Archive for June 1st, 2008
A Few of My Favorite Clients
“Blackouts without notice
And “internet down”
Spreadsheets that prod me
To cry and frown
Riding on motos
And closing my eyes
Clients are always my humanity ties…”
Okay, fine, that was really corny. Consider yourself lucky, though, because it was either that or “In da Field” to the tune of “In da Club” by Fiddie Cent.
This wonderful woman read my palm. She told me that if I married it would be to an older man, then asked me why I would want to marry such an old man. I don’t know? Also, at 64 she runs a fairly lucrative pillowcase business with her cousin to help support her quad-generational family of seven.
Probably the coolest elderly couple of all time. She made delicious khmer cakes with sticky rice, bananas and coconuts and sell mangos in the market. They were serious about making me their daughter-in-law. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I’m pretty sure my buddies Vichet and Sopheap were busy trying to arrange a dowry from them.
“Give me my money!” The pearls are an extra nice touch, lady.
Vichet, Josh, and I are really happy — we are fresh on sugar highs induced by the homemade sodas this lovely client made for us. She is also a member of the Human Rights party and has fantastic business ideas and plans.
This client had an otherworldly regal beauty. Josh and I were awestruck and couldn’t stop talking about it for days. She sold homemade Khmer food at a food stand by her house.
Talk about badass. This lady took her loan so that she could purchase her stand instead of paying rent and commission on it. Now she rakes in around $250 per day.
2 comments 1 June 2008
Three nights, incredible sights, and one fight in Bangkok
WARNING: The following post has nothing to do with microfinance, microwaves or microphones. Not even Micro Machines. That said…
I was in a fight yesterday.
Yesterday, I lost that fight. Badly. It wasn’t even close. It was one of those, “was he even trying?” or “he’ll never walk again!” kind of beat downs. The worst part was, I paid for the privilege of this fight.
Having left the States on May 26th on my way to my 10 week fellowship in Indonesia, I scheduled a three full day stop-over in Bangkok, as I had never been to Thailand (nor any other part of Asia for that matter). Knowing the “popularity” of Americans abroad, I did my best to keep a low profile while enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Bangkok. But I swear, this fight found me.
Here’s how it happened. After two days in Bangkok, I had enjoyed touring the incredible wats (temples) and bustling markets by day and spent the nights with some street vendor pad thai, karaoke bars, a good book by the pool and massages. The incredible thing about Bangkok, and maybe many parts of South East Asia, is that an hour long massages cost about $7. Seven bucks? Seven bucks!!! Having enjoyed a foot massage the first day and an aromatherapy massage the second day, I felt ready to branch out and try the last option on the list: Thai massage.
Now let it be known that the Thai are world-renowned for their massage techniques and have a bevy of massage schools all around Thailand, especially in Bangkok. I deduced that receiving a Thai massage in Bangkok would surely be an epic experience, akin to enjoying gelato in Italy or singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at Wrigley Field. This was going to be fantastic!
So I walked to the massage parlor by my hostel and was greeted by a smiling 4′11″ Thai woman, which for the purpose of this entry we will name Davida. Davida took one look at my 6′4″, 200 pound lot of elbows and knees and said, “You really tall. This going to be fun.” Not sure what to think, I calmed myself by remembering that I also enjoy fun. Davida instructed me to take my sandals off, have my feet cleaned by another masseuse and then lay down on the massage bed. Obediently, I did just that.
And then the fight started.
The gentle kneading and relaxing shiatsu that had started off my first two massages was replaced instead by three swift Chilean chops to each calf, which I was later explained helped to increase circulation. If increased circulation helps spread pain, then I reckon it to be a highly effective technique.
Over the next hour, I was submitted to various forms of elbowing, stretching, slapping, kicking, kneeing, punching, pummeling, poking, pulling and even some mangling. As it turns out, traditional Thai massage was not intended to be a “feel good” technique and instead was designed as a form of therapy to release locked-in stress and tension. It was such an intense mix of pleasure and pain that midway through, I began to laugh uncontrollably. It was almost like the scene in Fight Club where Brad Pitt demands to get punched and keeps asking for more after each punch, punctuated by a semi-psychotic laugh that freaks out his abuser enough to make him flee the scene. But Davida did not leave. And sadly, I am not Brad Pitt.
The fight was highlighted by what surely is Davida’s signature move, where she sat her 80 pounds on my rear, grabbed hold of my arms and then craned back to stretch my back, as I hysterically laughed in pain. Together, we looked like an oversized toboggan with a small child on it holding the reins. She then proceeded to do the same move, alternating between my head and shoulders. For those of you old-school WWF fans seeking a better visual, think Sgt. Slaughter’s “Camel Clutch” move against Andre the Giant in the late 80’s.
And after that (and a few tissues for my tears)… the hour was over. Davida had slain her Goliath. And this Goliath, although still sore as hell, and now newly equipped with a healthy phobia of undersized Thai women, loved every minute of it.
***
So that is the end of my first blog. I apologize for the long read, but I can’t say that won’t happen again. I’ve been told that I’m allowed to write about ALMOST anything in this blog… so I’m going to take Kiva’s word on that.
I’m definitely looking forward to getting started in Indonesia and will post again with more relevant subject matter once I get situated. Until then, I’ll try to stay out of any more fights, but again, no guarantees.
You stay classy Kiva,
GC
10 comments 1 June 2008
Is Impact Impact?
Probably one of the biggest issues facing microfinance today is that of impact. To what extent has microfinance actually affected global poverty? In what ways can its impact be measured, and how sustainable is it? Will it continue to grow? Though I agree that understanding impact is crucial and developing social impact studies and matrices is a valuable undertaking, I question the ability we have to concretely measure the more soft-data effects. How does one quantify the feeling of being better off?
One of the main responsibilities of Kiva fellows is to assist with the journaling process of our MFIs. With no interest rates, journals are the only tangible ROI for Kiva lenders. They are intended to show the progress of the clients’ businesses and essentially attempt to convey the impact of the loans on the clients’ lives. This opportunity to witness impact first-hand is probably what excited me most about this experience. Having now worked in Cambodia with CREDIT MFI for almost two months now, the interviews I have had with clients for these journals have done a tremendous amount to inform my own attempts to answer these questions.
With the clients I have met, repairs and construction, buying motorbikes, purchasing inventory, tools and equipment for their businesses, and paying for basic household amenities make up the overwhelming majority of loan usages. Those that are able to generate greater income after applying the loans tend to reinvest in their businesses, pay for their children’s education, and try to set aside a savings. Most hope for higher education and a better standard of living for their children.
In many ways, I find all of these motivations, applications, and hopes to be not unlike those of individual borrowers in the States. Mortgage payments, student loans, and start-up capital for businesses are what come to my mind when I think about why people I know borrow money from banks at home.
What strikes me is that at its root, microfinance is a singularly simple concept. “Small finance”– providing access to reasonable financial services in denominations that are proportional to the income and needs of the very poor. A concept that is so bizarrely basic that it is has become revolutionary. Yet we wouldn’t expect access to loans to prevent bankruptcy or to guarantee upward income mobility at home. It would be equally foolish to expect total global poverty alleviation at the hands of microfinance.
What microfinance does do is provide financial access to those who exist outside of mainstream financial systems. This “normalizing” effect can serve as a powerful catalyst and tool. It is what makes the concept revolutionary and the implementation necessary –regardless of the tangible social impact that we are able to measure out of it.
1 comment 1 June 2008
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