Archive for July, 2009
“Say Cheese…I mean, Whiskey!”
By: Nilima Achwal, KF8, Bolivia
While taking pictures throughout Bolivia of Kiva clients, colleagues, and friends, I’ve noticed a theme. Most people don’t smile. No matter if it’s a jolly loan officer who loves his job, the cleaning girl that always peers curiously over my shoulder at my laptop and brings me mate de coca, or good friends hanging out after work. The second I take out my camera, in fact, the second before I click the shutter, the grins vanish. Ironically (and maddeningly), the second the flash is out, the subject in question almost always smiles or laughs.
Glad Kiva has partner MFIs like Zene za Zene (International)
Although I have seen some of the obstacles of microfinance, I am encouraged by ZzZ’s determination to continue succeeding. Despite the problematic situations, ZzZ is outstanding in terms of its work with Kiva, and the Kiva borrowers I have met are all hardworking and earnest women. I hope that my Kiva Fellowship will help ZzZ (International) gain a bigger presence on Kiva.org and that they will post more loans in the future. You could show your support by joining the Lending Team “Friends of Women for Women International”!
A Small Step Forward
Like most of Africa, Benin’s education system is riddled with problems. Its educational woes start at the primary level. The main language of instruction in Benin is French. Educational resources written in Beninese languages hardly exist. Therefore, children whose native language is Fon or Yoruba have to learn material while trying to understand a new language. This problem is particularly evident in the rural north of Benin. As a friend of mine said to me, it would help if more students started school in their native language and gradually transitioned to French. But this is a long-term goal.
Students must pass two national exams in order to graduate from high school; however, the pass rate of both exams is very low. The first is the BEPC, Brevet d’etudes du premier cycle, taken at age fourteen. Then students take the Baccalaureate, or Bac, at the end of high school. When you visit Benin’s national education website and scroll through Bac results, it is startling how few students pass. Because entry into the few national universities is guaranteed to students who pass the Bac, the exam is very difficult. Therefore, many students struggle repeatedly just to pass high school. Even smart, dedicated students have trouble moving to the next level. Many are simply unprepared to advance.
Unfortunately, things are far from ideal even for those who are lucky enough to pass the Bac and go on to university. Cotonou is the only major economic center in Benin and few jobs exist even for the brightest of the bright. It is no wonder that everyone wants to move to Europe or the United States. Imagine how frustrating it must be to graduate at the top of your class and have no opportunities to use your talents. Many are also frustrated by visa requirements and a lack of fluency in English.
And yet, despite the odds, education remains an important priority for people in Benin. I was sitting at a hotel lobby a few weeks ago, watching TV. The hotel manager came running into the room and asked if he could change the channel. The BEPC results were set to come out that day and they were to be announced on TV. Judging by his excitement, I imagine that he had a child or another close relative who had recently taken the exam. Soon enough, more people trickled into the room and we watched the results together. It was obviously a big day in Benin.
Education is the starting block for progress and success anywhere. It is how people get ahead in life. People in Benin, like anywhere, want to get an education and succeed. But without a well-established, functioning system, people have to look for any work they can find. That’s why so many people are selling the same goods along the side of the road; they do whatever they can to survive. This is where Alidé and other microfinance institutions can help. By offering loans, microfinance institutions are teaching people how to manage their money. I have witnessed many training sessions during which loan officers explained interest rates, repayments, and loan terms. This is important information to know. Also, the access to credit gives people the opportunity to innovate and be more successful. With the help of a loan or two, a vender might be able to sell a new product and to increase sales. It might give someone else more time to study for a test. It is a small step, but an important one. As well, how could microcredit be used to further expand educational opportunities? Could microcredit function as a source for student loans?
There is no simple answer to correcting large problems in education and economics. Benin, Africa, and the whole developing as a whole will all hopefully become more prosperous in the future, but it will likely take a long time. A lot of work needs to be done to address huge problems. If anything, the importance placed on education in Benin is a good sign for its future. In the meantime, we can continue to support the financial system, which is helping people to learn money management and to improve their standard of living. Many borrowers in Benin rely on Kiva lenders for funding and we have the unique opportunity to help provide assistance.
Andrew Whiteman is a Kiva Fellow (KF8), currently working at Alidé, a Kiva Field Partner, in Cotonou, Benin.
Obama-rama in Ghana!
Hotel Obama
By Nancy Tuller
KF8, Cape Coast, Ghana, Africa
I knew President Obama was going to visit Ghana even before I came here, and was excited to think that perhaps on some off-chance I might meet him. Ha! After completing my first placement as a Kiva Fellow in the regional capital of Kumasi, I arrived in the country’s capital, Accra, on July 8th, and Obama arrived the next day on July 9th. I went to several hotels and all were fully booked. My taxi driver suggested a new hotel called, (guess what!) Hotel Obama! Only in Africa! It was actually a very cool hotel owned by a Ghanaian family who had lived in New Jersey for some years, and had returned to start up this hotel. Each room was named for someone. There was, of course, the Barack Obama suite, the Michelle Obama room next door to it, and the Joe Biden room across from it. I stayed in the Coretta Scott King room that was right next to the Martin Luther King room. There was beautiful African art work on the walls and there was a good restaurant attached. And, I was definitely in good company! It rained hard that next day, and I didn’t even know Obama’s schedule, so I went about my business in the capital city of Accra, including buying my bus ticket for Cape Coast, where my second Kiva placement would begin the following Monday.
The next day I left for Cape Coast. (more…)
Microentrepreneurs and Maxipads
By Alison Carlman, KF8, Kenya
Consider yourself warned: this blog talks about maxipads. There. I said it. Now please keep reading.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the “Girl Effect” campaign. The “Girl Effect” is a about investing in what Africans call the “girl child” and how that can affect a country’s development. According to The Girl Effect, an extra year in primary school statistically boosts girls’ future wages by 10% to 20%, and every additional year a girl spends in secondary school lifts her income by 15% to 25%. And you better believe that the size of a country’s economy is, in no small part, determined by the educational attainment and skill sets of its girls. For Kenya alone, if the 1.6 million teenage girls who drop out of school each year instead finished their secondary education, their incremental earning power would lift Kenya’s GDP by $27 billion over their lifetimes. Not to MENTION the impact it would have on the health and well-being of future families and children of these girls-turned-women.
But it’s not that easy just to “stay in school.” The girls I work with in Kisumu at K-MET’s Safe Space have dropped out of school, many because they became mothers during their teen years.
A Safe Space Member Working to Start a Tailoring Business
I’ve talked a little with these girls, and have learned some other things about why it is so difficult to stay in school. I learned that something as simple as “sanitary towels” (or maxipads -there, I said it again-) can make the difference whether or not girls miss 4 days of school each month and get hopelessly behind in their studies. These products are too expensive to purchase every month, and the alternative is to use unsafe materials (like chopped up pieces of mattresses or old newspapers) which cause infections, leading to more absenteeism.
Look – I realize that you didn’t check the Kiva blog to read about sanitary products. But aren’t you at least slightly incensed by the fact that the lack of these simple supplies keep girls and women from attending school, attending public meetings, or even operating their own businesses for 4 days every month?!
When the Local Currency Falls, Microfinance Suffers
It has to be a devastating feeling to wake up one morning to find that 20% of your savings have vanished into thin air through no fault of your own. Unfortunately, that’s the reality that developing countries often have to deal with when their country’s financial systems are unable to keep the control over the value of their currency.
When I completed my Kiva Fellows placement in Tajikistan in early April, the local currency there was at around 3.80 Somoni to 1 USD. But something odd started to happen in the weeks to come. Somoni suddenly started to slide down and accelerated in May, until it hit its bottom on May 29th at 4.44 Somoni to 1 Dollar.
In other words, dollars suddenly became 17% more expensive compared to just 2 months earlier. Or 29% more expensive since the beginning of the year – just six months earlier.
Who’s Feeling the Impact?
What Happens When an MFI Grows Up?
Tamara Sanderson, KF8, Mongolia
Once upon a time, two NGOs named “the Golden Fund for Development” and “Gobi Start” came together to form their own commercial bank with a social mission. They decided to name themselves “the right bank,” with the hope that Mongolians could repay. Although all odds were against this new bank, it prospered at a time of economic uncertainty in Mongolia after the collapse of the Socialist system and overarching bankruptcy in the financial sector. Eight years later, this initiative has resulted in the largest microfinance bank in Mongolia and a role model for other MFIs (microfinance institutions) throughout the world.
When I first heard this story about XacBank, it seemed a bit like a fairy tale. Based on analysis from the MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB), it takes about 7 years, on average, for an MFI to become financially sustainable. Sustainable means that the MFI collects its loans and covers all its costs well enough to serve poor clients even after it does not get grants or soft loans from donors or government.
XacBank broke this norm. It was profitable from the very start.
Although this is great for XacBank, it logically leads to another question. If it is financially self-sufficient, why does it need Kiva? Shouldn’t the 0% interest capital go to other MFIs that need it more? (more…)
Thank you, TLM lenders!
Last week I was able to meet some Kiva clients while doing borrower verifications. Shanty, one of the Kiva Coordinators, and I decided to print out their Kiva profiles and show them what the world had seen.
Although they get an explanation of what Kiva is when they sign the client waiver, many TLM clients have no knowledge of the internet. To see a printed out profile with their pictures, along with some of the faces of people who had loaned to them, was very exciting for these clients!
Fret Passu’s Group and Oliftataf 44-B Group handled the printouts as if they were gold and swatted away the children’s hands when they tried to touch it. Members of Sesawi B1 Group and Sesawi A2 Group excitedly pointed each other out in the profile pictures. We left the profiles with them and I know these will be treasured items.
When Fret Passu (pictured below, on right with mustache) saw his profile he said, “Even though I am sitting here in this dirty shirt, people all over the world know who I am!”
Members of Fret Passu’s Group and Oliftataf 44-B Group
Members of Sesawi B1 Group and Sesawi A2 Group
Thank you to all of the generous Kiva lenders who helped these people acquire their cattle loans!
Cissy DeLuca is working with Tanaoba Lais Manekat Foundation (TLM) in West Timor, Indonesia. Feel free to join our rapidly growing lending team and follow us on twitter!
Six Months Later: 10 Lessons Learned About Life, Microfinance and the Universe
Going full circle. Ferris Wheel in Bosteri, Issyk-Kul Lake Region, Kyrgyzstan
It was exactly half a year ago, on January 23rd, that I packed all of my belongings in one 30-pound backpack and left New York City for a 7 month trip to Central Asia and India. I only had a slightest idea of what the trip would wind being like and what exactly I’d be doing during all that time. I just knew that it was something that I had to try for myself, even if I couldn’t quite find and explain the reasons to others.
Low and behold, it’s now six months later and and I’m in the midst of doing my 2nd Kiva placement in Kyrgyzstan (after doing doing a Kiva Fellowship in Tajikistan and then a another job assignment in India). So, I figured that it would be a good time to stop and reflect on the experience and the lessons learned. With just four weeks left before heading back to the good, old U.S. of A, you definitely wonder about what this meant for you.
10 Lessons Learned About Life, Microfinance and the Universe (in no particular order):
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On Patience: Things take time to work. Over the last 6 months, I started work in 3 different organizations (2 for Kiva and 1 was for an independent, non-Kiva placement but also in microfinance). The first few weeks in every place can feel slow and sometimes awkward, as you struggle to find your place within the organization and figure out what you can contribute. Patience really is a virtue. (more…)
I know I can. Be what I want to be.
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF8 Peru
When did I begin to learn about savings? I can’t say I’m any good at it, but at one point far and long ago, I know I learned about it.
I suppose it was simply modeled to me by my parents, dedicated savers and cautious spenders. For many of us, saving seems so natural a concept that it’s hard to climb outside of our nutshells to see the rest of the world’s reality. Banks are readily available to many of us, and they often shell out incentives for us to save with them – collecting interest, investing, and the like. It seems like everyone is telling us to save.
Yet, from interviews I’ve conducted here in Ayacucho, I’ve noticed the importance of saving is something many of our borrowers really come to value only after joining FINCA.
FINCA requires its borrowers to deposit into a savings, which they get at the end of their loan cycle. Loan Officers also lecture the borrowers on the importance and value of saving at their weekly meetings, and encourage them to voluntarily contribute additional savings through FINCA as well.
The last question on my journal interview questionnaire for Kiva borrowers is also my personal favorite, and I made it the last one because I look forward to the response so much I make myself wait until the end. (It’s like in college when I would allow myself to eat candy only after I finished my homework.) The question is: what do you like the most about borrowing from FINCA?
I love it because it’s the one question I almost always get a unique response from. And yet one of the most resounding responses is, “because they taught me how to save!” One Kiva borrower said, “They force me to save. At first I hated it. But now I understand it and I love it! I’m going to start construction on my home soon. The savings are my favorite part.” I definitely saw myself in her.
For these women, the loan itself is not their ‘favorite part’ about borrowing from FINCA. It’s learning about savings! As if I wasn’t addicted to Kiva enough, now I have another reason to be: it’s not just about borrowing for the present, it’s about teaching the women to save for their future. Our microfinance partners that stress saving—and most of them do—are passing a great test of sustainability.
But these days, it’s not only the women that learn how to save at FINCA Peru.
Transition Mode
By Jaclyn Berfond, KF8 Kenya
As one of the last of the KF8 class to arrive in the field – Nairobi, Kenya to be exact – these last two weeks have certainly been a time of transition for me. So you can imagine my surprise, and comfort, when I found that both the MFIs I will be working with – the Small and Micro-Enterprise Programme (SMEP) and Faulu Kenya – were going through their own transitions…
Before I jump into that, however, let me first introduce myself as a newcomer to the Kiva Fellows blog. My name is Jaclyn, and I come from New York, via Geneva, Switzerland. I have been passionate about microfinance for many years, and I am now very excited to have the opportunity to work with not one, but two microfinance institutions here in Kenya!
In the two weeks since I arrived, I have had all sorts of new experiences; eating nyama choma (roast meat) and ugali (a maize-based dish), taking my first matatu (informal taxi vans which are known for loud music and squeezing in as many people as possible), and driving over some of the roughest roads I have ever experienced to visit borrowers in rural towns, Nairobi slums and everything in between. But beyond this very personal (and exciting) transition to a new country, a new culture, I have also been able to learn a little bit about the transition of microfinance going on here in Kenya.
The Nature of Poverty
I’ve seen the effects of poverty in many parts of the world. A year spent in Latin America couldn’t have prepared me for the crushing poverty that I saw in India. In Jaipur- the lonesome eight year old girl with a baby strapped to her back collecting garbage along the train tracks. In Mumbai- the endless lines of street dwellers sleeping alongside the highway and the horrified starved looks on their faces. The man that used one arm to pull the small remaining portion of his body across the harsh cobblestone paths of Varanasi- I could never erase that image from my memory.
Nor can I erase the feelings from my heart after what I saw in New Orleans post- hurricane Katrina. The community was abandoned and left in shambles and the residents, after years of neglect were nearly helpless. I’m often heartbroken by the exposed and vulnerable I see on the streets of New York City- old, young, pregnant, war veterans and others just lost. When I visited my home last week, it was hard to miss the bulging crowd outside of the Denver Rescue Mission- or maybe it just looks smaller when the crowd huddles together to escape the freezing winters.
Trying to compare the destitute in San Francisco or New York City to the desolate in Katmandu or Lima would do an incredible injustice to truth of these individual situations. The nature of poverty in the United States often manifests in ways that we don’t commonly label as “poverty”, especially once compared to the destitution we see in developing countries. I can’t pinpoint it but, the look of boredom I saw yesterday on the face of a four year old girl in New York City, elicits a similar feeling from me as seeing the languish on the face of a child in India.
You cannot compare the empty stomach of a child in New Delhi to the bulging belly of a boy in Brooklyn; however the look of malaise on both of their faces can be a symptom of some form of poverty. Poverty can be due to the lack of dignity involved in the process of consumption. Over abundance and extreme lack have both been known to create hopelessness, violence, and severe health problems. The types of poverty that I distinguish have manifested themselves differently and each deserves a compassionate call to response.
How does this relate to Kiva…
The United States has been suffering from a community disconnection that has been growing for decades, and the affect has had implications across the globe. The movement to bring back our sense of community has taken many forms. Some buy locally grown foods or volunteer at local school programs. Now, you can choose to lend locally on Kiva and support small businesses that foster strong and dignified communities. I’m a firm believer in the interconnectedness of humanity, and that even the smallest of actions can have profound and long lasting impacts. By supporting a microenterprise on Kiva you are supporting the rights of an individual to a dignified way of earning a living and supporting their family- dignity is a strong word.
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Erica Dorn has recently completed her Kiva Fellowship at ACCION USA in New York City. She will be continuing a career in US Microfinance and can be reached at ericadorn@gmail.com. You can also follow her blogs related to US Microfinance at ACCIONUSA.org/blog
Microfinance and the economic casualties of terrorism
The first time the Bali bombings came up in conversation for me, it was when I was interviewing a borrower, Pak (Mr.) I Putu Agus Sumerta. Pak Herman, a DINARI loan officer, introduced Agus to me as a victim of the 2nd Bali bombing.
I immediately assumed that he had been injured in the blast, but it turned out he was working in a hotel in the capital city of Denpasar at the time, nowhere near the beaches of Kuta and Jimbaran where the bombs went off. When I expressed my confusion, Agus and Herman explained that for most people in Bali, the most lasting negative consequence of the bombings was economic. Tourists were driven off the island and even regular visitors didn’t come back for years. Agus’ hotel was forced to close, and he was forced to return to his village of Melaya.
Should all kids want to be a doctor or astronaut? Maybe…
By Milena Arciszewski, KF8 – Community Economic Ventures Inc. – Philippines
The backdrop for my ah-ha! moment
Yesterday I had a thoughtful conversation with a CEV Loan Officer, over a bowl of soup. She told me about a recent interview she had with a young boy. She asked him about his dream for the future, and was disappointed when he answered: “When I grow up, I want to be strong so that I can carry heavy boxes like my father.” This boy doesn’t dream about becoming a pilot, or a doctor, or an astronaut. He dreams of becoming strong so that he can carry heavy boxes.
The Loan Officer looked at me and said firmly: “The worst part of poverty here is that it takes away people’s ability to dream.”
One of my favorite quotes is by Martin Luther King, Jr: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ There is a strange beauty to that boy who dreams of carrying heavy boxes. He sees honor in the job and his highest aspiration is to be strong so that he can do the job well. And that’s okay. It is not my place to judge his dreams or expect them to match mine. I responded to the Loan Officer that I think it’s a fine for him to have that dream, as long as it makes him happy.
“No, you don’t understand,” she answered. “That boy isn’t dreaming about carrying boxes because that will make him happy. He dreams of carrying boxes because that is all he knows. He is so poor that he doesn’t know what else to dream about.”
I had my ah-ha! moment. That’s why microfinance institutions exist. It’s not just about giving poor people the ability to grow their business. It’s about giving poor people the chance to live a better like so that they have the ability to dream.
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- A CEV borrower poses with her baby pig
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- A CEV borrower poses before her rice field
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- A CEV borrower with her recycled goods
Milena Arciszewski has a year-long Kiva fellowship. She is currently on her last placement at Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (“CEV”) in Tagbilaran City, Philippines. She has also spent time with Kiva partners in Bosnia and Kenya. For a list of CEV’s fundraising loans, click here.
From Sweets to Riches – The Business of Cookies
Pre-Story: Hollywood Comes to Kyrgyzstan
Last week, our MFI was visited by a pair of filmmakers from Brazil who were shooting a documentary on microfinance and the impact it has on the lives of clients. Their plan was to travel the globe for 10 months and record customers, loan officers, and other microfinance specialists in different parts of the world. After shooting in Brazil and Russia, they were coming to Kyrgyzstan and turned to our organization to help them with the logistics.
We arranged for them to meet and interview several of our clients and staff members in the Issyk-Kul region (about 4 hours away from the capital of Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek – where our headquarters are) and I had an opportunity to come with them to translate the interviews.
As a Kiva Fellow, we typically get to talk to clients frequently to learn more about their lives, businesses and the impact that credit has had on them. However, those conversations are typically brief, since the clients, and often the loan officers that accompany us, are on a tight schedule.
This time around, however, the interviews lasted for more than an hour and were in a relaxed, non-rushed setting. As a result, it offered fascinating insights into the lives of these inspiring business owners and showed many more dimensions to the clients.
I’d like to share with you a story of a husband and wife who have created a successful bakery and how they’ve come to this point.
And That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles…
The World’s Most Expensive Cities – Oslo, Moscow…Kinshasa?
By: John Soleanicov, KF8 DRC
Nope, that’s not a misprint, nor an exaggeration. You can find the source right here. Kinshasa comes in at number 6. The first time I tried to go grocery shopping, I thought I had the exchange rate wrong. $20 for a small piece of beef? That can’t be right. Well, it is.
Can this really be one of the most expensive cities in the world?
Home of the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flooded with foreign troops, aid workers and diplomats, many with generous per diems. This, combined with Congo’s poor infrastructure and lack of production capacity, has resulted in prices that match or exceed those in most developed countries. (Note: Luanda, Angola is ranked even higher, at number 1, for similar reasons.)
It is possible to purchase locally-produced items at more reasonable prices (and this how local Congolese are able to survive) but not in the center of the city, where expatriates live. Getting to areas where food is actually affordable is difficult and can be unsafe, especially after dark. The center, meanwhile, is dotted with expat-oriented grocery stores filled with imported goods at exorbitant prices.
(more…)
Surviving the Transportation Strike in Pucallpa, Peru
By Courtney Kemps, KF8 Peru
Recently I made the mistake of trying to visit a Kiva borrower during Peru’s countrywide transportation strike on July 8th and 9th, a mistake which had rather scary consequences (fortunately of short duration)! Transportation associations around the country had called for the strike in response to a new law passed by the government, a law which greatly increased the fines for driving offenses such as speeding or running a red light. Many people felt that the law was unfair because the fines were out of proportion to people’s salaries: those who had little income could never afford to pay them. While the law was well-intentioned, those involved in transportation industries were also upset that the government had not consulted with them in advance of the law’s passage.
Though Lima barely felt this two-day strike, the experiences of some provincial towns such as Pucallpa were very different. In Pucallpa, all schools and most businesses closed up. The usual constant drone of motorcycle taxi traffic was replaced by a peaceful near-quiet, punctuated occasionally by the sound of a private vehicle or single taxi whose driver had decided to risk doing business that day. Most people stayed home. During these two days anyone who decided to open their business or operate their taxi ran the risk of encountering violence. Strikers (and others who were just taking advantage of the situation) punctured the tires of vehicles that were out on the roads and looted open shops and market stalls.
"No to the strike, no violence." Similar graffiti was all over Pucallpa.
A little after 8:00 am on the morning of the 8th I set out in search of a taxi to take me to Kiva borrower Loida’s house near the Bellavista market. I had thought that my early departure and destination far outside the city center would avoid any encounter with strike activity. After a few minutes wait I managed to find a motorcycle taxi still serving customers on the main road. Though the driver already had another passenger, he offered to take me to my destination. After the other passenger stepped out a few hundred meters down the road, the driver continued on until we reached a point where the road was blocked by groups of young men circling in motorcycle taxis. These young men were standing on the seats of the vehicles, shouting and waving pieces of wood. My driver detoured off the road onto a dirt area in front of some stores to bypass the congestion. Our vehicle, still somewhat blocked from forward movement by groups of people, eventually came to a halt. At this point my driver pulled a machete out from under my seat. I immediately hopped out of the taxi and offered to pay for the distance we had traveled up to that point. A man wielding a stick of wood came over to our stopped vehicle and bent down to puncture the tire. My driver leaped out of his taxi and chased after the man, waving his machete in the air. Intensely angry and unable to reach the guy, my driver struck out at the nearest thing, another stopped motorcycle taxi (with two passengers in the seat), and pushed it over. At this point, I was rapidly walking away. I safely made it out of the crowd and walked the mile or so back to my house, joining other pedestrians also at a loss for transportation.
Motorcycle taxi in downtown Pucallpa.
Later that evening, after making a number of phone calls and talking to my neighbors to find out whether the strike activity had ended for the day, I made it into Kiva partner Manuela Ramos’s office for a dinner we were to have that evening for some Ecuadorian visitors. The streets in the center of Pucallpa were eerily quiet for 5:00 pm on a weekday. Shops were closed, and instead of the usual raucous hordes of motorcycle taxis clogging the streets, only one or two dotted each block. Groups of young men and boys had set up soccer games in the streets– at one point a ball flew high over the vinyl roof of my taxi.
Upon arriving at the office, which had remained open for the day, I found most of the staff present. Some had come into work on private vehicles; others had walked. Marleny, our janitor and receptionist, had walked all the way from her suburban home, leaving at 5:00 am and arriving at the office at 6:30. I admired her dedication to the job! The Ecuadorian visitors, who had come to Manuela Ramos’s Pucallpa office for a few days from Kiva partner Fundación ESPOIR to observe operations and learn about the organization’s educational programming, had spent the day furtively zig-zagging around town in a motorcycle taxi to avoid roadblocks. They had found few Manuela Ramos borrowers at the meetings they attended.
We all headed out to a nearby restaurant (which had opened for the evening) to treat the visitors and to celebrate staff birthdays for the month of July. The event was lively, but no one was comfortable heading home by herself that night. After dinner, I headed out with four office staff who all live in the same area to find a motorcycle taxi. Usually it takes at most five seconds to flag down a taxi from anywhere in Pucallpa; that night we had to walk half a mile to find one. All five of us piled into a space meant for no more than three. The driver took a very circuitous route to avoid any lingering strike activity on the main road. Along this detour route we passed a few mostly removed, still smoldering “roadblocks” which appeared to consist of small piles of dirt, sticks and burnt tires (the last according to a loan officer who frowned at the smell).
Speaking to my neighbor today, I learned that summer is “strike season” here in Peru. There may be more this month and next. Having learned the hard way, I will know better what to expect next time!
Courtney Kemps is serving as a Kiva Fellow with Manuela Ramos in Pucallpa, Peru from June through August. Learn more about Manuela Ramos’s microcredit program or check out a list of currently fundraising loans for the organization’s borrowers.
On Committment, Hope and the Meaning of Wealth; A Kiva Fellow’s Perspective
By Nancy Tuller,
Kiva Fellow Class 8, Ghana, Africa
As a Kiva Fellow in Ghana, Africa, I have been working with Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT), established in 1994 and based in Kumasi, the heart of the Ashanti region. Sinapi Aba, as the non-governmental organization (NGO) is often referred to, has a vision of dedication to the building of a nation in which the strong help the weak and people’s dignity is maintained through their own efforts at providing for themselves, their families, and their community. The NGO aims to do this through the provision of both financial and non-financial services to the economically active poor in ten regions of Ghana. It currently serves over 76,000 clients from 40 branch offices spread throughout these regions. Your loans to Sinapi Aba clients are helping Sinapi Aba to come closer to the realization of its vision through expanding the reach of microloans in Ghana.
In addition to offering microloans, Sinapi Aba offers its clients business training, social service and consultancy services, as well as training in wise credit usage, vocational skills, savings, accounting and record keeping, and customer service. Its non-financial services include capacity building, training and technical advice to other microfinance institutions, along with client-oriented programmes in HIV/AIDS awareness and community development, and a very successful youth apprenticeship programme. Sinapi Aba Trust staff is comprised of some of the most dedicated and committed individuals I know. Their salaries are not handsome by any measure. They do this work because they believe that their actions should reflect their belief in, and commitment to, serving others. Their passion to stay true to their mission of serving the economically disadvantaged in society through providing opportunities for enterprise development and income generation is only surpassed by their successful track record in doing just that.
It is with Sinapi that I have taken my first baby steps in this continent. It is Sinapi staff that has nurtured me with its knowledge, wisdom and love. I adore my Sinapi family, and am beyond finding the right words to convey my gratitude for what I have gained through this experience. Now, all too suddenly, I have to leave my Sinapi family, and move on to my next placement in Ghana. As I ride the bus that takes me further and further from Sinapi and towards my next destination, (more…)
A Glimpse of the Borrowers
By Hanh Tran, KF8 – Fund for Thanh Hoa Poor Women (FPW) – Vietnam
Visiting borrowers during the past three weeks has taught me that interviews can take place just about anywhere– standing in the middle of a noisy market, sitting on very short stools near a street stall or squatting on someone’s kitchen floor.
Earlier this week, Ms. Ha, a credit officer at the Fund for Thanh Hoa Poor Women (FPW), offered to take me to three repayment meetings. I grabbed my bag – which nowadays contains my handy Flip video camera, a notepad, my pocket dictionary, and borrower group photos – and we set off.
An hour later, we found ourselves at a lively market in Dong Son District. Searching for borrowers in between the rows of colorful fruits and vegetables, fresh cut flowers and delicate china turned out to be quite the task. With Ms. Ha’s expertise, we managed to track down all six women belonging to the 11-Don Son Group.
Our next stop was to the home of a first time borrower, Ms. Phuong. Once there, I spent time with a group of four women, asking questions and listening as they gossiped and teased each other.
The final meeting for the day was at a local Women’s Union center where I was able to catch a few short interviews as group members dashed in to make their monthly repayments and rushed back to work as quickly as they came.
If I could, I would spend hours talking to each borrower. I realize the questions that I am able to ask during the short amount of time I have with the women only offers a glimpse into their lives – a small chapter of the full story. Yet, in those few moments, there is a connection. The hours pass by quickly and at the end of the day, I have footage, pictures and pages of notes. Here are a two of their stories.
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The Poster Child for Poverty
By: Nilima Achwal, KF8 Bolivia
I rode on the back of a motorcycle with a loan officer while going to visit Kiva clients on the outskirts of Cochabamba, Bolivia. As my hair blew in the wind, I took in the tranquil green pastures, spotted cows grazing, and women in colorful skirts strolling down the dirt road. When we stopped, I exclaimed, “I love this part of town!” “Really?” the loan officer answered in shock. “I thought you would be horrified; this is the poorest section of town.”
Give your heart to love, Give your hands to serve
by Cissy DeLuca, KF8 Indonesia
At TLM, there is an informal uniform code for each day of the week. Mondays are for blue shirts, Tuesdays are for orange, Wednesdays we wear green, Thursdays the staff wear the TLM batik and Fridays are for custom made blue and white shirts. On the back of these shirts reads, “Give your heart to love, Give your hands to serve.”
Roni, a TLM loan officer, in the field
In previous experiences working in the development sector, I noticed many NGO and government workers often treated villagers in a manner I found less than acceptable. Nurses would be verbally, and sometimes physically, abusive towards the mothers who came for monthly baby weighing services. Berating them for not forming a proper line and rudely hurrying them along as they removed the carefully chosen outfit they had dressed their baby in for the event. NGO workers would breeze into a village unannounced in their private air-conditioned SUVs acting like their time was more valuable than the community’s time. Rudely expecting the village to scurry for a chair, fresh water, a translator and accommodate all their needs. Development work serves the purpose of bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, but these people widened it with their social behavior. In short, these situations broke my heart and greatly discouraged me.
Working with TLM has been a a breath of fresh air and reminded me what development work can, and should, be all about. Their strong Christian affiliation really shows in their demeanor. They treat their clients with dignity, respect and kindness. They are very patient when gathering and explaining information and do not take a condescending approach. (more…)
Bound Together, Not Tied Down
By Joel Carlman, KF8 – Kisumu Medical & Education Trust – Kisumu, Kenya
Over the years, there have been many entries on this site (and on many others) about the popular topic of group lending. The fact that borrowers gather once a week, or once a month to deal with any issues they might have or to keep each other accountable is incredible. That group lending has tended to lead to higher repayment rates is a fun little factoid that practitioners of microfinance love to point out. But, that only represents the utility of group lending. Yes, it works, but it’s also beautiful in practice.
Recently, I had the chance to travel a few hours south of Kisumu to two borrower groups. One is located in the rural community of Bware, and the other in the more urban-feeling town of Rongo. Both groups taught me a lot about what group lending is all about, and why, besides serving a utilitarian function, it can also be beautiful.
Taking Care of Business
By: Athan Makansi – KF8 – SPBD, Samoa
Kiva is about stories. From borrower profiles and journal updates, we learn about individual borrowers all over the world and their struggle to work themselves out of poverty. But, some of the people most integral to the daily operations of Kiva are underrepresented on Kiva.org. Rarely do we hear stories about the credit officers all over the world who actually disburse the Kiva loans. Here are some profiles of the credit officers at South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) in Samoa.
At SPBD, the credit officers are called Center Managers (CMs). The center manager’s job is to collect the weekly repayments from each SPBD borrower. Monday through Thursday a center manager travels around the island to different borrower centers to collect repayments. Each center consists of between 5 and 35 borrowers, usually all ladies from the same village. On most Fridays, the Center Manager stays in the office to disburse new loans, prepare paper work for the next week, and count a lot of money. Last week I accompanied one center manager, Ela, on her daily rounds. Here is a video of our adventure.
At SPBD, there are twelve center managers broken into three teams of four. Three center managers – Ela, Mayvian and Jack – took the time to let me interview them.
As the Microfinance Mundo Turns: The Money Tree & the Family Tree
Doña Cony’s daughter works as a home health aide and nanny in Spain and sends money so that Doña Cony can have an annual mammogram. Doña Cony’s mother died of breast cancer, and Doña Cony has had five benign cysts removed from her own breast. In Managua, a mammogram costs 650 cordobas (USD $32.50).
Microfinance through New-York-Colored Glasses
By Abby Gray, KF6/7, Togo & Senegal (now in New York)
In Dakar, this ad provoked vandals to rebel against the culturally inappropriate image. In New York, it wouldn't get a second glance.
If you have to deal with culture shock after 8 months of living in West Africa, New York is one of the most dramatic places to do it. On one hand, the vibrancy and energy of pedestrian-filled, trafficky New York streets isn’t all that different from the dusty “rues” of Dakar. Colorful fruit carts still grace the sidewalks, and overhearing conversations in foreign languages is a daily occurrence. On the other hand, skyscrapers and giant billboards of half-naked models are everywhere, as are exorbitant price tags on everything from purses to sushi dinners.
Having completed my official Kiva duties, I am now doing research at the Financial Access Initiative (FAI), a microfinance think-tank of sorts. It’s a consortium of researchers from NYU, Harvard, Yale, and Innovations for Poverty Action, focused on expanding access to quality financial services for low-income individuals. (more…)
“Please, take me home in your backpack…”
By Cynthia McMurry, KF8, Ecuador
Everyday conversations with people in Cuenca provide countless anecdotes of people whose families have been separated by emigration. Everyone seems to have family in the US or Spain, if not a spouse then a brother, sister, cousin or child. At a group meeting last week, a borrower joked that she’d like me to sneak her into the US in my backpack. I asked her and the rest of the group if they had family members in the States, and all ten women nodded their heads in unison. Recently, I was chatting with a friend whose father is living in New York—she’s my age, and hasn’t seen her father in more than a decade. One of Espoir’s first Kiva clients, Nancy, has a four-year-old daughter who has never met her father, since Nancy’s husband left for Brooklyn when she was still pregnant. Another Espoir client I spoke with has been raising her four young children alone since her husband left for New York two years ago. Now, thanks to the economic crisis, he has lost both of his jobs and remains heavily in debt to a coyote. With no hope of financial support from her husband coming anytime soon, this client has been left to provide for her four children on her own.
Somewhere between 10% and 15% of Ecuadorians live abroad, most in the New York metro area, where they are one of the largest immigrant groups, and in Spain, where they are the second largest immigrant group. As of 2006, nearly 8% of Ecuador’s GDP was comprised of remittances, compared with about 3% for Mexico (International Fund for Agricultural Development).
The high rate of migration has troubling implications for Ecuadorian families. On top of the obvious consequences of emigration, like separated couples and absent fathers, many of the men who leave start new families in the US or Europe and eventually stop sending remittances to their families in Ecuador, leaving their wives to fend for themselves as single mothers. In other cases, men emigrate with their wives or send for their wives later, and children are left with their grandparents or with neighbors. Because many Ecuadorians in the US are there illegally, they have no possibilities to return to visit, and sending for their families would mean paying more exorbitant coyote fees for the dangerous 2500-mile trip. Coyotes typically charge between $12,000 and $14,000 per person. This is about three times the average annual income in Ecuador, the equivalent of $135,000 for a US citizen. And paying this fee doesn’t guarantee that you’ll actually make it into the country: somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 Ecuadorians are apprehended each year trying to enter the US illegally (Migration Information Source). Many of these people have already sold off their houses, livestock, and any other valuables they may have in their hometowns, just to be sent back home with a new mountain of debt and even fewer possibilities than before.
Pedro, one of Espoir's loan officers, playing with his son
I haven’t asked borrowers whether it’s worth it, but I’m curious. Do the economic opportunities available abroad justify the separation of their families? How are their children affected? If they could go back in time, would they make the same choices?
I’m interested in hearing other fellows’ experiences with emigration and its effects on borrowers’ lives, both positive and negative. Where does microfinance fit into the picture? Are clients using remittances to pay off their loan installments? Or are their small businesses the only means of support they have for their families ever since the remittance payments stopped? For those of you working in the US, have you met any Ecuadorian immigrants looking to take out Kiva loans? If so, is their ultimate goal to save money and return home, or have they established themselves in the US?
To search for currently fundraising Espoir loans on Kiva, click here. No currently fundraising clients? Please check back soon! In the meantime, you can join Espoir’s Kiva Lending Team here.
Cynthia McMurry is a fourth-time Kiva fellow working with brand new Kiva field partner Fundación Espoir in Cuenca, Ecuador. Previously she worked with Fundación AgroCapital in Bolivia and FINCA Peru and Asociación Arariwa in Peru.
Honored to Meet Kiva Borrowers
Tuesday, July 7 was an amazing day for me because Nela—the Kiva Coordinator of Zene za Zene (ZzZ)–and I traveled far from Gracanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet the last of the 10 entrepreneurs for completing the process of Borrower Verification. I enjoy traveling outside of the small town and especially enjoy meeting all the women who have Kiva loans through ZzZ. Their stories are amazing and I am so glad that I have had a chance to hear them. One in particular was very touching for me because my presence was what brought about the conversation. It turned out that Fatima was born in Skopje, Macedonia, which borders my home-country Bulgaria…and so it went:
Fatima Manjic was born in 1959 in Skopje, Macedonia, but fell in love with a Bosnian man and moved to Kalesija, B&H 25 years ago. During two of the hardest years of the war, her family lived in Croatia and upon their return the family had to start a life from scratch–their house had been burnt to the ground. Not only did the war bring economic difficulties to Fatima, but for 7 years she was not able to go back to her birth-place and tragically both of her parents passed away during that time. She still has a brother and two sisters in Macedonia and she is sad that she rarely sees them. She does not have the means to go visit them because of her business and her two children. Her siblings-in-law died during the war and Fatima shares that living so far from close relatives is very hard. She has nobody here, only her own household.
Fatima’s husband has started working in Azerbaijan, but has not been paid in the past four months, which is worrisome. Currently, Fatima raises chickens and grows cucumbers, which she sells to a company that picks up the produce from her house every other day. She does not complain about working and would do any job to the best of her ability. Not being indebted too long is very important to Fatima and she is happy to have the Kiva credit, without which nothing could be done because of the low wages in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Fatima is thankful and optimistically claims to have all that she needs. She hopes for the best.
I feel recharged and full of energy and optimism. Seeing the hard work that women like Fatima are able to do despite the loneliness and obstacles reminds me of my own struggles as an International College student in the United States. I think I understand Mrs. Manjic on more levels than even I can comprehend.
Fatima in her Well-Kept Cucumber Field
Sve naibolje!
This post has been written by Velizara Passajova, a Kiva Fellow working for 4 weeks in Bosnia and Herzegovina for Zene za Zene International. Check out currently fundraising loans in Eastern Europe and join Kiva Lending Team – Friends of Women for Women International.
A Shout Out to the Super Lenders
By Tamara Sanderson, KF8, Mongolia
You know you are a Super Lender if:
A) You mark the 15th on your calendar and know the order that repayments will be made based on MFI. You also have difficulty sleeping on the 14th from the anticipation.
B) Your Facebook wall is filled with “[Insert Your Name] supported [Insert Foreign Name] with Kiva.org”
C) It requires multiple scrolls and next page clicks to see all the loans on your Kiva Profile
D) KivaFriends.org is your second favorite website after Kiva.org
E) Your friends and family have been recruited to Kiva in every form possible. Recruitment methods may include dinner table conversations, sending emails at check-out, lending team invitations, sending gift certificates, and even pouting until they get on their laptops to register
F) 50% of the emails in your inbox are from Kiva
G) You are reading this blog, even though you are not related to me
H) All of the above
New York City to Mexico City – Pre-Fellowship Musings
Pre-fellowship musings.
Continue Reading 13 July 2009 at 18:50 Julia Kastner 2 comments
Wanted: Tagalog Speaking Kiva Fellow / Reward If Found!
By Sloane Berrent, KF8, Philippines
Special Mission should you choose to accept.
The Kiva Fellows Program is looking for a Tagalog-speaking (or Cebuano) person of Filipino descent for a placement at a microfinance institution on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. That means you must be comfortable being placed there and traveling around the region.
Why Tagalog/Cebuano speaking and Filipino?
Kiva abides very closely to the State Department issued warning and there is currently a travel advisory against U.S. citizens traveling to that part of the Philippines.
Reward you say?
That’s right. If you recommend the Kiva Fellows who gets the placement I personally will give you a $25 Kiva gift certificate.
Why? Because I’m here in the Philippines now and I wish I could go down to Mindanao myself. I see microfinance making a real impact here in the Philippines, especially in the provinces outside of Manila, and I believe that Mindanao deserves the same availability to Kiva the rest of the Philippines has access to.
Ok, so more about the Kiva Fellows program? Think you’re qualified?
Join a group of the most dedicated up and comers in the fields on microfinance, community building and economic development you could find.
Spend a minimum of 10 weeks at a placement determined by Kiva. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis (I have heard they are willing to move quickly for the right candidate for this placement but shhh you didn’t hear that from me).
What are you waiting for? Please send this along to anyone you think is a qualified candidate. Have them refer you in their application and if chosen, I’ll be giving you a $25 Kiva gift certificate to loan to any Borrower you want!
Interested in helping with this incentive? Match me and let’s make this “reward” higher ($50, $100 +!) Just say so in the comments and include your email address and I’ll keep you in the loop about who our deserving winner is!
A little linkage for more information:
More about Kiva Fellow requirements can be found here.
Sloane Berrent, KF8, is currently serving her placement with Ahon sa Hirap (ASHI) in the Philippines. Spending time with ASHI members she has learned to throw pots, plant rice and helped man a general store and is planning to spend a day with more members to walk in their shoes. When online, you can find her promoting Kiva on Twitter and writing about social action campaigns on her blog, The Causemopolitan.
