Archive for 30 June 2009
Kiva Fellows’ Blog Quarter 2 in Review
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
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).
