Kiva Stories from the Field

“Africa lite” is how a retired career diplomat once described Senegal to me. Glancing at a map of West Africa he may have a point. Bloody diamond-fuelled conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia, violent Islamic extremism in Mali and Mauritania and the recent military coup in Guinea make Senegal look like a bastion of stability, even in light of the resurgence of a separatist movement in the southern region of Casamance (recent news).

Further, despite relatively weak institutions and inescapable corruption, Senegal has had a rich history of democratic elections. The transition of power in 2000 to the current president, Abdoulaye Wade, was smooth and peaceful despite fiery campaigning. Looking back to the previous change of guard is perhaps even more telling: in 1980, President Senghor became the first African head of state to ever step down voluntarily.  Pretty amazing.

But enough geopolitics, let’s get to the giant goats. Like my other comrades-in-Kiva on this forum, I’m out in the field working with one of Kiva’s one hundred-plus microfinance partners . My partner UIMCEC (Union des Instiutions Mutaliste Communautaire d’Epargne et de Credit) is a Dakar-based credit union with over 30 branches around Senegal.

On Friday, Laian, a loan officer at one of the Dakar branches, took me on his rounds. We manoeuvred around the quietly buzzing market stalls and small alleys of Yoff, a suburb to the north of Dakar. We met a mason looking for start-up capital, an older lady looking to open a stall in the nearby market and a shopkeeper looking for his third loan to restock the inventory in his small, but well-organized boutique. Our final visit, as it turned out, had nothing to do with loans.

Walking through the front gate into a small courtyard of a low-slung house all I remember thinking is what the #!&# is that? I had never seen anything like it. In the tiny courtyard-cum-barn I laid eyes on a beast with short, stubby horns and scruffy white hair.  It was built like the typical American fridge – huge.  This was the biggest goat I had ever seen or even conceived of. The goats roaming the streets of Yoff were scrawny looking things. This guy was the size of a pony.

I approached carefully, with fear in my heart. It was obvious I needed a picture, I mean who was going to believe I had come face to face with such a beast without some kind of evidence:  “Yeah right. A 200-pound goat. Dude, goats don’t weigh 200 pounds. Look at Lamb Chop.”

So lesson learned #1: Goats do weigh 200 pounds. And there is evidence.

steroid-fueled goat

As we are currently revamping UIMCEC’s Kiva partnership, there are currently only a couple of posted loans.  But check back often ’cause we’ll be back with a vengeance by month’s end!

Show ‘em you got Sisu:  join Kiva Lending Team FINLAND –  Go SUOMI!