, good pork, and good beef.” Angelika De Castro ‘23 from Jolly Foods stated that their “biggest inspiration was Jolibee, which is a really great Filipino restaurant that we used to go to as children. Our name is Jolly Foods because of Jolibee.” It was so great to not only see groups create eco-friendly products but also products they had a cultural connection to. These groups were able to share their culture with the SHC student body which was so amazing to see!

Overall, the Kiva Carnival was a great success! It was a fun-filled afternoon with games, food, and drinks. The senior economics classes did a great job promoting, preparing, and selling their products. The event has demonstrated SHC’s ability to come together to support and hopefully impact small businesses across the world.