by Rob Mittelman, KF8 Peru
A Kiva Fellow has many jobs. I have well over a dozen different tasks on my workplan.
Some of them bring us great joy and inspiration like interviewing Kiva Borrowers and getting to know new cultures and new people.
Some let us be creative like this blog and all the Flip Camera videos you see.
Some make us feel like management consultants or professors preparing PowerPoint decks and going through trainings with our MFIs on new Kiva policies or web tools.
We write about these experiences because of how fun it is to be a Kiva Fellow and how lucky we are to do these things (not blowing smoke here, it really is cool, check it out for yourself). However, one of the more unpleasant but important jobs we have is borrower verification.
Borrower verification is making sure that what you see on the website is what is really happening in the field. Read the rest of this entry »
The power of your loan
2 July 2009
By Drew Loizeaux, KF8 Philippines
The last 4 months working as a Kiva Fellow have allowed me an up close look at many different sides of microfinance. It has been fascinating for me to see and made me look at the loans I make through Kiva in a different way.
As Kiva Lenders, our money not only goes to the borrowers themselves, but through our interest free loans we are also directly supporting each Kiva Partner that we lend through. Each Kiva Partner is different, and no matter what your reason is for believing in the power of microfinance, there is an organization that will fit your philosophy. In the same way that you may buy local, fair trade or made in the USA products you also can put your money in an MFI who’s mission you connect with. This is a powerful tool that each lender can, and should appreciate.
At ASKI for example, the MFI I am currently working with, the revenues from the microcredit program go to fund many other social programs that help enrich the lives of not only their clients, but also the communities in which they live. Below you can see are a few videos that highlight the ripple affects our loans can have.
This is a presentation I attended last week, where a member of a local ASKI sponsored youth group explains a village water project they are working on.
ASKI has always looked to provide more than just microcredit to their clients; ASKI Foundation was created last year to formalize and strengthen some of ASKI’s “Beyond Microfinance” programs. You can see ASKI Foundation General Manager, Bogg Burbos, talk about its programs further in the video below.
You are in Mongolia… really?
1 July 2009
By Tamara Sanderson – KF8 Mongolia
When I started telling my friends and family that I was headed to Mongolia for the summer, it quickly became apparent that few people know much about the country. Comments ranged from: “So, where in Africa is Mongolia?” to “I remember that Genghis Kahn fellow from history class.”
Every day, I am realizing the uniqueness of this beautiful country and would like to share a few fun facts with other Kivans.
Large and Landlocked
Mongolia, the second largest landlocked country in the world, is sandwiched between China and Russia. It is one of the highest countries in the world with an average elevation of 1580 meters, which quickly became apparent when hiking at the XacBank retreat (I was out of breath within a few minutes).
Mongolia is home of the Gobi desert, where fossilized dinosaurs were found in the 1920s, and it now boasts the title of having the largest horseman statue in the world (please note the size of the car in relation to the statue)!
Team at the XacBank retreat (Maggie, Kiva Coordinator, is on the far left)
Genghis Khan statue about 30 minutes outside of Ulaanbaatar
My Run-in with the Congolese Police
1 July 2009
By John Soleanicov, KF8 DRC
I could feel the beads of sweat rolling down my face. Sitting in a makeshift police station under a tent, I was surrounded by three Congolese policemen and my accuser, a young man that could not have been past his mid twenties. My crime: videotaping in public.
As I was returning from a group visit with Hope’s Kiva Coordinator, Robert, I wanted to capture the infrastructure realities of Kinshasa (more on this in a later post). The young man noticed I was taping and began to follow our motorcycle. You can actually hear him in the video.
Once we arrived at our destination, he made a big scandal, refusing to let us leave peacefully. Since he was clearly not a police officer, Robert suggested going to a nearby police station to settle the matter “officially.” Having heard horror stories of the notorious corruption of Congolese police, I feared the confiscation of my camera, passport, or worse.
Kiva Fellows’ Blog Quarter 2 in Review
30 June 2009
By Kiva Fellows Program Team
Kiva’s launch in the United States on June 10th generated a huge amount of media attention for Kiva, and an equally-large number of hits for the Kiva Fellows Blog. Kudos goes to John Briggs KF8, currently on his second Kiva placement with KADET in Kenya, for his #1 in Q2 post in response to the “Pissed Off Kiva Lenders” lending team with 1,712 views to date.
The top 5 blogs in Q2 were:
1. Pissed Off Kiva Lenders, John Briggs KF8, Kenya
2. A Rose From Florence, Stephanie Koczela KF7, Uganda
3. M-Banking!, Brett Dobbs KF7, Kenya
4. I Am Living In Kisumu, Kenya, Milena Arciszewski KF7, Kenya
5. Welcome, Kiva, to West Timor!, Kieran Ball KF7, Indonesia
Quarter 2 has been a time of change for Kiva, both on a macro level, as people in Kenya and Cambodia make their first Kiva loans to entrepreneurs in northern California and New York City, and a micro level, as Kiva Fellows upload short videos to this very blog detailing the daily activities of borrowers and loan officers alike.
Emily Sweeney KF7, Peru, found the time to travel to Lake Titicaca, where she later found out that many of the artisans selling their crafts on the floating islands were borrowers of her MFI, Manuela Ramos. She was particularly struck by the way microfinance had merged with the unique island culture of Los Uros. Katie Davis KF7, Cambodia, got a crash course in rice accounting from staff at her MFI in Cambodia, vastly different from the sophisticated financial and analytic tools she used at her job in the United States, but which proved to be incredibly effective. Several new KF8 fellows have undergone changes since starting their placements in late May and June, including Alia Rafeh KF8, Lebanon, who traveled 7,000 miles to begin her placement with Al Majmoua, Cissy DeLuca KF8, Indonesia, who made the official change from Kiva intern to Kiva Fellow this past Sunday as she departed for her fellowship with TLM via Taipei and Tamara Sanderson KF8, Mongolia, whose role at Kiva changed from volunteer to fellow as she started her placement with XacBank, noting the important role connection plays in empowering a relatively new Kiva MFI.
Videos you should be sure to check out:
Zev travels home from work in Indonesia
Hanh attempts to cross Hanoi’s bustling/frenetic (depending on your point of view) streets shortly after arriving in Vietnam
Athan ate a traditional Umu meal in Samoa
Ashley King-Bischof posted a video of thank yous from borrowers in Cameroon
If you’re interested in learning more about the Kiva Fellows Program or other opportunities to get involved with Kiva, be sure to check out the Do More section on the Kiva website.
Micro-Universal Health Care
30 June 2009
By Cynthia McMurry, KF8 Ecuador
Time and cost are enormous disincentives for the working poor when it comes to getting medical treatment. Time spent visiting the doctor is time you’re not at work generating income, and money spent on these visits is money that could otherwise be spent on your children’s education or reinvested in your business. These disincentives are strong enough that relatively minor, treatable ailments often go untreated and eventually develop into much more complicated, serious conditions that require more intensive treatments and can even be incapacitating.
To mitigate this problem, medical care must be made cheaper and more convenient, and this is exactly what’s being done at the Cuenca branch office of Fundación Espoir. The office has an on-site doctor’s office. Each client pays $4.50 per 6-month loan cycle, for which she is entitled to unlimited free doctor’s visits for herself, her husband and her children. Women can get Pap tests, pre- and post-natal care and birth control counseling, in addition to a wide variety of treatments for common ailments. The clinic, which is always staffed by one of two doctors, serves 250-280 women and their family members each month. Dr. Maria Eulalia Robles says that most clients, whether women, men or children, come in for three reasons: dermatological problems, respiratory ailments, and diarrhea. Treatment is key, especially for children: left untreated, respiratory ailments and diarrheal diseases are responsible for almost 40% of mortality in Ecuadorian children ages 1-4 (as of 1999).
By Susan Arthur, KF8, Nicaragua
Dear Kiva Novela Fans,
I was unable to upload the two videos that were to accompany last Saturday’s (Episode 2) of “As the Microfinance Mundo Turns.” So consider this to be Episode 2.5. Don’t miss Laura Hopps’s testimonial about Doña Cony’s ice cream. Laura lives in Nicaragua and volunteers for the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte. Follow her Friends of Batahola blog if you want to learn more.
Also, your mouth will water when Doña Cony lists the ingredients in her ice cream.
Doña Cony’s dream, as announced in the first episode of “As the Microfinance Mundo Turns”, is to open her own restaurant.
Will Doña Cony seek credit from one of Kiva’s field partners in Nicaragua? Will she apply at CEPRODEL? Will she qualify? What does she have to do to get a loan? Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of “As the Microfinance Mundo Turns.”
CCT’s First Kiva Loan
28 June 2009
The cool, air-conditioned air and excited, friendly people inside the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) office was a pleasant change from chaos and hot, humid weather of Manila outside. Last Tuesday was the first day of the Kiva Partnership with CCT, and my first day as a Kiva Fellow. Managers from different areas of CCT participated in the first day of Kiva-led training. They listened with rapt attention as Rico, Kiva’s Asian Partner Development Specialist, explained the implementation process and demonstrated tools to track loans. Coming from the consulting world, the training was quite different to meetings I was used to: instead of everyone being at a meeting that no one wanted to be at, here, everyone was excited and enthusiastic.
The second day of training focused on how to write and post borrower profiles and journal entries, and included representatives from many of CCT’s branches. These representatives will be responsible for overseeing Kiva posts for their branches. The highlight of the day was posting CCT’s first borrower profiles on Kiva.org. Laughter filled the room as CCT workers took turns writing their first profiles. As the profile of the first borrower, Ofelia Mustapha, a shoe seller from Pasay City, hit Kiva.org, cheers erupted around the room.
As soon as the Kiva-led training finished, CCT’s managers transitioned right into internal implementation planning. “What do we need to do move from ‘Pilot’ to ‘Active’ stage?” “What do we need to do this month?” “What other information do we need to start collecting from borrowers [called partners here] to give lenders all the information they want to know about entrepreneurs looking for loans?” Speaking in a mixture of Tagalog and English, staff members shouted out ideas that were captured on an old white board and recorded in an Excel spreadsheet. For CCT to move to the “Active” stage as soon as possible, and for entrepreneurs in the Philippines to get much-needed loans quickly, there’s no time to waste.
Merrick Brown is a Kiva Fellow with Center for Community Transformation (CCT) in Manila, Philippines.
By Susan Arthur, KF8 Nicaragua
Doña Cony is quite the savvy business women.
She lives in Batahola Norte, a neighborhood in Managua, Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Latin America after Haiti, according to the World Bank.
Purveyor of Nicaragua´s Best Ice Cream
She sells her own homemade ice cream, rents rooms in her house to visitors who come to Nicaragua to volunteer, teach or study and cooks them delicious meals served at the family’s dining room table. On weekends she runs a catering business for neighbors celebrating special occasions, including weddings and quinceañeras or coming-of-age parties when girls turn 15.
In a large plastic bowl in her outdoor kitchen in the back courtyard, Doña Cony stirs the ingredients for ice cream – milk, fruit, sugar, cinnamon and rum – and pours the cool mixture into individual-sized plastic bags which she freezes overnight in her refrigerator.
All day long in the 90 degree muggy heat, school children, mothers with babies on their hips and sweaty young men who play basketball and soccer in the park across the street come to her front gate and ask, “¿Hay helado?” — “Is there ice cream?” She usually offers only two flavors a day and sells them to customers who bite off a corner and slurp down flavors bursting with coconut, mango, guayabana, ciruela (prune), pitaya, pineapple or mamón (from the lychee family).
Two weeks ago when the cost of milk jumped, Doña Cony raised the price of her ice creams from 3 cordobas (15 cents) to 4 cordoboas (20 cents). When she told her customers about the price increase most customers did not have the extra cordoba to spend but Doña Cony told them to pay her back next time.
