Author Archive
A Cry for Benin
Benin is a country not often in the news. When I was a Kiva Fellow placed there, I’d come to appreciate this. It meant we didn’t have the political instability of Togo, the violence of Nigeria, or the food shortages of Niger. While Benin still had many flaws, it was stable compared to its neighbors. This gave it hope for the future – hope for growth and international investment. (more…)
Does “a path always exist”?
In Fon, Alidé means “a path always exists (for the very poor).” This is a touching sentiment matched by the equally strong social mission of the Kiva field partner that bears its name. During my time as the Kiva Fellow placed with Alidé, I’ve been impressed with the institution’s passion and perseverance. When I meet borrowers, I consistently see illiterate women who are able to send their children to school and praise Alidé for their success. It’s easy to start thinking, “wow, there’s really something to this!”
But then there are also the times when I step back (more…)
Party for your bank
I like my bank in the US. The staff is nice, they have a lot of ATMs in New York City, they once gave me a fruit basket (long story)… But I would never think about getting together with other Wachovia customers to toast how much we like banking there. Yet that’s exactly what a number of Alidé (Kiva’s partner in Benin) clients do regularly. (more…)
Building Poverty Museums
Just over a week ago, several Kiva staff members and Kiva Fellows (myself included) joined the president of Kenya, the prime minister of Zambia, the queen of Spain, the princess of the Netherlands, the former president of Peru, “inventor of micro-credit” Muhammad Yunus, and over a thousand others at the Africa-Middle East Microfinance Conference in Nairobi.
Not surprisingly, Muhammad Yunus was consistently the most interesting speaker throughout the four-day event (more…)
Fear vs. delight: The two sides to getting your picture taken for Kiva
There are two responses Alidé’s clients in Benin have when asked to have their picture taken for Kiva: fear and delight. Generally, both paths end with laughter and a lot of pictures of me, the Kiva Fellow assigned to Alidé.
Fear: They say that while Benin has about 50% Christians and 40% Muslins, 95% of the population simultaneously practices Voodoo. This means you can buy fétiches (magical objects like monkey skulls) at the market, and that you’ll encounter a number of clients who fear that having their picture taken might steal their soul. (more…)
Getting schooled at your bank
In addition to loans (and savings accounts, social work, and coming soon – insurance) Alidé, Kiva’s field partner in Benin, offers formations, or training sessions, to its clients. Some are optional but there are three that are actually mandatory for a loan.
The working mothers of Benin (includes instruction video: how to strap a baby on your back)
The one income family doesn’t exist in Benin. Just like their moms and their mom’s moms, Beninese women enter the work force as soon as they’re able and keep going no matter what. They’ll work through the rain, they’ll work through malaria, they’ll work while pregnant with all of their wares stacked on top of their heads and their children literally strapped to their backs.
For those of you who want to try this at home, here’s one Kiva entrepreneur teaching me the art of baby-strapping (and her amused friends in the background).
Kiva partners become Kiva lenders
Alidé’s Kiva coordinator spends a lot of time on the Kiva site, mainly from the back end, uploading profiles and journals. But she’s never experienced what it’s like to be a Kiva lender, an experience I wanted to give her thanks to the $25 Kiva gift certificate I’d received at training. Getting her to use it has been a challenge.
I gave her a print out of the certificate on my second day, but she kept putting off when we’d use it. Last week when there was a lull in work, but solid-seeming electricity, I decided it was time. She didn’t seem happy about my decision and begged for another colleague to join us. But I don’t understand. What do you want us to do? they asked with alarm. (more…)
Not so micro credit
One of the questions Alidé, Kiva’s field partner in Benin, asks clients when they’re applying for a Kiva loan or writing their journal update is What are your personal ambitions? What are your dreams for the future? Many of Alidés clients don’t have the luxury of thinking very far ahead (maintaining my business, reinforcing my business they respond). Of the dreamers, they all answer the same thing – they’d like to acheter une parcelle et construire une maison (buy some land and build a house) be it for their home or business (though that’s often the same place), a real one out of cement.
Sadly, this is a pipe dream for many of Alidé’s clients; (more…)
Power-outage season in Benin
By Marie Leznicki, KF10 Benin
About two hours into my first day at Alidé, Kiva’s field partner in Benin, the power went out. Do you have a lot of power outages in the United States? the Kiva coordinator asked me. We do. It was a tough question due to the resigned disappointment in her voice. No, not very often, I said, but we did have a big one a few years ago, which affected tens of millions of people and lasted several days for some. And I went on to recount the Northeast blackout of 2003, coincidentally one of my favorite days in New York City, and she seemed to feel better.
The next day, the questions got harder. We all received a mass text from the telecom company saying that the entire city of Cotonou (population approximately 1.5 million) would have no water service over the weekend (depressing news to be delivered through such a novel media). Do you have a lot of water outages in the United States? she asked in the same tone as the day before. I couldn’t recall that ever happening.
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