Author Archive
Celebrating Carnaval in South America, Kiva Fellows Style!
Carnaval! The excitement summoned up by uttering those words: Carnaval!
Carnaval is a very interesting holiday for all sorts of reasons, and is celebrated in a variety of forms all across South America, most of which involve colorful costumes, thumpingly loud music, crazy line dancing and (if you’re lucky) some kind of substance rubbed into your head, ranging from shaving cream to flour. Kiva Fellows currently stationed across South America took a break from their workloads in order to scope out the scene …
Kiva Lending Team in the Spotlight: Para México
by Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico
Lending teams (in case you aren’t already aware) are one of the funner features on Kiva. The idea behind lending teams is to create a community of Kiva lenders rallying behind a common cause. Teams rang from the commonplace, such as those based on countries and universities, to the more quirky, such as Beer Goggles Never Lie and the Flying Spagehtti Monster. After joining your lending team of choice (you can belong to as many as you want!), you can choose to have the next loan you make on Kiva “count” towards the lending team, so that the loan will show up in the team’s collective portfolio. It’s a fun way to create a little friendly competition while doing some good, as demonstrated by the recent “Kiva Smackdown” challenge. Basically, Josh and Chuck of “Stuff You Should Know” podcast fame recently challenged Stephen Colbert to see whose lending team could raise over $100k on Kiva first (you can visit the the Colbert Nation and HowStuffWorks.com Kiva Lending Team pages to see who’s currently winning!).
I was interested in learning more about lending teams and how to best utilize them in recruiting Kiva lenders around common interests and causes. I recently had the chance to interview Kiva user and lender M+M, captain and creator of the popular lending team Para México. He’s done a really stellar job at creating an active and involved lending team that has had a great impact on Kiva entrepeneurs! Para México currently has a total amount of $46,75 loaned and is still growing with 204 members and an active message board. Our interview was as follows:
1- How did you hear of Kiva?
I heard of Kiva from an article I read at my favorite online magazine, Slate.com about two years ago. It was an article where the author (Jude Stewart) wondered what charity organization could get the most done with small donations. He concluded that microcredit organizations could deliver the most good, and he ranked Kiva as the top choice.
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A Kiva Borrower’s Christmas Store
by Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico
I had the good fortune to visit the business of Kiva borrower Carmen Patricia Urquidez here in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Carmen Patricia (or “Pati” as she likes to be called) runs a little stall in front of her home where she sells holiday-themed merchandise. Right now her store is filled with lovely Christmas decorations: bells, ornaments, trees, Santa hats, lights, and light-up frames of the Virgin de Guadalupe. She even makes beautiful handmade wreaths to hang over windows and doors.
Here’s a video (with subtitles) of Pati’s business, in which she gives us a little tour of her stall, shows us her handmade wreaths and talks about her Kiva loan. She also discusses her hopes and plans for the future of her business and her family, and sends a message of thanks to Kiva lenders. Click “more” to continue reading about Pati’s business and life!
Loans, Lunches and Lucha Libre
by Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico
It’s business as usual here in Mexico after “dia del pavo” (turkey day). My tummy is a little upset right now from copious amounts of lip and cheek meat tacos and shrimp soup lunches, not typical Thanksgiving fare but so it goes (goodbye vegetarianism, hello flexibility!). For now here are two very simple videos of being out and about here in the charming border town of Nuevo Laredo, where I’ve been working with Kiva’s partner microfinance institution, Fundación para la Vivienda Progresiva (FVP). Video #1 is of an ordinary day out and about visiting clients with Tere, a loan officer from FVP. Video #2 (behind the cut) is of an intriguing (can’t think of a better word) clip from a Lucha Libre fight that I attended last week.
Spreading the word: MFIs and Publicity
By Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico
A big part of the loan officers’ work load at FVP is “prospectando,” or heading out into the field and reaching out to potential clients. When I was first invited to come along I was a little nervous, as my career as a canvasser lasted for all of one day and I hate pushy sales people, no matter how good the cause. However my fears were rapidly relieved within minutes of accompanying the loan officers on their door-to-door visits. Their attitude isn’t that of aggressive marketing, but rather stems from a genuine concern and desire to help. Their message isn’t so much “invest in this program,” but more along the lines of “here’s this really great microcredit service offered by this organization, have you ever heard of it?” Here is a simple video I made of “prospectando” with the FVP loan officers in the Voluntad y Trabajo neighborhood , on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo. You can read more about FVP’s method of finding new clients behind the cut.
How to “Seguir Adelante” in Nuevo Laredo, Kiva-style
By Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico
I said in my first post that I wanted to keep my eyes and ears open, especially in terms of how “la crisis” has been affecting the lives of Kiva borrowers in Nuevo Laredo. Most of the clients I’ve interviewed for journals have definitely commented (quite emphatically at times) that business these days has been certainly tough. What’s surprised me, though, has been the number of clients I’ve met whose struggles are more due to random acts of life or just plain bad luck, rather than the economy.
Kiva Fellow on La Frontera
By Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico
FVP's mission statement: "to generate positive, durable change..."
I’ve been living in the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo for almost two weeks now, working with the microfinance organization Fundación para la Vivienda Progresiva. While most Fellows in my KF9 class must confront extreme jetlag, long layovers, and complicated visa applications, I didn’t even have to buy an international ticket: I flew into Laredo, was picked up by someone from FVP and then we just drove over the border. If I were so inclined, I could simply walk over the bridge to Texas and go to Starbucks. It all feels a bit disjointed here on la frontera, to say the least.
Nuevo Laredo has certainly taken its fair share of blows over the years. While it isn’t spoken of in the same horrified, awestruck tone with which people mention Tijuana and Juarez, the city and its inhabitants still come off as slightly traumatized. The streets are eerily deserted here, especially after 7pm. While driving to meet clients, the loan officers often point out locations of interest to me: “oh look, see the bullet holes in the walls there? That’s where the big shoot-out six years ago took place.” “See that apartment building? That’s where they assassinated that journalist.” It’s always the vague and indefinite “they” (“ellos”); apparently the newspapers don’t cover drug-related crimes and executions anymore. One of the accountants told me not to go to a particular gym because “the police go there,” which was definitely a first for me.
