Author Archive
Owe Money, Pay Money
So when I met Evans, an employee of the Christian Rural Aid Network (a local microfinance institute that partners Kiva in Ghana), and he informed me that he was a Recovery Officer, I got a little nervous. (more…)
Empowering women through microfinance in Ghana
By Mei-Ing Cheok, KF 14, Ghana
Weekly meeting for these borrowers
A woman’s role is at home – mainly, in the kitchen – and her chief responsibility is to make babies. Education is not important. In fact, if a woman gets too educated, she might not be able to get a husband. How then, would she make babies?
That makes me – 35, female, tertiary-educated and single – a social pariah in Ghana. And with my dreadful cooking, I am definitely bad wife material here.
Unfortunately, this is still the general perception of women here and in many parts of the world. To make matters worse, title deeds for rural homes in Ghana are usually in the names of the husbands, which leave the wife and children vulnerable to being evicted by the husband’s family, should he pass away. Even a recent intestate succession law (PNDC 111) has not made a significant improvement to women’s inheritance rights because most are still ignorant of the law.
“Indigenous proverbs and metaphors such as ‘the palm tree does not bear fruit in a woman’s farm’ or that ‘If a woman buys a gun, it is a man who keeps it’” … “indicates that women are not supposed to be as economically productive as men are, and even if they are, men control their resources. Men are supposed to maintain, and provide, the economic support for their wives and children domestically. This explains why Ghanaian society seems to invest more inheritance rights on men than women” – Women and Property Inheritance after Intestate Succession, Law 111 in Ghana
The good news is that there are groups that are championing women’s rights and yet others, like the Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN) that are empowering them economically.
CRAN’s role in helping women
CRAN is a local microfinance institute that Kiva works with in Ghana. Through its Freedom from Hunger programme, CRAN provides micro loans to thousands of women in rural and sub-urban areas. In my interviews with borrowers, an overwhelming number of them place children’s education and building their own home as top priorities in their lives. Aside from wanting different and better lives for their children, these women are also counting on their offspring to look after them later in life. Financial empowerment is also providing women with another form of security: that they will have a roof over their heads for the rest of their lives.
Chester, the loan officer, and the Credit Association President counting the repayments at the weekly meeting
Director of Operations at CRAN, George Tokpo, explains that the Freedom from Hunger programme is primarily for women because the ‘trickle-down benefits’ of providing women with capital is a lot greater. “When we empower women, they are able to provide for their families. We acknowledge that women are a lot more responsible than men when it comes to the upbringing of their children.”
He adds, “If we empower women economically, we are also attending to the needs of the children.”
AB, Kiva Coordinator at CRAN, hard at work
Another key reason for the focus on women is CRAN’s view that women make better clients. “Women are able to find jobs much more easily than men. They’re a lot more adaptable. If one business fails, they will pick something else up very quickly. Women are able to engage in more regular, income-generating activities.”
For example, if we look at the fishing sector, which has recently had a few hiccups: fishmongers (women) can switch to another line of work, such as selling food or provisions, fairly quickly. However, the fishermen would struggle to find other forms of employment. This adaptability reduces the likelihood of defaults.
CRAN in 2010 alone provided micro loans to about 3,700 women with a cumulative of 21,378 women reached with micro loans and financial services since its inception.
CRAN team: Gifty (in charge of borrower profiles), George (Director of Operations) and Cecilia (journal updates)
Other microfinance services that CRAN provides:
Through CRAN, women also have access to savings accounts and insurance cover. For an annual premium of GHS25 – 55, women are now covered for the following:
| Own life | GHS1000 |
| Spouse’s life | GHS500 |
| Auto Accident Injuries | GHS500 |
| Fire/Flood Disaster to Business | GHS500 |
| Child Mortality | GHS500 |
(Note: USD1 = GHS1.52 as at 3 March 2011)
In the developed world, these may not seem like huge sums of money, but here, GHS500 goes a long way.
Starting young
Understanding the importance of education, CRAN’s Child Education Sponsorship Scheme (CESS) has a strong focus on providing financial support for girls. 55 per cent of the children who are receiving sponsorships through CESS are girls, more than the ratio of girls to boys in schools, especially above elementary education levels.
Baby steps
There is still a way to go before women enjoy gender equality in Ghana, but it is encouraging to see how civil society and organizations like CRAN are making a positive difference today.
Happy International Women’s Day!
(For more International Women’s Day stories by Kiva Fellows, read Celebrating Women around the World )
Mei-ing is a Kiva Fellow working with the Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN) in Cape Coast, Ghana. She finds the kitchen too hot and prefers to find a man who can cook.
Her recent posts:
Have Tro Tro, Will Travel in Ghana
Find out how you can lend to a Kiva Entrepreneur or become a Kiva Fellow
To lend to CRAN borrowers, please join the CRAN Lending Team.
Celebrating Women around the World!
Contributions from Kiva Fellows around the globe, compiled by Mei-ing Cheok.
Solidarity - A group of Ghanaian women after their weekly meeting with their loan officer
The beauty of microfinance is that it gives people at the wrong end of the income spectrum opportunities to step out of the poverty trap. It also provides women the confidence and security that comes from earning their own income, leading to greater gender equality.
Financially and economically empowering women, studies have shown, has a greater ‘trickle-down’ effect, as they tend to spend more of their earnings on the household expenses such as school fees and healthcare. Thus, it benefits not only themselves, but also their families and even their communities.
This International Women’s Day, Kiva Fellows celebrate individuals and organisations around the world who have contributed to the advancement of women in their communities. We salute you.
Cambodia: From Housewife to Entrepreneur
By Stephanie Sibal
Norn, entrepreneur from Cambodia
Norn, a petite 28-year-old former housewife with two young children, used to rely solely on her husband’s US$5 per day income as a blacksmith. With her loan, Norn braved her first ever trip outside her tiny neighborhood to buy groceries and opened up a store in front of her home. She can now make up to US$15 in gross income per day. While the ins and outs of running her own business are an ongoing learning process, Norn is thankful. She now has regular customers who have also become her friends.
Ghana: Freedom from Hunger
By Mei-ing Cheok
The Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN) provides thousands of micro loans to women in rural and semi-urban areas through its Freedom from Hunger programme. George Tokpo, Director of Operations, says, “When we empower women, they are able to provide their families. We acknowledge that women are more responsible when it comes to the upbringing of their children.” Mr Tokpo added that women make better clients, “Women are able to find jobs much more easily than men. They’re a lot more adaptable. If one business fails, they will pick something else up very quickly. This lowers the likelihood of defaults.” (read more about how microfinance is empowering women in Ghana here)
CRAN team: Gifty (in charge of borrower profiles), George (Director of Operations) and Cecilia (journal updates)
Rwanda: Francoise’s Fabulous Story
By Adam Cohn
In the video blog, meet Francoise, who started selling bananas with her first loan and today, owns a provision shop, land and is on her way to starting a farm. This goal-driven woman is providing for her family of eight and doing a great job of it.
Armenia: A tale of two women
By Caree Edson
Hripsik in her hair salon
Women’s Day is also celebrated in Armenia and because the holiday falls on a Tuesday this year, the government has declared Monday a holiday as well ensuring a nice long weekend for everyone. While inquiring about women borrowers who stand out in SEF’s history of lending, I was immediately directed to Hripsik Movsisyan and Raya Martirosyan. These women lead vastly different lives -one owns a salon in the city, while the other works on her family’s farm in the countryside- but both represent the warmth and strength that I have come to appreciate in the Armenian people.
Hripsik is a hardworking widow with two children. She opened a salon in 2009 and applied for a loan from SEF for an air-conditioner to make her salon more comfortable during the hot summer months in Yerevan. This was a great move for the business and Hripsik was able to pay off the loan years before it was due in full.
Raya with her family and their cattle
Raya Martirosyan has been teaching math in a school in a tiny town named Agarak for the past 30 years. Unfortunately, her family cannot survive on her low wages and her farm is necessary for additional income and stability. She applied for a loan to buy cattle and has been paying her loan back consistently since September.
These women represent the struggles that many Armenian families face and the risks and hard work involved in making ends meet. This coming women’s day should be a celebration of all the women making sacrifices everyday to better the quality of life for themselves and their families.
Bolivia: Guadalupe Cárdenas, a Remarkable Woman
By Klaartje Vreeken
Guadalupe (in blue) and women from Comité Cívico Popular de la Ciudad de El Alto
Guadalupe Cárdenas was beaten up by a policeman and lost her child in 2002. Three years ago, she started a new institution called Comité Cívico Popular de la Ciudad de El Alto, which fights for women’s and their children’s rights in El Alto, the city above La Paz where many poor Bolivians live.
The first campaign Guadalupe started was helping poor mothers to baptize their babies and to get their legal papers. Her institution provides the dresses for the babies and has so far, baptized around 10,000 babies.
In 2010 Guadalupe also campaigned against cervical cancer. Using an ambulance, they screened around 3,500 women for cervical cancer For 400 women, the cancer had already reached an advanced stage. However, Guadalupe’s group also managed to detect early stages of cancer in around 1,000 women.
Mexico: Champion for the People
By John Farmer
Pily, she's no zombie
CrediComun’s Kiva Coordinator, Pily, is a strong young woman who took part in the UNAM (the largest university in Mexico) student demonstrations in 1999, when the university announced that tuition would rise from practically nothing to around $150 per semester. “We were a generation that protested, that mobilized; we risked our lives for something more than selfish interests, and we refused to play the role of a zombie.”
Her resume further illustrates her activism: working with street children in Chiapas, building houses for (and with) the poor on the outskirts of Mexico City, and working in the organic food industry. She has served as Kiva Coordinator for six months, and is moving to a new position within the company — she’ll be developing the social projects that CrediComun undertakes.
Kyrgyzstan: Man’s Day
And finally, we do have a tribute to men. Check out Charlie Wood’s recent blog on how to be a manly man.
Happy International Women’s Day!
The contributors to this blog are part of KF 14 (the 14th class of Kiva Fellows) scattered around the world.
Find out how you can lend to a Kiva Entrepreneur or become a Kiva Fellow.
Gone Fishing
What does the delicious piece of tuna sashimi you are about to pop in your mouth have to do with microfinance and alleviating poverty in Ghana? Perhaps more than you would expect.
At a recent staff meeting at the Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN), one of Kiva’s Field Partners, a loan officer from the Elmina branch said that the recent ban on light fishing was affecting their loan disbursements and repayments from some clients. My ears perked up.
The busy Elmina fish market
Hey, Soul Sisters!
By Mei-ing Cheok, KF14, Ghana
Let me boldly proclaim that everyone in the developed world should experience what Kiva Fellows are fortunate enough to live and breathe. I guarantee you there will be less whining from all of us and perhaps, just perhaps, more effort to collectively improve the lives of our fellow humans…maybe. But definitely less whining, because when you see what we get to see, all our problems suddenly seem so small.
Watresa Village
Soul Sisters: AB/Adom Ara Kwa Credit Association with CRAN Loan Officer, Dominic
Have Tro Tro, Will Travel in Ghana
By Mei-ing Cheok, KF14, Ghana
With CRAN volunteer, Jonanthan, in tow, AB signals that he needs a ride for two
When I first arrived in Accra, Ghana about a week ago for my Kiva Fellowship, I had to find my way to Cape Coast, where my microfinance institute, Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN), is located. These were the instructions I got from Jacqueline, another Kiva Fellow, whom I was replacing at CRAN:
- Take a taxi across the road from the airport, not the ones right at the exit because they are more expensive
- Go to the STC bus station and get on a bus headed towards Cape Coast
- Alight at the Goil petrol station in Cape Coast.
I confess that once I got off the plane, I had no idea what I was doing; I was just winging it. In fact, I got all the above steps wrong. I took the expensive taxi and the cabbie convinced me to go to the “Ford” bus station* instead of STC and I got dropped off at the market instead of Goil.
*The bus station is really just a series of mini-buses parked in line next to a market. I was hit with a sensory overload by the throngs of people selling, shouting and jostling. The change in plans worked out well because the Ford buses left more frequently and travelled faster, so I arrived in Cape Coast earlier!
Navigating the public transport system here is an art. It’s very different from my home country, Singapore. For someone new to Ghana, it’d seem like you need a special code to make sense of what appears to be chaos, to get from Point A to Point B. It does help tremendously that Ghanaians speak English and they’re extremely friendly and helpful.
There are bus companies that provide scheduled trips and fixed fares. But the two main modes of transport that most people use for intra-city travel are informal services: share-taxis and tro tros.
Share-taxis
You can charter a cab, but it is costly: around GHC3-5 (US$1.90-$3.15). Share-taxis usually ply certain routes around town and pick up and drop off passengers at any point along the way. The fare, around 40 pesewas (US$0.25), is a fraction of what it’d cost to charter a cab. If the driver has a high turnover of passengers, he could potentially earn as much as, if not more than, if he were to have just one full-paying passenger.
But how would you know which cab or tro tro to flag down? HOW do you flag one down? Well, here’s the secret code: if you’re headed for the market in Kotokoraba (the main town and heart of Cape Coast) and you’re on a road that doesn’t lead directly to it, you point with your thumb in the direction of Kotokoraba. Also, if you’re with a friend, you indicate with two fingers that there are two passengers. If the taxi driver is headed in that direction and he has space, he would stop for you. If not, he’ll zip on by and you wait for the next taxi! (see pictures below)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Now tros tros are vans that can accommodate more people – and are therefore, even cheaper – and they also ply longer routes, between towns. They also serve as a delivery service! If someone in Kotoboraba wanted to send her mother a sack of oranges in Takoradi, which is about 2 hours away, she can pay the tro tro driver to deliver it for her. Also, letters delivered by tro tros arrive faster than those delivered by the postal service, which usually takes three days.
In spite of the complete and utter confusion I felt when I first arrived, not to mention a strong measure of fear, I somehow managed to find my way to Cape Coast thanks to some helpful Ghanaians. The other volunteers and foreigners I have met here seem to be travelling around on their own quite comfortably. I haven’t reached that stage yet, but I’ll get there soon. I just have to jump right in… and hopefully get to the right destination!
Mei-ing has just arrived in Ghana, narrowly missing a massive Chinese New Year feast with the family back home in Singapore, but she is exploring the cuisine of Ghana with gusto. She is working with Kiva Field Partner, Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN).
