A Rose from Florence

3 April 2009 at 01:20 Stephanie 8 comments

Thank you for all the loans you make to Kiva. As a Kiva Fellow, I get the joy of receiving the gratitude that is truly meant for all of you.

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of meeting Florence Musola at a loan disbursement for the Balikyewunya Borrower’s Group. She was one of the first members to arrive at the meeting, so we were able to carry out a lengthy interview while the other members trickled in. It was fortunate that we got started early because Florence had lots to tell us about being a florist in Kampala, Uganda.

Balikyewunya Group

She started off by explaining that when you work with brides it can be a headache because they are sooo particular. But, it is not just brides who are complicated, she continued, when you are a florist you have to know that people from different religions want specific colors and flowers at their various ceremonies. After making sure we were getting all of this down, she explained in infinite detail that there is a huge difference between a flower arrangement for a center table and one for a side table. Who knew?

The whole interview was far from what I expected when I first started doing Kiva Borrower interviews… I spent half of my time amused at what I imagine are similarities between her clients and floral clients all over the world, and the other half trying to wrap my mind around the concept that I was interviewing an upscale and very knowledgeable florist who happened to be mixed in with the poultry farmers, dairy farmers, and pig farmers of Gayaza (the town where she lives).

Her Shop Sign

Today, I managed to visit Florence at her place of work. (I made a short video during my visit.) Her shop was bustling and busy. It turns out there are many other florists who work out of the same location. The smell of her shop transported me back to the floral shop where I used to buy flowers before high school dances. It was one of those moments where if I had closed my eyes, I could have been in a floral shop anywhere in the world.

While we were there, Florence showed us albums of the work she has done for weddings and birthday parties. Her work is amazing, full of color and creativity beyond what I have ever seen in the USA. Anyone planning to get married, or have any kind of party, in Uganda should definitely hire her!

Some pictures of the flowers she uses in her arrangements

At the end of the visit, she gave me a beautiful red rose. I had had such a wonderful visit, I wished that I had something to give her. Now, writing this, I wish I there was a way to pass my beautiful rose on to all the people who made loans to her. She was giving me the rose because I represent those people and really all the people who make loans to Kiva!

Florence and I (and Grace with the bouquet she bought!)

Although I can’t pass my rose, I really want to pass on the gratitude she expressed. Thanks for making Kiva loans possible for Florence, and for all the poultry farmers, dairy farmers, and pig farmers who may have somewhat less glamorous stories.

~ Join the lending team for Pearl Microfinance and continue to make loans to borrowers like Florence Musola. Thanks again for all your support! ~

Entry filed under: KF7 (Kiva Fellows 7th Class), PEARL Microfinance, Uganda. Tags: Kampala Florists, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Kiva Fellows in Uganda, Kiva Fellows vist Borrowers, Microfinance in Uganda, Stephanie Koczela, Uganda.

8 Comments Add your own

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Great blog post! Thanks for dedicating an entire post to Florence. Clearly you have a gift at connecting with borrowers.

Can she do flowers for a wedding in the US?

[...] really excited for her and she seemed really proud. After I had finished interviewing Margaret, and Florence the florist (a demonstration of how long we have to wait for the members to gather for the group pictures we [...]

Dear Stephanie: I so envy you your youth and enthusiasm. I have supported missionaries in Jinja for several years and get regular updates and pictures and seeing your video and photos and reading your blog remided me of why I love Uganda . You are such a blessing to the people of Uganda to bring them their loans and to us for telling us about the borrowers, their successes, and your adventures. I made some loans yesterday but there were so many I didn’t have time to scroll from page to page looking for Ugandan’s. I searched on Uganda and got nowhere. If I go to the Pearl Finance page will it tell me there are Ugandan’s waiting for loans if there are any and nothing if there are none. I guess I don’t know how to find borrowers from Uganda unless I happen on to them. I’d appreciate some direction here. By the way, linen is very pretty, but denim is more durable. Keep smiling.

Dear Stephanie…You have indeed made my day…it took quite a while to load the video, but I guess my usual impatience was a bit slower tonight…thank goodness…to be sitting in Chicago tonight watching Florence explain that things are a bit slow now because of Lent and that it should get busy for Easter was amazing…it was current…it wasn’t “canned video”…it was from the heart and here was Florence speaking to us in English…far better than my Latin (4 years) or French (5 years)…I’m truly inspired by KIVA and unfortunately haven’t had the time to follow along with gifts I have given…This really restores one’s faith in humanity, and I can assure you Stephanie that you will treasure this time spent in Africa for the rest of your life…Thanks so very much for taking my mind totally off the mortgage problems in our country, if only for a short amount of time! This has given me renewed desire to give more KIVA gift certificates…Let’s hope Easter brings wonderful things for Florence and you! Jean M

Thanks for writing this beautiful look into a borrower’s life and business. I really appreciate it.

Kiva Fellows’ efforts on behalf of Kiva and Kiva’s borrowers — in this case, your ability to paint a vivid picture of borrower’s business and the impact of her Kiva loan on her life and business — are part of what makes being a Kiva lender such a rewarding experience.

Fred

Hi dear,
There u go again Stephanie. Thanks for the wonderful work u are doing for and on behalf of Kiva and most importantly on behalf of the borrowers. and before i forget, is it fair if i don’t ever mention how relieved u make me feel, together with Cory? only my heartfelt instincts can express this. Thank you so much for the wonderful blogs.

Kiva Stories from the Field