Author Archive
“No worries; we are always together”
By Andrew Whiteman, KF8
My fellowship in Benin is nearly over. It has been ten weeks of hard work, but I have learned a ton and I have great stories to take back to the US. Some everlasting memories include taking a baboon for a walk (yes, on a leash), being told that I could only wear a speedo at the swimming pool, and visiting a sacred forest, the home of a tree that was once a king. More importantly, now I better understand my reason for being here. During my first few weeks, when everything was stressful and confusing, I remember writing in my journal, “Why I am here? What difference can I, a foreigner, make?” Now, I think I have found a good enough answer for myself. Here are a few things I have learned:
Development takes a long time. Democracy in Africa is at most fifty years old. A working financial sector is even younger. Benin was communist in the 1970s and has therefore only recently adopted a market economy. Although the example is dated, our own country had a lot work out in the first fifty years of its history. Many people, including myself, want an easy answer to all of the world’s problems. But it doesn’t work that way. We work on a problem and then others build on what we have done, slowly resolving the problem. Microfinance is a perfect example. It is a relatively new field and we are all working to make it stronger. It is not perfect right now. It is often hard to see a real impact after someone has taken out three loans and they are still selling a small stock of goods on the side of the road. But at least, people are learning how to manage their money. Many borrowers on Kiva have already received a loan from their MFI, meaning that they are considered financially trustworthy. In the future, an MFI might decide to offer advanced money management courses that help people establish financial goals. More Kiva Fellows go out into the field to make Kiva’s work better. As the Kiva community, we should always be thinking of ways to improve what we do, but also we should be patient and give development a chance.
Our world is shrinking whether we like it or not. We are traveling more, learning new languages, and meeting people who are different from us. People in Benin listen to American music and watch Lost and Prison Break. In the rural north of Benin, people are starting to receive Internet service via cell phones. We no longer have the choice to remain separated from the rest of the world. It is our responsibility to engage each other, to figure out where all this is going. This is one great benefit of the Kiva Fellows Program—you enter a totally new environment and are forced to interact. I believe that it is hospitality that can connect us all. Almost every culture in the world places a high priority on hospitality. People in Benin often offer to pay for me, even if they do not have very much money. It is a sign that I am welcome in their country. Often when I say goodbye to someone in Benin, they say, “no worries; we are always together.” Luckily, if we all hold onto our shared generosity and hospitality, we have a lot to look forward to in the future.
In short, engaging the world is relevant and necessary. It is easy to be cynical or overly optimistic about international development, but I think it’s better to be somewhere in the middle. A lot of work still needs to be done to promote development and increase cultural understanding, but through Kiva, we are doing our part. As a Kiva Fellow, I have been able to meet some of the people that you lend to from thousands of miles away. I think this is powerful and I am fortunate to help make that connection. I look forward to continuing to lend to others around the world over the years. I wonder what microfinance will look like in ten, fifteen years…
Part tour guide, part Kiva-in-Benin promoter, here are a few photos of this beautiful country:
Ganvier, the "Venice of Africa", located thirty minutes north of Cotonou
On the road to Bassila. During the rainy season, Benin is quite green.
A mosque in Porto-Novo
A view over the Dantokpa Market in Cotonou.
Andrew Whiteman is a Kiva Fellow (KF8), currently working at Alidé, a Kiva Field Partner, in Cotonou, Benin.
Please consider joining my lending team, Friends of Benin. Together, we can make a difference!
Thank You – Beninese Style
By Andrew Whiteman, KF8 in Benin
A view over Dantokpa Market, where many Alidé borrowers sell their goods
One day, I walked into one of Alidé’s offices in Cotonou to work with the loan officers. Right inside the gate, in the outdoor waiting area, I saw about thirty women seated patiently in perfect rows. Everyone was wearing their best pagnes, brilliantly colored Beninese fabrics, so I could tell that it was an important day.
After working for a little while, I started to hear drums and shakers. The sounds were sporatic at first, as if the drummers were warming up for a performance. Soon enough, I heard lively chanting and a quick-paced rhythm. It was very close by. The neighborhood around the office is often noisy, so I assumed that the drumming was coming from some other building. I had to go outside to investigate because the music was too good. Low and behold, the drumming and chanting was coming from the women who I had seen earlier. All of them were dancing and moving to the drumbeat, smiling and having a great time. One woman was leading the rest in front of the group, in a call and response fashion. The space was full of energy. With thirty people dancing their hearts out around you, it is impossible not to want to join in.
I had to ask what all this was about. Drumming and dancing was not something I would have expected from a microfinance institution. An Alidé employee explained to me that these women were part of a women’s group and had all recently been granted Alidé loans. The woman leading everyone in the singing and dancing was the group’s president. They were expressing their gratitude to Alidé for the ability to have access to credit. For some reason, I found it hard to imagine singing and dancing happening in the United States when someone received a loan. Well, I guess maybe these days.
Women’s groups like these are very common in Benin and in the world of microfinance. Their purpose is to help women manage their money. The members help each other sort through the loan policies and to remember to repay each month. In this way, the mutual support and subtle pressure helps prevent borrower default and delinquency. During the meeting I witnessed, the president stood up and spoke very sternly to the group about a few women who had not paid their loans back. Groups like these are responsible in part for the low loan default and delinquency rate on Kiva. Alidé’s clients are about 90 percent women and many are members of such groups.
The singing and dancing soon stopped and everyone took their seats again. Two of the loan officers approached the front of the group and started speaking rapidly in Fon. The Alidé employee sitting next to me told me that the loan officers were now giving a training session on Alidé’s policies. After borrowers are approved for loans, they are required to come to the office to learn all of the necessary information about interest rates, loan terms, and repayments. The loan officers also gave some practical advice. They stressed that the women should discuss their loans with their husbands and take care of their health.
These groups, with the help of loan officers, are helping women to better take control of their lives. Virtually all of Alidé’s borrowers on the Kiva website have received more than one loan from the institution, meaning that they are reliable customers. Each new loan means a little more money, greater inventory at the business, and greater profits. The singing and dancing I witnessed showed me how important the access to credit is to small business owners here in Benin. It was a heartfelt, genuine thank you from people in need. I am convinced that microcredit an important service that can only be expanded to more people. Since witnessing my first Beninese thank you, I have seen several others at Alidé offices. These types of experiences keep me in love with Africa and its rich culture.
Andrew Whiteman is a Kiva Fellow (KF8), currently working at Alidé, a Kiva Field Partner, in Cotonou, Benin.
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.
A Holistic Approach
View of Cotonou Benin
Over the past two weeks, I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Alidé’s field offices. These offices are where the heavy lifting of Alidé’s work gets done. I often walk into an office to find fifty women waiting to be interviewed for a loan. Each office has about two or three loan officers, so, as you can imagine, these interviews are very time consuming. Interviews can easily last all day. Nonetheless, the loan officers patiently sit down with each person until the work is done.
I am quite impressed by the loan officers’ dedication to Alidé. I think that they have the most difficult and time-consuming job of the entire operation. While the whole city of Cotonou takes a two-hour siesta during lunch, they often do not have this option. With so much to accomplish, they can easily work well into the evening. Not only do they have to conduct interviews, they are also responsible for communication and follow-up with Alidé borrowers. For one, this involves conducting training sessions on Alidé’s policies. I can only imagine the difficulty of explaining finance to a group of borrowers who do not have a formal education or any previous experience with loans. Loan officers also have to make sure that borrowers actually pay each month, which can require a special visit to those who are delinquent on their payments. It is obvious that this work takes a lot of patience and hard work.
In the midst of this bustle am I. In order to better understand Alidé’s work and to conduct interviews, I need to go into the field. I have to work with the loan officers because they know the clients best and they can translate French into Fon, the local language. They help explain to the borrowers the reason for my visit. Such a link is crucial in a place where I am clearly an outsider. Understandably, I often have to wait until the loan officers have a chance to fit me into their schedules.
An experience yesterday with a loan officer really stood out to me. I was out in the field conducting borrower visits, with a loan officer named Gildas. We finished enough for that day and he told me that we had a few errands to run before returning to the office. We rode around the city, occasionally stopping to speak to someone. After a few stops, I asked what they were discussing. Gildas told me that he was reminding them of a meeting set to occur the next day. The subject of the meeting would be Malaria Prevention. Meetings such as these, he told me, were some of the social services that Alidé provides. Gildas and I went around the city to make personal visits to at least fifteen people.
To me, this is remarkable. These guys are so busy and yet they are still enthusiastically offering these services. It makes me really respect the work that they are doing and grateful for the time I have with them. Alidé obviously has a lot to do and yet it still makes time to go beyond its normal call of duty. Although a financial institution, its mission is much broader than just making money. One of my colleagues is working on a plan to provide micro health insurance to borrowers. On top of the health campaign, Alidé gives small interest-free loans to people who want to start business activities.
Alidé understands something important: to have a well-functioning society, people need basic services like health care, education, and access to a little cash. Everything is interconnected. Alidé’s efforts may be small in the grand scheme of things, but I think they have the right idea. The staff is very committed to the mission. I give them a lot of credit.
Andrew Whiteman is a Kiva Fellow (KF8) currently working in Benin.
Language Connection
Bonjour from Benin,
I am approaching the two-week mark of my fellowship in Benin and things are off to a good start! I am working for Alidé, an MFI based in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin. Alidé is a relatively new partner of Kiva and is showing great promise. The Kiva Coordinator at Alidé, my main colleague, is committed to strengthening the partnership and teaching the other staff members how to use Kiva. I have a good feeling that we will work well together.
During these first few weeks, I have definitely noticed the language barrier. I came to Benin with a good, working knowledge of French, but there have been inevitable difficulties. People here in Cotonou speak French, but the accent is unfamiliar and conversations also include many words in Fon, the language native to this region. I often find myself struggling to keep up. Unfamiliar languages are common in almost every fellowship. Even if English is a national language, fellows immerse themselves into cultures that use Swahili, Arabic, Samoan, or Cambodian. There is bound to be frustration for everyone due to communication difficulties.
However, so far, I’ve found that learning a language has an incredible power to foster connections between people. Around the office, I greatly appreciate the patience and grace of Alidé’s staff when I do not completely understand something in French. I’ve seen the hospitality of the Beninese people by their willingness to help me out. Also, whenever I use a word or phrase in Fon, people instantly light up and become eager to teach me more. They appreciate the attempt to understand their language and culture. An instant friendship is born. Using Fon is a great way to gain trust and to create a connection with Kiva borrowers.
The power of language is one simple way that Kiva’s mission to connect people is being implemented. When you are forced to find ways to communicate, you gravitate towards shared beliefs and experiences. I find that when communication is possible, the payoff is rewarding. That reward is the knowledge that I have developed a relationship with someone who grew up in a different country and culture, and speaks a different language. Fostering connections is part of the Kiva experience that fellows, lenders, and supporters all share to some degree. Kiva allows us to understand the importance of engaging the global community. I am fortunate to be a part of such an organization.
Andrew Whiteman is Kiva Fellow (KF8) working in Cotonou, Benin.
