Posts filed under ‘Africa’
Stuff Kiva Fellows Like
Compiled by Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua
We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From alpaca fur to FSSs to ziplock bags, these are the things we like and thrive on.
#1 Being the first foreign person that somebody has ever seen in their life
Dave Weber, KF16, Cambodia
Few life experiences will measure up to the one where a Kiva Fellow is told that he or she is ‘the first foreigner that somebody has ever seen in their life’ (TFFPTSHESITL). This experience often comes with having ones hair and skin touched, which people in our home countries don’t find nearly as interesting. KFs know that their image will forever be bored into the mind of the Latino/African/Asian/MidEastern borrower since we assume they ‘never forget their first one.’
A Kiva Fellow will react to being TFFPTSHESITL in several ways. They will utilize social media to get the word out to 500 people in their friend list and possibly even engage the Stories from the Field blog to get the message out to potentially hundreds of thousands. It will also be the first story they tell supporters and people back home. Kiva Fellows will also often use the phrase, “I’m pretty sure I was the first foreign person to ever go there” when referring to locations, even if they’re talking about Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat or the running of the bulls or the Washington Monument.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend my holiday evening at a Cambodian air conditioned movie theater which I’m certain no foreign person has been to before and I will be TFFPTSHESITL to at least half of the moviegoers there to engage in the revelry entitled Cowboys vs. Aliens. (more…)
Adventures Chasing Poda-Podas + Hitchhiking in Freetown
By Tejal Desai, KF16, Sierra Leone
In Freetown, Sierra Leone, a range of transportation options welcomes you in every street corner, each option varying in safety, price, comfort, and convenience, and a few requiring some degree of hitchhiking. Being a hitchhiking and Freetown transportation novice myself, I had no idea what to expect when local friends and colleagues encouraged me to flag down random drivers and hop into unfamiliar vehicles to travel around town. The thought of using hitchhiking as a means of transportation and quickly developing trust for anonymous drivers challenged my “don’t jump into cars with strangers and definitely don’t hitchhike!” voice I had held onto since childhood. But through a few initial experiences, I’ve learned how adventurous, convenient, and safe taking shared vehicles and hitchhiking in Freetown can be, and have gained even more respect for the loan officers and Kiva Coordinator who make such adventurous treks to visit borrowers almost daily.
Continue Reading 3 October 2011 at 13:00 Tejal Desai 10 comments
A New Look at Need: Microfinance From Tanzania to New Orleans
by Rebecca Corey, KF16, New Orleans, USA
In 2009 when I told friends and family I was moving to Tanzania to study international development and to work for Kiva in the field of microfinance, or the furnishing of small loans to the working poor, we all had certain pre-formed ideas about how impactful and necessary my work was sure to be. We understood that in terms of GDP, literacy, infant mortality, and other common measures, Tanzania is a “developing” country, Third World, periphery. In another word: poor. As a recent college graduate, I had established ideas about poverty. It is there as opposed to here, it happens to the Other or them, not to me or mine, and so on. Therefore, a $200 loan for the purchase of a few goats to a thin, ebony-skinned woman with a brightly patterned cloth turbaned around her head made sense; it fit into my worldview, my idea of the face of poverty. The same held true for the fishmongers, the roadside bicycle repair men, and the juice vendors whose loans I helped process and post to the Kiva website. Oh yes, I knew there was poverty in the United States, but a part of me believed that for Americans, it was different. Better. Safer. More comfortable. And who in the U.S. didn’t have access to credit? I was sure that an entrepreneur with a solid business plan would find it relatively easy to acquire working capital.
But already, Kiva was challenging preconceived notions about poverty and microfinance. At training in San Francisco in 2009, I learned that the leaders of the young organization had decided to start funding loans in the United States. There was immediate backlash. A lending group was formed protesting the decision. Articles were written denouncing the move. But Kiva posted the first U.S. loans, and they were funded almost immediately.
Continue Reading 1 October 2011 at 08:00 Rebecca Corey 5 comments
Take the Long Way Home: A Loan Officer’s Journey
By Claire Markham, KF16, Kenya
Before I arrived in Nairobi, I had heard on multiple occasions about the fundamental role loan officers play in making an MFI function. Loan officers are the backbone of the organization; they are intimately familiar with their clients and the challenges they face and they go to extraordinary measures to meet client needs. I was able to fully appreciate this on my recent borrower visits in Mombasa with two of SMEP’s loan officers: the one who supposedly travels the most, and the one who supposedly travels the least.
Continue Reading 29 September 2011 at 13:00 clairemarkham 6 comments
Lean on Me: The Impact of Responsive Loans in Coastal Kenya
Lauren Barra, KF16, Kenya
“A startling new statistic from the World Health Organization,” the BBC announcer sounded from my taxi’s radio. “There are only two registered medical professionals for every 1,000 Kenyans…” As I drove through the bustling, overcrowded streets of downtown Mombasa, I took a deep breath and was reminded once again – my work here is not going to be easy.
The BBC announcer continued to explain that this data is even more sobering for poor, uninsured Kenyans who rely on government-funded hospitals. A recent economic survey showed that only 19 public health officials and 18 doctors are available per 100,000 Kenyans. Public doctors are often overwhelmed with patients and it’s not uncommon for Kenyans to pass away waiting to receive essential care. Insured patients have the option to go to a private facility and have a much better chance of receiving quality care. Few Kenyans in this region can afford traditional health insurance plans and families suffer devastating setbacks if one member falls seriously ill.
Continue Reading 28 September 2011 at 13:44 Lauren Barra 6 comments
Update from the Field: Starting Capital, Development Levels + Adventurous Borrower Visits
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
This week on the Kiva fellows blog, start your journey in Indonesia and read about some early lessons of a Kiva fellow. Then continue on to the Americas to take part in El Salvador’s independence day celebrations, find out how to start a business with 26 cents in Honduras, learn about the different levels of development of Bolivia and Sierra Leone, and finally go on an adventurous borrower visit in Nicaragua.
Continue Reading 26 September 2011 at 05:01 Kathrin Gerner 6 comments
Same Rung of the Ladder?
Eric Rindal – KF16 – Bolivia
After Jeffrey Sachs started talking about ladders, rungs, and poverty, many wondered if there would be an end to poverty. The way he saw it was that if a developing country could just make it to that first “rung” on the ladder, they would reach the global economy and lift themselves from poverty. He augmented this with “clinical economics,” treating developing countries like patients by offering a unique diagnosis, by properly addressing a country’s need. I am not going to analyze Sachs’ book, rather I will compare the differences of my two Kiva Fellowships in countries considered on similar “rungs.”
A month ago I was living in Sierra Leone for my first Kiva Fellowship, today is my tenth day in La Paz, Bolivia for my second Fellowship. These are two very different experiences; sometimes I don’t know where I am when I wake in the morning. In Sierra Leone I was often the only white person (I am part Norwegian) in most situations, and in Bolivia I am often the tallest person in the room (barefoot I’m 6’ 4½ ”). I don’t fit in, so what? Fortunately these Kiva partners in Sierra Leone and Bolivia have looked past what I am, to focus on who I am. Spending time in each country has given me a glimpse into their views on development and microfinance. This has allowed me to not look at what these countries are — considered the poorest in their regions – but who they are – uniquely developing. I am finding the needs of a country vary tremendously.
Continue Reading 23 September 2011 at 03:00 erindal 5 comments
Update from the Field: Going Pilot to Active, Meeting Borrowers + Technology and Social Performance
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
It has been a busy week for bloggers. The 16th class of Kiva fellows (KF16) hits the ground running and invites you to share their first experiences in their host countries across the globe. Arrive in Georgia just in time for harvest season. Continue to Sierra Leone to watch a new Kiva field partner go from pilot to active. Jump out of a plane in Rwanda – but not without a few parachutes – and learn more about agricultural loans. Bump into a Kiva borrower in Ecuador. Travel to Burkina Faso – a poor country rich in culture. Study the effects of technology on social performance of microfinance institutions in Cambodia. And to top it all off, immerse yourself in the generosity and kindness of the people of Paraguay.
Continue Reading 19 September 2011 at 01:34 Kathrin Gerner 7 comments
Agriculture Loans: What Makes Them So Different?
Agriculture loans are considerably different products than most micro loans. Agriculture loans include unique risks and potentially higher costs of servicing. In this article, Adam Cohn explains those differences, and how Kiva and Kiva lenders like you can help out poor farmers in Rwanda.
Continue Reading 16 September 2011 at 12:00 adamcohnkivafellow 2 comments
The Kiva Parachute: Landing in Rwanda
By Whitney Webb, KF16, Rwanda
Things became real when I stepped out of my NYC apartment for the last time and hailed a cab to the airport. It was one thing to say (repeatedly) “I’m moving to Rwanda to do a fellowship in microfinance. I’m so excited. And a little nervous.” It’s quite another to pack up your bags and actually board a plane to Rwanda, or Indonesia, or Paraguay, etc… I’m guessing more than one of us Kiva fellows had the inevitable panic attack prior to and during departure.
Continue Reading 14 September 2011 at 02:53 Whitney Webb 8 comments
Full Hearts, Engines Ready: Going Pilot to Active in Freetown
By Tejal Desai, KF 16, Sierra Leone
Just over a week ago, I hopped on the back of an okada (motorbike) to head to my first day as a Kiva Fellow at the BRAC Sierra Leone country office in Freetown. I felt like the giddy new kid on the first day of school, equipped with my oversized backpack, thick binder of training materials, and colossal water bottle. I couldn’t wait to dive into my fellowship, learn about BRAC’s work in Sierra Leone, promote sustainability, and meet the amazing people who implement and utilize BRAC’s services. Above all, I couldn’t wait to be a part of the transition BRAC is undergoing to become an active Kiva field partner.
Continue Reading 12 September 2011 at 19:00 Tejal Desai 2 comments
Observing Kiva’s Raison d’Etre in my First Field Visit
By Claire Markham, KF16, Kenya
Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to spend a day with a loan officer visiting three different Kiva borrower groups. Though these were fairly routine visits for the loan officer, they were far from ordinary from my perspective; they allowed me to observe real examples that confirm why Kiva does what it does.
Continue Reading 7 September 2011 at 14:00 clairemarkham 6 comments
Updates from the Field: Costs of Kiva, Donkey Shares + the Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
Over the course of their fellowship, each Kiva Fellows class gleans a better understanding of innerworkings of microfinance and how a microfinance institution (MFI) can tip the scales of success. We begin to glimpse behind the scenes costs of Kiva to our Field Partners and to comprehend the reasoning behind “high” interest rates across the entire field of microfinance. We’re let in on the secrets to success which keep an organization running and financially viable for five years, and we learn about innovative development of programs- be they microfinance or donkey-shares- in a niche market. Over the course of our fellowships, we obtain these invaluable and instructive lessons piecemeal, and together can contribute to the conversation on a whole. Thus, as one class of fellows departs and another begins, this week our fellows share our insights with you!
Continue Reading 5 September 2011 at 08:00 Kate Bennett 7 comments
Of Chinese Proverbs and Gambian Donkeys
by Tim Young, KF15, Senegal
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give a man a donkey and you feed him for at least five years, providing the donkey is well treated and doesn’t get sick.
On a recent trip to the Gambia, Kiva Fellow Tim Young visited a fascinating project, which has for the last 10 years or so has been fighting poverty, by helping the local people help their working animals.
Continue Reading 31 August 2011 at 10:44 letimyoung 3 comments
Isabukuru Nziza, ACB! A Kiva Field Partner in Rwanda Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
Birthdays are celebrated around the world, and Rwanda – the tiny East African country of 1000 hills wedged between the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi – is no exception.
For its 5-year anniversary, the staff of Kiva’s field partner Amasezerano Community Bank (ACB) left its offices in Kigali for the shores of beautiful lake Kivu (unfortunately not named after Kiva) at the Congolese boarder. The trip was an occasion to remember key events in ACB’s history – mostly joyous, sometimes somber – but above all to celebrate.
Continue Reading 31 August 2011 at 08:19 Kathrin Gerner 11 comments
Updates from the Field: Loan Sharks, Snapshots + “the Country with a Smile”
Each Kiva borrower enjoys his or her own borrower profile page. We’ve all seen these pages: they acquaint us with the borrower’s story, plans for the future, country, and a photo in their business or home. Borrower profiles present us with a clear snapshot of the ebbs and flows of a borrower’s life. But how can we begin to flesh out what’s beyond the edges of the screen? On the Fellow’s blog, of course!
This week Kiva Fellows bring us a little closer to our borrowers. We try to walk in the shoes of those living under a dollar a day in Nicaragua. We learn about the power of accredited microfinance institutions for the average Ecuadorian. We get a glimpse (and a sample!) of traditional El Salvadorian fare. We marvel at brilliant images of borrowers in their element in Chile and Colombia. And finally we depart Latin America for Senegal, where a Latin phrase can teach us about entrepreneurs the world over: they can, because they think they can. And they do, just as soon as they have the capital to do it.
Continue Reading 29 August 2011 at 02:00 Kate Bennett 8 comments
Possunt quia posse videntur
In this post, Kiva Fellow Tim Young, fortiter in re, suaviter in modo, shares some observations from a Fellow’s work in the field.
Continue Reading 25 August 2011 at 10:18 letimyoung 5 comments
Update from the Field: Cooking Classes, Autarky + Social Performance
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo
This week on the Kiva fellows blog, take a cooking class with a Kiva borrower in Ecuador and learn how to make two mouthwatering local specialties: quimbalitos and tamales. Continue on to Sierra Leone to see how autarky is the goal of Kiva fellowships as well as micro loans. Then return to Ecuador to watch a video about traditional dances, find out about the feeling of “saudade” and reflect on the juxtaposition of poverty and prosperity. Finally, learn how a social performance study can be constructed in Chile.
Continue Reading 15 August 2011 at 05:52 Kathrin Gerner 3 comments
Of Autarky, Redundancy, and Giving
By Eric Rindal – KF15 – Sierra Leone
“Soon you’re not going to be here anymore, and I need to start doing things for myself,” Mbalu, the Kiva Coordinator at BRAC SL, earnestly said to me. One of my main objectives here in Sierra Leone has been to finalize Mbalu’s orientation of writing the Kiva borrower profiles, posting profiles to Kiva.org, and reporting borrower repayments to Kiva headquarters. With a great sense of accomplishment, last month was Mbalu’s first time posting borrowers onto Kiva.org without any
Teaching Mbalu how to post loans
assistance. Her statement toward independence hit me with a little bit of sadness and a full punch of reality as I was reminded of my temporary presence. However, within this, I encountered a paradigm-shifting question, “what will happen tomorrow?”
Too Crude? Or, Just Reality.
Common Latrine in Northwest Cameroon
This photo may not be recognized immediately as a toilet, bathroom, or water closet. Or, it may be considered indecent for publishing on a civilized blog such as the Kiva Fellows Blog. Justifiably, blogs typically highlight the hardworking entrepreneurs who are fighting poverty. But in the interest of connecting Kiva lenders and blog readers to the true lives of Kiva and GHAPE borrowers, I have decided to share an image that many lenders and blog readers may have never seen.
Continue Reading 5 August 2011 at 14:29 faithgarlington 2 comments
Kigali Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-OuMj51YVI
Hi Everyone! Decided to make a Video blog post to show you a little bit what life is like as a Kiva Fellow in Kigali!
Update from the Field: Working Animals, Green Microfinance + The Ends of the Earth
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo
This week, learn how microfinance could help working animals and their wild cousins in Senegal. Find out more about pigs in Indonesia and how pig waste can be put to good use with biogas digesters. Then understand more about the infrastructure difficulties facing a Kiva partner in Sierra Leone.
Continue Reading 1 August 2011 at 02:00 Kathrin Gerner 6 comments
On the road again: Borrower visits throughout Southern Uganda
By Michele Wehle, KF15, Uganda
Two weeks ago I set off bright and early to the bus park in Kampala to catch my six hour bus to Ibanda, Uganda. My objective was to meet five Kiva borrowers around Southern and Western Uganda in order to complete my Borrower Verification. I gave myself five days and several pep talks to complete the journey. Pep talks and prayers were a prerequisite for my adventure as I would be traveling solo to some places that weren’t even on Google Maps (unprecedented). I didn’t know how I would eventually reach some areas and had no idea where I would sleep half the time, but none of this mattered as I only had one goal – meet those borrowers!
Continue Reading 1 August 2011 at 01:48 Michele Wehle 1 comment
To the Ends of the Earth
By Eric Rindal – Sierra Leone – KF15
I am writing this blog by hand today as I sit at my desk in Makeni, Sierra Leone. There is no power for the whole office. When I ask, “isn’t there National Power from the grid?” people just laugh (it only comes on at night for a few hours). When I ask, “What about the generator?” people just shrug (it runs on petrol). The town is actually out of petrol on this cloud-tumbling Monday morning.
With finicky fuel costs, scarcity of fuel, and an inflation rate of 17.7% there are many reasons for days like this. The MFI (Microfinance Institution) staff is fidgeting to power up their computers and begin working on the ebb and flow of loans, clients, and monthly reports. Such is life in rural Sierra Leone, where verdant tropical forests blanket the region and scattered mountains are sleeping like behemoth tortoises.
Working Animals, Conservation & Microfinance
In this post Kiva Fellow Tim Young considers two successful examples of organisations working with local communities to improve the livelihoods of working animals and their wild cousins, and considers how microfinance could be used to help finance, support and further these efforts.
Continue Reading 27 July 2011 at 09:36 letimyoung 9 comments
Updates from the Field: Poverty Assessments, Bush Taxis + Meeting “My” Borrower
Last week the Fellows Blog gave us glimpses into life on the ground for Kiva fellows, Kiva borrowers, and that unique moment when those lives are brought together by a Kiva loan! Whether riding in Daniel’s bush taxi on the way to work in South Africa, exploring Bafut and crossing the threshold into borrowers’ homes with Faith in Cameroon, or sharing a meal with Megan and ‘her’ borrower Graciela in the market in Ecuador, these posts illustrate the world of actors brought together by Kiva.
Continue Reading 25 July 2011 at 08:00 Kate Bennett 5 comments
Video Journal: The Most Exciting Thing to Do in Richards Bay, South Africa
By Daniel Jung, KF15, South Africa
Oh, the excitement I felt once I confirmed my Kiva Fellowship for South Africa, one of the world’s great travel destinations. Where would I be based? In Cape Town, under the shadow of Table Mountain? In Johannesburg, South Africa’s hub of business and culture? South African wine country? Not exactly. I am most definitely, positively not near one of South Africa’s main travel destinations. Instead, I am in Richards Bay. Here’s a description of Richards Bay in The Lonely Planet’s Guide to South Africa:
“The industrial port of Richards Bay is a mass of modern suburbia, aluminium smelters and a web of roads linking very little. It’s included here for two reasons: many people fly in and out of Richards Bay Airport, as do many bird species(.)”
Bafut by Foot
At GHAPE, new borrower centers are established only in areas identified as mostly poor. Individual borrowers are also screened using a tool called the Basic Needs Test to determine whether they qualify as potential GHAPE borrowers – very poor based on a variety of measurable factors. Recently I had the opportunity to accompany GHAPE’s Chief of Administration and Finance and the Assistant Field Manager to conduct a Basic Needs Test for a new borrower center in Bafut, outside Bamenda. The Basic Needs Test is a survey developed by GHAPE staff to first assess the overall poverty level of an area and then to screen potential borrowers to learn their economic status. GHAPE administers micro-loans, beginning as small as $10, to the poorest of the poor. In order to assess whether new clients qualify as very poor, GHAPE visits their home and asks detailed questions. The questions focus on 5 main areas: food consumption (number and quality of meals per day), clothes, cleanliness, house structure, and health. type of toilet, number of school age children in school, and whether or not children under age 6 receive milk every day.
Continue Reading 19 July 2011 at 23:00 faithgarlington 9 comments
The Externalities of it All
by Eric Rindal – KF15 – Sierra Leone
“What has changed in your business since you took out your loan?” I ask Kiva borrower Fatmata as we stand amongst the whirling crowd in a Freetown market. “Oh, very much, everything has changed,” she says as her eyes quickly sway toward the crowd, then back to mine. I ask her to be more specific; she picks up some of her merchandise and slaps it down with a smile, “I can pay for my child’s school fees.
I have one, a girl, who is in her last year of schooling.” Her pending graduation is quite an accomplishment in a country where 24% of women are literate and nearly half the population lacks a formal education. When Fatmata mentions her daughter’s final year, it is obvious this is a triumph for her as well.
