The Fellowship that wasn’t
By Ron Turley KF11.5
I see that Kiva has begun to recognise those of us who are/have been fellows. On our lenders page, we have a distinctive Kiva “K” on our pictures, links to Kiva Fellow blogs we have posted and the name of the country and MFI with which we worked.
This is very embarrassing for me as I feel I did not earn any of it.
1 comment 30 July 2010
Video: Kenyan mountaintops is where wonderful inspirations live
In Kabarnet, a town situated on the mountain tops of Western Kenya, I spent a day with Irene, a credit officer, to meet KADET’s client groups living in this area. At the end of the day, I was tired but happy from all the people I had the pleasure to meet. One young woman, at the young age of 28, was earning less than $2 a day and supporting 8 orphan children in addition to her own two kids. Wow!
Continue Reading Add comment 30 July 2010
The Working Poor vs The Unbanked.
By Drew Loizeaux, KF11, Uganda
When talking to people about microfinance, many times the poverty level of the clients is brought up as a big way to measure an organization’s success. I felt this way for a long time and it makes sense. We have all heard stories of a poor farmer expanding his business or a “phone women” in a Bangladeshi village. As I have spent more time at microfinance institutions however, I’ve realized that view is incomplete. Yes, empowering the poor is a very important part of microfinance, but they are only a subsection of the really important group that a successful MFI must target; the unbanked.
Many times, poor and unbanked are synonymous, but other times they are not and it is important to recognize the difference between the two and how each group can help a community. To illustrate this point I want to introduce you to Fred.
2 comments 30 July 2010
¡Chau Bolivia!
It is hard to believe that three months are coming to a close. In two days, I return to the United States. For my last blogpost, I would like to thank everyone who made my experience memorable and worthwhile.
Continue Reading 1 comment 29 July 2010
Minister Felipe of Mideplan Chile visits Socias of Fondo Esperanza and reveals results of the national socio-economic survey
By Lorena Gil, Kiva Fellow/KF12, Fondo Esperanza – Chile
On my first official day at Fondo Esperanza I was quickly whisked to a press release event already underway at a local communal centre in Santiago, Chile, where socias (borrowers) of Fondo Esperanza conduct local weekly meetings.
The Ministry of Planning and Cooperation (Mideplan) of Chile chose this location to reveal the results of the national socio-economic survey (Casen 2009)
Continue Reading 1 comment 29 July 2010
In The Words of Our Clients – An SMS Journal Pilot in Kenya
By Jeremy Gordon, KF11, Kenya
On July 26th, Erick Bii updated the 21 lenders that had supported his loan with the state of his business, the impact of his loan on his family, and his recent challenges. To read the full journal, click on the quote above.
To communicate with his lenders, Erick didn’t need to travel to the Juhudi branch office in Litein, or even sit down with a loan officer at his farm. Instead, he responded to a series of SMS questions sent to him via his mobile phone. Erick chose to receive his survey in Kiswahili, but in several of [our] [early] [tests], borrowers preferred to send their updates in English. (more…)
2 comments 28 July 2010
A blog can only give you so much
My six months as a Kiva Fellow made me realize how privileged I am. Reading this might not be spectacular. Writing it is! Have a go!
Continue Reading 1 comment 28 July 2010
Language & Culture in Azerbaijan
By Yelena Shuster, KF 11, Azerbaijan
I’d like to tell you about language in Azerbaijan especially since there have been some questions among Kiva lenders and translation volunteers as to why Komak is posting profiles in Russian using Latin letters instead of Cyrillic.
You see, since the start of the 20th century the Azeri alphabet has metamorphosed 3 times…
- Prior to 1929 Azeri was written in Perso-Arabic script.
- 1929–1938 A Latin alphabet was used (although it was different from the one used now).
- 1938 to 1991 The Cyrillic alphabet was imposed by the Soviet Union.
- 1991 With independence, the current Latin alphabet was introduced.
I’ve met several folks in their 40s and 50s who grew up reading only Cyrillic and now have difficulty reading newspapers and books. How isolated they must feel with their access to newspapers, magazines and books so unfairly limited by the alphabet! (more…)
9 comments 28 July 2010
Transparency Through Client Feedback
By Jeremy Gordon, KF11 and Rachel Brooks, KF10, Kenya
“Esther Keino hopes Juhudi will consider giving loans without requiring solidarity groups in future as group lending is sometimes discouraging because not all members are reliable.”
“Peter is grateful Juhudi Kilimo is focusing on the rural poor who would otherwise have limited or no access to capital. He likes the funding for dairy cows as it is not just for financial purposes but also for social purposes, as it improves the health of families.”
Kiva entrepreneurs can often be a little uncomfortable answering even some of the basic questions for a Kiva profile. Yet at the end of an interview, when Juhudi Kilimo loan officers ask if clients have any other comments, the clients often noticeably relax and open up with quite a few other comments.
4 comments 27 July 2010
