Enter BRAC. Four years ago, BRAC Uganda began to address some of these problems by implementing what they call the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescence Program (ELA Program). The program is designed specifically “to improve the quality of the life of vulnerable adolescents by organizing them, creating spaces of their own and helping them develop a set of skills so that they can live and grow as confident, empowered and self reliant individuals contributing to change in their own families and communities.”

Because it is set up to achieve so many ambitious goals, the ELA program can seem fairly complex at first glance. In this blog post, I want to outline how the program is organized and talk a little bit about some of the social components of the ELA clubs. And in the next blog post, I’ll talk more about the finance components of the ELA program and about the impact of the program overall.

General Organization of ELA

Meet Barbara. She works extremely hard to train ELA staff and to develop materials for the program. She has also been with the ELA program from the beginning and has an excellent grasp on how the program functions and on how far it has come. In the video below, I asked her about what she’s currently working on and about some of the major changes she has seen in the program over the years. Check it out:

As Barbara said in the video, the ELA program has expanded significantly in the past few years and as a result, has become much more decentralized. A colleague at BRAC once joked with me: “anyone who says they understand everything that’s going on with the organization is crazy.” Yet somehow, the program functions with uncanny efficiency.

ELA Management

Each ELA girl is a member of a local club, which is organized and managed by a mentor. There are currently a total 785 clubs, which are located all across Uganda. In general, clusters of about 10-15 clubs are linked to Branch Offices based on proximity. Each branch office has a Project Assistant who is responsible for supervising all of the clubs associated with the branch and for helping the clubs to strengthen their relationships with surrounding communities. The Project Assistants report directly to the Area Coordinators, who are responsible for overseeing a handful of Branch Offices in a specific district. Area Coordinators report to Regional Coordinators, who then report to the Uganda Program Manager. The program manager is responsible for overseeing all big-picture aspects of the program and is stationed mainly at the BRAC Country Office in Kampala.

Microfinance Staff

The ELA microfinance, which is recent addition to the ELA program, requires some additional staff members. At the branch level, there are Credit Officers, who are tasked with overseeing all the financial components of the program. ELA microfinance also has its own set of Area Coordinators, who are responsible for managing microfinance at multiple branches and must be present at all loan disbursements. The microfinance Area Coordinators also report to the Regional Managers and to the Program Manager. Every month, all of the Area Coordinators meet with the Program Manager at the Country Office to review the performance of their clubs and to discuss how to improve the program.

Club Houses  

The space used for the program consists mainly of extensions of community member’s houses, or of  public buildings rented by BRAC from local governments. This is the main space where club members and mentors meet six afternoons per week. The clubs also use community sports fields for certain athletic activities.

How to Join

The requirements to join a club aren’t strict at all. Any girl between 13 and 21 years old, who is a permanent citizen of Uganda and who can pay the 2,000 UGX (~$0.80) admission fee can join. All she really has to do is approach the local club’s mentor and ask.

The Social Components of ELA Clubs

Community Participation

One thing that is emphasized over and over again when discussing the ELA program with BRAC management is community involvement. From what I was able to gather, this happens in mainly two ways. The first way is called a mothers forum. Once, every two weeks or so, the Project Assistant from the branch will get together with the mothers of club members to discuss the club programs and things that the mothers can do to help empower their daughters. Another way that the community is involved with ELA clubs is through community leaders’ workshops. These are events where prominent female figures from the community visit a club to talk to the girls about sexual health, life challenges or a host of other topics.

Life Skills Based Education

The ELA program also provides girls with resources to learn more about life challenges and how to overcome them. The clubs focus on a wide range of topics including reproductive health, menstruation, familial and community responsibility, leadership, bride price, early pregnancy, STIs, family planning and rape. Mentors will normally focus on one aspect of one of these topics every day, and occasionally guest speakers will come to the clubs to give presentations to the girls. BRAC has also published books on each of these topics consisting of general advice and collections of stories from the lives of ELA girls.

Just below is a kind of introductory story from BRAC’s book on family planning. It’s called “Tough Times,” and is mainly about a young, 20-year-old woman named Stella and her struggle through her second pregnancy. It emphasizes the importance of leaving time between births.

Last year, in 2009, I got married to Mike, a bicycle cyclist.   I’m now five months pregnant. I was forced into marriage because my parents never wanted to stay with a pregnant woman. I had long stopped studying due to lack of finances at home.   

Mike stayed in a remote village. Once in a while, when a vehicle passed, every one waited in anticipation of their relative.  City people are claimed to be rich since they always carry with them so many gifts. In the village the main source of livelihood is agriculture and most of the farming done is for consumption. 

As it was my first pregnancy, I lacked knowledge on how to care for myself. Friends, however, encouraged me to visit the health centre for checkups.  

Throughout the pregnancy, I visited the health centre only once.  The long distance discouraged me form frequenting the place. I also lacked the money to receive the medical attention I needed. As a result, a traditional birth attendant helped me to give birth to my first child. She was easily available and cheap. 

Much as Mike tried so hard to meet every need of the family, the poor man failed. To make matters worse, I conceived again after ten months. This also affected our daughter so much. She was ever sick and crying. I also stopped breast feeding her since e I was down with morning sicknesses and the general discomfort that comes with pregnancy.  Eating also became a problem since we could only afford one meal a day. 

When it reached birth, Mike was able to gather some money to transport me to the health centre. I delivered with the help of the nurse, but I faced severe complications. I almost bled to death. I was weak and anemic. My baby looked so sick that I doubted his survival.  My daughter was stunted. Having two children in a couple of years was too much for me and it also strained my husband a lot.

The nurse advised me to go back for postnatal care, with my husband. She later explained that child birth was the most risky incidence and a threat to the woman’s health and that of her baby. She emphasized the need for birth spacing if we were to take good care of our children’s health and needs.

When the nurse had finished talking, it surprised me that I was so ignorant about family planning methods and birth spacing. Use of contraceptives would give me enough time to properly heal and properly take care of myself and the children before getting unexpected pregnancy. 

Since then, I have learned to use contraceptives.  I plan on waiting for my two children to properly grow before I conceive again. It is also important that I get a job so that I can supplement on Mike’s income. This will help us to properly take care of our family and keep it happy.  

Club Activities

To me, the club activities are in a big way the heart of the ELA program. They afford the ELA girls a daily opportunity to take a break from adversity, to talk about their experiences and to learn from one another.

Towards the end of my fellowship, I was lucky enough to visit the Kanyanya Club in the Zanna district in Kampala. Just before lunch one day, I hop on the back of a boda boda and speed just a few kilometers up the road to the main traffic hub in Zanna. I pick up two oily, floury pancakes called chapattis for lunch, then march off of the main road, back into the Zanna “slums” to find the Branch Office. I get a little lost on the winding backroads, but am only a few minutes late – Uganda style.

Once at the office, I am greeted warmly by the Project Assistant and an Area Manager I’ve met before. The three of us travel up about two kilometers of steep, dusty roads in the hot afternoon sun. It would have been much easier to take a boda boda, but the project assistant had recently been in an accident and really didn’t want to take any more chances. Just as I think I am running out of steam, we reach the top of a huge incline, descend down a short lane with lots of tree shade, and finally arrive at the club house.

It’s around two o’clock, and more and more girls filter in over the next hour. Many of the members aren’t around because they’ve gone to visit family in the villages for the holiday, and many of the girls that show up are also a bit drained from the intense heat of the sun. We still have a great time playing board games and dancing. Fortunately, I have my Flipcam and am able to grab some great footage of the club house and of the girls. Enjoy!

Andrew Huelsenbeck is a Kiva Fellow who worked in Kampala with BRAC Uganda. To learn more about BRAC, please visit their Kiva Partner Page. If you are interested in helping to empower one or more of BRAC’s many wonderful entrepreneurs, you can join the Friends of BRAC Uganda lending team or check out new BRAC Uganda loans on Kiva.org. Happy lending!

Ow de body! Are Sierra Leone and Rwanda still danger zones? What challenges do Ugandans most commonly face? Kiva Fellows from KF16 bring you another unique perspective from the diverse and vast continent of Africa! We patched together an overview of each of our placement countries that includes: basic socioeconomic stats, common stereotypes (and to what extent they are true or false), greatest challenges, most common loan products at our respective field partners, and the borrowers’ most common use of their profits.  Our part 2 series follows the Kiva Fellows through Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Uganda. We hope our summaries give you a new perspective on the continent and its distinct countries that we’ve been fortunate to explore, thanks to the Kiva fellowship!

Tejal Desai, Sierra Leone

1. Basic country stats
% Living Below Poverty Line: 70.2% (CIA World Factbook)
Average Annual Income: $903 (kiva.org)
% Women in the Workforce: Adult female pop labor force participation: 65.4%, but women only earn 42% as much as men.

2. Most common stereotype about Sierra Leone
One common stereotype is that Sierra Leone is a very dangerous place to live and visit, with rebel crime and diamond smuggling being widespread occurrences.

Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002, has been brought to the attention of mainstream audiences by films like Blood Diamond, and has tainted this beautiful country’s image. Although this war is responsible for over 2,000,000 displaced Sierra Leoneans and 50,000 dead, Sierra Leone as a nation has been making strides forward to leave behind the legacy, has invested in the development of its infrastructure, and is considered one of West Africa’s safest destinations.

Gari, processed cassava, a common Sierra Leonean food product.

3. Greatest challenge
Sierra Leone’s high cost of living creates many challenges, as it is seldom adjusted for inflation, especially with the rising costs of food and fuel. For some perspective: rice, a Sierra Leone staple, runs about $25-30 for 50 kilograms, a taxi ride across town costs $1-2, and almost 70% of the population lives under $1.25 a day. BRAC borrowers cite inflation as the biggest threat to their businesses, as depreciating inventory creates holes in revenue and risk for increasing their quantity of goods. Hassan, picture above, owns a grain shop in Waterloo, Sierra Leone, and says inflation makes it difficult for him to keep up with losses in the value of gari (processed cassava, photo above) and rice.

4. Most common loan product at field partner, BRAC Sierra Leone
The microloan is the most popular ($100-$300 loans), but another loan product on the rise is the SEP loan – small enterprise loan, which is offered to business owners who want to expand their business (more info here).

5. Clients’ most common use of profits
Many BRAC borrowers utilize their profits to expand their businesses, but a majority cite paying for school fees and education this as the most common use of their profits. The cost of primary education in 2004 was 53,000 SLL (around $26) per student, and has only increased since. Parents struggle to cover the costs of additional costs that come with education: school supplies, increasing costs of transportation, and uniforms.

Whitney Webb & Kathrin Gerner, Rwanda

1. Basic country stats
Rwanda has a population of 10.6 million with 56% of the citizens living below the poverty line. The average annual income is $1000 USD and women make up 53% of the workforce.

2. Most common stereotype about Rwanda
The first things that come to most people’s minds when they hear Rwanda? Genocide. War Zone. Danger. These are some of the key words I heard from people in reaction to hearing where I was placed for my fellowship.

Yes, Rwanda suffered the worst genocides in recent African history. There is no changing the fact that roughly 20% of the Rwandan population was murdered in 1994. However, the country has since moved forward with acceptance and strength. Today, Rwanda is one of the cleanest, safest, and most organized countries in Africa to live or visit.

Beautiful Rwanda

3. Greatest challenge
One of the big issues in Rwanda right now is the lack of available land. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and the population continues to grow at 3% a year. Roughly 90% of the population makes a living through agriculture. There is simply not enough land to go around.

Every time I visit the land of some of our agricultural borrowers, I am amazed at how small the plots actually are. The average landholder owns 0.5 hectares of farmland. It is unbelievable to see these plots stretch up the side of a hill that seems too steep to even climb.

There have been several government programs established such as land consolidation, improved seeds and fertilizers, and the irrigation of unusable land. Progress has been made, but as the population is set to double in 24 years, Rwanda will continue to fight an uphill battle.

4. Most common loan product at field partner, Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda (UOB)
The most common loan product at Urwego is the group loan. These loans are usually used to grow businesses selling vegetables, clothing, kitchen goods, or textiles. The group members are accountable for each other and guarantee one another’s debt.

5. Clients’ most common use of profits
The most common intended use of profits from a loan is to create a savings account. Many borrowers state that they wish to put money away to create a better future for their families.

Andrew Huelsenbeck, Uganda

1. Basic country stats
Population: 34,612,250

Languages: English (schools, law and some newspapers and radio), Luganda, and many others

Religions: Roman Catholic (41.9%), Protestant (42%), Muslim (12.1%)

Age Structure: 0-14 (49.9%), 15-64 (48.1%), 65+ (2.1%)

Population living below the poverty line: 35%

Average Family Income: about $200 per year

Sex division in the work force: Nearly three quarters of all formal salaried positions are held by men. But if we also count the informal sector, then the numbers are much closer to being equal, with women constituting about 47% of the workforce.

Sources include the CIA world factbook, Gorilla Safari, and Taxation and gender equity: a comparative analysis of direct and indirect taxes in developing and developed countries by Caren Grown and Imraan Valodia.

2. Most common stereotypes about Uganda
1. Ugandans are short-sited and will not succeed at paying back loans because they will use the money on other side projects.

2. Ugandans are difficult to employ because they often misappropriate company funds.

Both of these are actually fairly common problems in Uganda, but the problem seems to have less to do with the Ugandan people, and more with incentive structures. Many Ugandans have a lot on pressing issues on their plates: hungry and sick family members, school fees, houses and other construction projects, expensive funerals, etc. It makes sense that they would get money any way they can and then use it to cover the costs of these things in the short term. It also makes sense for Ugandans to not work hard and to take money if they are not monitored and are not in danger of losing their jobs, or worse, in danger of facing serious legal repercussions. Without penalties, I think many people elsewhere in the world would act similarly.

BRAC Uganda has done a fantastic job of creating incentive structures to prevent this kind of behavior. They train their borrowers in financial management and make them sign formal promissory notes before receiving any money. In addition, BRAC has many program managers and an entire department devoted to constantly monitoring borrowers and employees. When, for example, there is any evidence that an employee has misappropriated funds, managers in the Country Office will launch a full-scale investigation and will terminate the employee if necessary. These measures help immensely in navigating around stereotypically Ugandan tendencies.

3. Greatest challenges
Power outages: At the BRAC Uganda Country Office, the power is out about 50% of the time. This is because the hydroelectric dam on the Nile is not producing enough energy to power all of Kampala all the time. At BRAC, we are lucky in that we have a back up generator, which kicks on every time the power goes out. But for other business owners who don’t have the luxury of owning a generator, these outages can substantially reduce productivity. This is especially true for business owners just outside of Kampala, who sometimes see only a few hours of power each week.

Inflation: Inflation has been a huge problem in Uganda recently. Hovering at around 30%, it has reduced real incomes and has substantially increased the costs of living and doing business. This, in conjunction with regional droughts, has caused the prices of staples like matooke, sweet potatoes and charcoal to skyrocket.

4. Most common loan product at field partner, BRAC Uganda
Standard group microloans, which range anywhere from 100-800 USD. They are given to more than 125,000 women who are members of around 6,000 community-based microfinance groups throughout Uganda. BRAC also provides these women with training, technical assistance and helps them find ways to save. The women that receive the loans are often between 20 and 50 years old with little or no education. Virtually none of them have access to the formal financial sector or even to other microfinance products.

5. Clients’ most common use of profits
There are a number of ways that Ugandans are using the profits they are gaining from microfinancing. These mainly include sending their children to school, reinvesting in their businesses, and buying plots of land to build houses for their families.
Tejal Desai is a Kiva Fellow completing her fellowship with BRAC Sierra Leone. Interested in becoming a Kiva fellow? Click here to learn more about the program and apply!

Meru, Kenya (by Claire Markham)

This week on the Kiva fellows blog, start out by learning about three new microfinance products – microinsurance in Indonesia, higher education loans in the Philippines and green and water loans in Kenya. Continue on to Nepal to admire the handiwork of artisan borrowers. Make your way to Ecuador to find out more about the risk of indebtedness. Share the fellows’ personal experiences with the recent elections in Nicaragua and rush hour traffic in Uganda. Finish by taking a critical look at transparency in microfinance and Kiva’s responsibility with regards to transparency.

Microinsurance in Indonesia: What are the Options for Kiva Borrowers?
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Laurie Young (KF16)
Laurie takes a look at Vision Fund Indonesia’s current microinsurance products.

Artisan Borrowers of BPW-Patan, Nepal
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Abhinab Basnyat (KF16)
Abhinab visits Kiva borrowers in Nepal and admires their handicraft.

Necessary “No”
Country: Ecuador / Fellow: Marcus Berkowitz (KF16)
Marcus explains why Cooperativa San Jose must say “no” to some borrowers who risk over-indebtedness.

Team Kiva: World Police?
Country: Tanzania / Fellow: Lauren Barra (KF16)
Lauren explores whether Kiva has a responsibility to promote microfinance transparency and what Kiva must do to meet this responsibility.

Red and Black to Pink, Peace and Love: The Reign of Daniel
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Jim Burke (KF16)
Jim shines some light on the results of the recent elections in Nicaragua.

Study Now, Pay Now: Funding Higher Education in the Philippines
Country: Philippines / Fellow: Jill Hall (KF16)
Jill answers questions about higher education loan products in the Philippines.

The Kampala Commute
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Andrew Huelsenbeck (KF16)
Andrew shares his experience getting around the Ugandan capital during rush hour.

Going Green? Overcoming Cultural Barriers to Promote Green Loans (Part 2)
Country: Kenya / Fellow: Claire Markham (KF16)
Claire attempts to answer the question of how an MFI can break through cultural barriers to implement a successful green and water loan program.

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Updates from the past month:
Earthquakes, 5Ks + The Pain of Sickness and Loss
Expanding the Reach of Microfinance, Downsizing Development + Why We Kiva
Green Loans, Dark Alleys + On-the-Ground Footage of it All
Kiva-style Microfinance, Reggaeton + a Journey though the Commercial Jungle
Loan Use, Agriculture Loans + Stuff Kiva Fellows Like
~

Plus more pictures from the past week:

Indonesia (by Laurie Young)

Nepal (by Abhinab Basnyat)

Ecuador (by Marcus Berkowitz)

Tanzania (by Lauren Barra)

Nicaragua (by Jim Burke)

Philippines (by Jill Hall)

Kenya (by Claire Markham)

Many Kiva Fellows have some pretty crazy commutes. This is a post about what it’s like getting around town in Kampala, Uganda.

When it comes to rush hour chaos, New York City- even with its road-raging bridge-and-tunnelers- has nothing on Kampala. From about seven to nine thirty in the morning and five to eight in the evening, the city center’s tight, dusty roads transform into parking lots packed with big rigs carting petrol or bricks or other cargo; coach buses coming from or going to Kenya or Burundi or various other East African countries; all kinds of family cars; and shoddy white Chinese-made passenger vans called mutatus.

Matatus (also known as taxis) seem to be the preferred mode of transportation for the Kampala commuter for a few reasons: they are bountiful, they have routes to all corners of the city, they are cheap, and they will make pickups almost anywhere along the roadside. The second-hand vans have a lot of room—there are 3 rows of seats in the back, the front two of which have extra seats that fold down to take full advantage of the space. Usually, the seat by the sliding door in the back is occupied by a conductor, who yells out to potential passengers and collects fares. The maximum number of passengers is legally 14, but I’ve seen up to 16 or so commuters packed into a van. Many of my colleagues at BRAC use taxis to get to and from work. I use them mostly for field visits and for traveling to other cities near Kampala.

Zipping through all of the taxis and other larger vehicles are motorbikes called boda bodas, the second most popular way to commute. Drivers usually hang out together and pick up passengers from “stages” that are close to where the drivers live. The boda bodas have long, leather seats behind the drivers that can usually fit one, two (or if you’re Ugandan, three) commuters or some cargo. Boda drivers are fast, fearless and often furiously zigzag along the paths of least resistance, regardless of how precarious. This kind of driving makes commuting on a boda boda quick, but very very dangerous.

Everyone here has a boda story, and quite a few Kampalans can substantiate their tales with scars that span halfway up their arms or legs. A German friend that worked at a local hospital stopped riding boda bodas after discovering how many patients were admitted because of one bad move by a boda boda man. Despite all of this, I still ride bodas every day to get to work and to get around town. I just make sure to wear a helmet.

Besides the hand signals of a few traffic police and the loosely-adhered-to notion that cars should stay to the left, any maneuvers to hasten the commute are fair game. These include but are not limited to driving on the shoulder, driving in the wrong lane, cutting people off, “love tapping,” and good ol’ trailblazing. There are also no emissions requirements. It took me a while, but I’ve finally gotten used to the dust and the thick, purple clouds of petrol smoke that often hang above the roadways.

Kampala’s dusty roads struggle to support all this hectic traffic. They have begun to erode from constant use and frequent heavy rain, and they are now covered with potholes. The problem is so bad that some Kampalans have begun to jokingly refer to their city as “Kampothole.”

Last year, a research group actually attempted to count all the holes in the road, and discovered that the city center alone has almost 2,500 of them. Some of them are like the potholes we are used to—small enough that cars can pass over relatively unscathed; many others, however, occupy half the road and require drivers to swerve onto the shoulder or into oncoming traffic so as to avoid ruining their rides’ undercarriages.

Efforts to fix Kampala’s streets are led by the Kampala Capital City Authority. A few months back, the organization requested 345 billion Ugandan Shillings from the national government for repairing the potholes and other damage sustained by Kampala’s 900-kilometer road network. They were only granted 45 billion though, which is still a step up from the 15 billion they were working with last year.

Andrew Huelsenbeck is a Kiva Fellow currently working in Kampala with BRAC Uganda. To learn more about BRAC, please visit their Kiva Partner Page. If you are interested in helping to empower one or more of BRAC’s many wonderful entrepreneurs, you can join the Friends of BRAC Uganda lending team or check out new BRAC Uganda loans on Kiva.org. Happy lending!

Kiva Fellows in East Africa

This week, you have no fewer than 14 new articles to choose from on the Kiva fellows blog: Let the fellows take you along on borrower visits across the world. Learn how Kiva field partners expand the reach of microfinance in Rwanda, fill the microfinance donut hole in Sierra Leone and improve social performance in Uganda. Find out what poverty is like in urban Tajikistan and rural Burkina Faso. Get inspired by one of the creative ways to bring renewable energy to the developing world in the form of a soccer ball. And finally, watch a video of “Why We Kiva” to get a glimpse of why Kiva fellows jump at the opportunity to be thrown half way around the world to work with Kiva’s many local field partners.

Girlie’s Peanut Butter: Borrower Verification in the Philippines
Country: Philippines / Fellow: Jill Hall (KF16)
As Jill completes here borrower verifications, she meets the lady who makes peanut butter.

Going the Distance: Expanding the Reach of Microfinance in Rwanda
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Whitney Webb (KF16)
Whitney takes a look at the creative ways Urwego Opportunity Bank uses to reach the far-flung areas of Rwanda.

The Donut Hole Conundrum + Mamoud’s Story
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: Tejal Desai (KF16)
Tejal learns about the small enterprise loan, a loan product that is targeted at people that are financially overqualified for microcredit but too poor to receive a bank loan.

In Sickness and in Health: An MFI’s commitment to its clients in times of need
Country: El Salvador / Fellow: Andrea Ramirez (KF16)
Andrea explains how Fundacion Campo came up with a plan to help residents in areas flooded by the recent rain falls in El Salvador.

Pride & Poverty: A Photo Essay of Kiva Borrowers in Georgia
Country: Georgia / Fellow: DJ Forza (KF16)
DJ shares impressions of her borrower visits in Georgia.

More Than a Simple Find/Replace Operation: Changing CREDIT to Kredit
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Dave Weber (KF16)
Dave explores why CREDIT is undergoing a name and logo change.

Downsizing Development: How a Soccer Ball Could Change the World
Country: Kenya / Fellow: Lauren Barra (KF16)
Lauren comes across a soccer ball that might help bring renewable energy to the developing world.

Microfinance by Land or by Sea
Country: Peru / Fellow: Kate Bennett (KF16)
Kate spends a week at the beach, but instead of working on her tan, she visits borrowers with Kiva field partner Caja Rural Señor de Luren.

This Is Urban Poverty in Tajikistan
Country: Tajikistan / Fellow: Chris Paci (KF16)
Chris experiences first-hand what urban poverty is like in Tajikistan.

The Second Bottom Line and BRAC Uganda’s Gold
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Andrew Huelsenbeck (KF16)
Andrew takes a look at BRAC Uganda’s dedication to social performance.

Mysteries, Geoglyphs + too-good-to-be-true Kiva Borrowers
Country: Peru / Fellow: Kate Bennett (KF16)
Kate wonders if a full loan repayment on the first repayment date might be too good to be true.

La Réalité de L’Afrique
Country: Burkina Faso / Fellow: Alison Moomey (KF16)
Alison gets a wake-up call to the realities of life in rural Burkina Faso after spending a weekend in a village without electricity or running water.

Video Blog: “Why We Kiva” – Kiva Fellows Around the World
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Mariela Cedeño (KF16)
Mariela gives you a glimpse of why Kiva fellows jump at the opportunity to be thrown half way around the world to work with Kiva’s many local field partners.

~
Updates from the past month:
Green Loans, Dark Alleys + On-the-Ground Footage of it All
Kiva-style Microfinance, Reggaeton + a Journey though the Commercial Jungle
Loan Use, Agriculture Loans + Stuff Kiva Fellows Like
Starting Capital, Development Levels + Adventurous Borrower Visits
Going Pilot to Active, Meeting Borrowers + Technology and Social Performance
~

Plus more pictures from the past week:

Philippines (by Jill Hall)

Rwanda (by Whitney Webb)

Sierra Leone (by Tejal Desai)

El Salvador (by Andrea Ramirez)

Georgia (by DJ Forza)

Kenya (by Lauren Barra)

Peru (by Kate Bennett)

Tajikistan (by Chris Paci)

Peru (by Kate Bennett)

Burkina Faso (by Allison Moomey)

by Andrew Huelsenbeck, K16 Kiva Fellow, BRAC Uganda

The Second Bottom Line

One thing that’s gotten very popular with microfinance institutions (MFIs) lately is measuring success based on what is called a double bottom line. For a long time, the only bottom line for many MFIs was financials, but industry experts began to realize that looking good on paper did not amount to having any real social impact. This is why some MFIs have begun to use a second bottom line – social performance – as an additional metric for success.

What is social performance exactly? It is how an MFI is translating its core mission into practice. The success of this can be gauged in basically two ways: (1) by examining the actual impact of services on clients and (2) by examining the systems an MFI is using to optimize its impact on clients.

Among MFIs, a very common means of measuring the social impact of services is the Grameen Foundation’s Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI). The way the PPI works is by measuring the poverty levels of groups and individuals based on certain country-specific criteria like access to water, medicine, shelter etc. By examining changes in the PPI over time, MFIs are able to better determine their clients’ needs, which programs are most effective, how quickly clients leave poverty, and what helps them to move out of poverty faster.

The other main way of assessing social performance focuses less on the actual impact of services and more on MFIs’ management of the systems that optimize impact. This kind of management is commonly called social performance management (SPM). The success of SPM is based on an MFI’s ability to do mainly three things: (1) set clear social objectives, (2) monitor the progress towards achieving those objectives, and (3) use the insights from monitoring to improve overall performance and impact.

One of the major organizations responsible for establishing assessments and best practice guidelines relating to how MFIs achieve these three things is called the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF). The SPTF was birthed in 2005 when the CGAP, the Argidius Foundation and the Ford Foundation brought together leaders from various social performance initiatives in the microfinance industry to come to a consensus on a common social performance framework and an action plan to implement it. The SPTF has worked very closely with CERISE (the creator of the social performance assessment tool Kiva uses for its partners), and has recently been doing a lot of work in Uganda.

BRAC Uganda’s Gold SPM Award

Many Ugandan MFIs are part of a larger organization called the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU). In the past year or so, AMFIU has begun to seriously encourage social performance management among its constituents. With the guidance of the SPTF and with funding from the Ford Foundation, the organization has held training sessions, published instructional guides, and not too long ago, held its first ever Social Performance Management Awards here in Kampala.

The event was huge. All of the big players were there: PRIDE, Opportunity, Finance Trust, Habitat for Humanity, EMESCO and more. The Ugandan Commissioner of Microfinance and the president of AMFIU were also in attendance and helped to present the awards to the MFIs that have really excelled in SPM. Many bronzes and silvers were handed out, but BRAC Uganda, the main MFI I am working with, took home the only gold.

Mr. Ariful Islam, the (former) Country Representative of BRAC Uganda, displays BRAC's Gold SPM Award

BRAC Uganda is an incredible organization. In just six years, with the help of the MasterCard Foundation, Kiva, Unicef and other major partners, BRAC has become a microfinance titan in Uganda. It currently has over 1,800 employees working at 114 branches, has dispersed more than $71 million in loans, and has touched the lives of nearly 2 million of Uganda’s poor.

What’s more impressive, though, is BRAC’s dedication to the second bottom line. Its mission is clear and simple: to alleviate poverty by empowering the poor to bring about change in their own lives. BRAC has achieved this not only by bringing financial services to some of the remotest regions in Uganda, but also by starting and scaling up health, agriculture, education and adolescent empowerment programs.

Many systems at BRAC are set up to ensure that clients are actually benefiting from these programs. More than half of the time, program managers are out in the field interacting with clients; the 15-member Monitoring Department continually evaluates programs to prevent mismanagement and misappropriation of funds; and BRAC Uganda’s unique Research and Evaluation Unit regularly conducts studies on the relevance and effectiveness of BRAC’s operations.

The research unit at BRAC Uganda is also currently working with AMFIU and the Grameen Foundation to promote the use of the PPI among other major MFIs in Uganda. The poverty index (or scorecard) was originally developed by a lead BRAC International researcher using national household survey data in Uganda. The Grameen Foundation adopted the idea, and worked with BRAC to update the index using newer data from many different countries. Now, the two organizations are using the PPI to improve social performance in Uganda and all over the world.

Andrew Huelsenbeck is a Kiva Fellow currently working in Kampala with BRAC Uganda. To learn more about BRAC, please visit their Kiva Partner Page. If you are interested in helping to empower one or more of BRAC’s many wonderful entrepreneurs, you can join the Friends of BRAC Uganda lending team or check out new BRAC Uganda loans on Kiva.org. Happy lending!

One mode of transport I used to visit borrowers - a pickup truck with 25 Ugandans

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!

The Holy Grail

Every Kiva Fellow is supplied with a list of deliverables during training week in San Francisco, but perhaps the most daunting deliverable of them all, the Borrower Verification or BV, produces the most anxiety and excitement. The BV is one of the most important deliverables a Fellow can complete as its purpose is to verify that borrowers 1. exist and 2. have stories and loan documentation which match with the Kiva website. The BV is one way Kiva ensures that partnerships are functioning well on the ground, and that borrowers understand to the best of their abilities what Kiva is. This last piece can be difficult as most borrowers have never logged online or even heard of the internet, but it’s imperative they know and are comfortable with the fact that their loans can be viewed by anyone. Most Fellows are given a list of 10 borrowers that belong to one of their assigned MFI’s, and have the duration of their fellowships to complete the task, whether it be by plane, bus, foot, train, boat, or goat -the possibilities are endless! One of the main reasons I wanted to be a Fellow was so that I could meet borrowers, but even sitting in San Francisco 3 months ago during the BV presentation, I remember being nervous. Every borrower must be met. But what if the borrower lives on the top of a mountain that is guarded by wild wildebeests? Too bad. The chuckles and concerned glances between my fellow Fellows throughout the presentation showed I wasn’t alone.

The Journey

My first mistake was showing up at the bus park on time. I was told the bus left at 7am so I decided to be a rebel and show up only 5 minutes before departure. Five hours later, the bus is finally filled, I am sweaty, dehydrated, hopeless and wondering what I got myself into. The bus finally showed the first sign of having a working engine however and my spirits lifted. Fast forward 11 hours, 5 hours of waiting and 6 hours in transit, and I finally made it to Ibanda.

A borrower's grandchild. Makes all traveling worth it.

Walking into the Pearl Microfinance branch I was once again reminded how much work goes into being a credit officer. I naively assumed the two borrowers I needed to meet wouldn’t be too far from the office, but as it turned out both were pretty far away, the first of which was more than an hour away by boda. All dirt roads of course.

The scenery was stunning and riding in the warm open air is incredibly energizing at first, but when you can no longer feel your legs and the dirt is caked to your feet and you burn your leg on the engine of the boda, you realize how exhausting the entire process is. And credit officers do this 6 days a week often skipping meals to get to borrowers in time. Luckily, I had the pleasure of meeting both of my Ibanda borrowers, one of which had so many businesses and projects it made my head spin. This gentleman runs a banana plantation, grows sugarcane, sells groundnuts and beans, started a primary school across the street from his home and teaches in another town two hours away for half the week. Pretty inspiring to say the least. I made a mental note that I should probably do more with my spare time and continued on to my next destination.

Kihihi or Bust

My most obscure travel location was a village called Kihihi about 12 hours from Kampala near the DRC border. The pickup driver told me the roads would be very bad, and he wasn’t lying. Atrocious, or perhaps, you should probably consider writing your last will and testament would have been more appropriate warnings. Only accessible by narrow dirt roads which wind a little too close to the edge of steep cliffs, the 30 kilometer drive took about 3 hours to complete. That next morning I took another long boda ride from town and embarked on a short “climb” to find a borrower. Being told he was at a market near town, the credit officer, myself, and another borrower from his group, a woman around 40 or 50 years of age, set off. “I can do this” I told myself but suddenly realized how hot it was and how loud my stomach was rumbling. My overactive imagination started churning and I foresaw myself being carried back down the path by my older and stronger female counterpart. Pushing all illogical, well perhaps only slightly illogical thoughts aside, the walking commenced, the land relatively flat at first until we reached a fork in the path. Naturally I continued down the friendly downward sloping section because where else would one honestly venture to, but my CO called me back. “It’s up this way” I hear. My heart stops. “This way” was a cliff.

Reminding myself that fainting wasn’t an option, I tried to respond to questions being asked by my two guides but am still puzzled how they hiked and talked simultaneously. Finally we reached a house and it was decided  I was probably too tired to continue walking even though I lied saying otherwise. A young girl was sent off to find the borrower and disappeared for at least 30 minutes. Realizing the irony of what a “near walk” in Africa entails, I saw a man approach with several goats and a sharpened weapon of some sort. It was the borrower, and he looked friendly! (Weapon aside). Reactions from borrowers at my presence have typically been positive or slightly skeptical, one borrower from a different location told me he couldn’t believe a “whole mzungu” had come to his village. This borrower in particular seemed entertained by my appearance and we soon got to chatting about his business. The borrower, a man named Levi, owned a retail shop in town and we continued back down the path to get a look.

View from the top

Levi’s shop was fully stocked with sandals, water, biscuits and other essentials, and it seemed business was going well. After conversing with him to ensure that the facts from his Kiva profile matched with real life, I had to bring up the always confusing question for borrowers – asking to see their ID. ID needs to be checked for every borrower to ensure they are who they say they are, but explaining this as simply and sensitively to borrowers is key as I don’t want them to think I don’t trust their word. Normally no questions are asked and on occasion no ID is found. Explaining  to borrowers why you need two of their friends to verify their identity in these cases can be entertaining. Regardless, the process is essential to ensuring that Kiva lenders are protected from fraud and that the lending process is as transparent as possible.

Looking back on my week in the field, I am humbled by how hard our borrowers work to improve their lives and how committed credit officers are to improving the lives of their borrowers. Microloans can’t solve all ills but I can attest that they can enable many men and women to start and expand their businesses, build new homes, and put their children through school. While at times exhausting, my BV brought my fellowship full circle and introduced me to people I will be sure to never forget.

Proud Kiva borrower Levi in his retail shop

Michele Wehle is a Kiva Fellow working in Kampala, Uganda with Pearl Microfinance Limited and BRAC Uganda. Want to help Pearl Microfinance and BRAC Uganda reach more borrowers? Become a member of their lending teams here: Friends of Pearl Microfinance Limited and Friends of BRAC Uganda.

A Togolese street vendor: Inventory on the head, baby on the back

Last week our internationally-scattered Kiva Fellows introduced us to some of the men and women that compose the sixty countries in which Kiva works. From the woman in Cameroon who represents the strength of her nation; to the Phillipino men that must migrate from their country to make a living; to the young men and women of Uganda who show us a glimpse of raw entrepreneurialism and hope. We also see how a nation’s people are brought together, whether by a common and incredible credit culture in Nicaragua, or by the dream for Togolese roads to one day connect people, markets, and credit throughout the country. From roads to remittances, Fellows learn there is more to microfinance than world markets and interest rates, and that human factors are tipping the scales of success for microfinance in all corners of the world.

Paving the Way to the Future: Bad Roads, Transportation Costs and Microfinance in Togo (Part I & Part II)
Country: Togo / Fellow: Kathrin Gerner (KF15)
In Part I, Kathrin explains how bad roads impact a microfinance market, through both higher interest rates due to transportation costs and otherwise. But in Part II she explains that revamping these roads proves just as costly to shop keepers, market venders, and Kiva borrowers.

A Different (Credit) Culture
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Casey Cline, (K15)
Casey relays the stories of Kiva borrowers who illustrate the power of the credit culture in an altogether different culture, and the incredible strength and determination of clients to repay their loans on time.

More than Microfinance: How BRAC Uganda Empowers Adolescents
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Michele Wehle (KF15) 
When microloans aren’t enough: Michele discusses BRAC’s programs for young men and women, which go above and beyond the role of a micro-lending institution and help Ugandan adolescents to do the same.

Long Distance Relationships: Remittances in the Philippines
Country: Philippines / Fellow: Allie Cook (KF15)
For a developing country with a high remittance rate, micofinance institutions must begin expanding programs to help bring the population home again.

Walking a Mile in Her Shoes
Country: Cameroon / Fellow: Faith Garlington (KF15)
Walking a mile- or more like five miles- of Eunice’s trip to and from the market, Faith learns firsthand the daily trials of the Kiva borrower.

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Updates from the past month:

New Partners, Country-Specific Microfinance + Stories of a Kiva Fellowship
Mosquito Nets, Rock Climbing + Clearing the Air
Instability, Trust, + A New Home
Unsung Heroes, Community Alliances + and Mission Statements Made Reality
Personal Connections, Supply and Demand + A Culinary Excursion

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Plus more pictures from the past week:

By Faith Garlington, KF15, Cameroon

By Allie Cook, KF15, Philippines

By Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo

By Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo

By Casey Cline, KF15, Nicaragua

By Michele Wehle, KF15, Uganda

Daily life in Bangladesh, the birthplace of BRAC

A Bengali organization founded almost 40 years ago, BRAC is one of the largest NGO’s in the world. BRAC does tremendous work in and outside of Bangladesh, and has programs promoting economic development, health, education, gender justice – the list goes on. When I found out I would be working with BRAC this past April I was excited since it is such a pioneering organization, but I was also really looking forward to working with BRAC since I have a soft spot in my heart for Bangladesh. I had the chance to live in Bangladesh for four months last year as a social business intern at the Yunus Centre, and my time in the country was certainly life altering. Dhaka was not an easy place to live, the sheer number of people is overwhelming and unlike anything I have ever experienced (imagine fitting half the US population into Iowa). The Bengali hospitality and warmth made my time there special however. And truthfully, I couldn’t wait to show off the three Bengali phrases and five words I knew! Apart from my excitement, I realized I didn’t know much about BRAC and that I would have alot to accomplish once in Uganda.

Reality on the ground: The situation is bleak for many adolescents in Uganda. A report by USAID stated that 14% of Ugandan children have lost one or more parents in the past decade due to the conflict in the north and/or to HIV/AIDS. Many young adults have difficulty obtaining meaningful employment, even with a University degree, and for those who do not complete primary and secondary school finding substantial employment is even harder. These hurdles are why BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihoods for Adolescents (ELA) program is so important. Adolescent girls between the ages of 13-22 can join an ELA “club” and learn essential life skills that touch on family planning, financial literacy, and leadership. The goal of the ELA program is to make girls productive members of society, and to give them a chance at improving their lives,

ELA loan recipient. Photo provided by BRAC Uganda.

paving the way for future generations. Once girls have completed a livelihoods training course in a profession of interest, they can apply for an ELA loan to start a small business of their own. Some of the ELA girls I’ve met are starting food stall businesses selling local Ugandan specialities, others are delving into jewelry or makeup businesses. ELA loans are small in nature and average around $150, but they provide these ambitious girls with the wherewithal to better their lives when circumstances in the past prevented them from doing so. The ELA program would not make nearly as great an impact if it only lent money to adolescents however. The information and sense of  community the program provides and confidence it instills in the girls is what sets it apart from other development initiatives. Additionally, ELA clubs employ adolescent girls aged 19 or older who are already part of the program as mentors responsible for running club activities and leading training courses for younger girls. This provides a role model for younger girls and an additional source of income for the mentors.

What about the boys? Since the BRAC ELA program began in Uganda in 2008, 690 clubs for girls have been started which have reached almost 25,000 adolescents. While the focus of the ELA program is on vulnerable adolescent girls, the program has placed nearly 300 boys through vocational training. I am a proponent for lifting up vulnerable adolescents, girls in particular, but I do think it is imperative that vulnerable boys not be forgotten. BRAC’s vocational training program for boys not only trains orphaned/vulnerable boys in a variety of occupations, including electrical installation, carpentry, and plumbing, but also assists in job creation and job placement for the boys upon the completion of the training. Without this assistance and mentorship, the road these boys would have to travel to become men would be even more difficult and frustrating. Focusing on one half of gender (typically females) can inadvertently set that focused half back and erase any gains that have been made. Although ELA primarily focuses on girls, it was refreshing to see BRAC reaching out to disadvantaged boys.

Women helping women: All of BRAC’s ELA credit officers and program managers are women, which helps solidify the bond and trust girls seek when entering the program. Since many sensitive and possibly taboo topics are discussed, having an accomplished woman to look up to and chat with may make many of these girls days a little easier. If anything, the ELA program provides a refuge for many disadvantaged adolescents, as well as a sense of purpose, some hope, and a reason to lift their heads a little higher than before.

KF Michele Wehle, Kiva Coordinator Sauda Masibo, and ELA Credit Officers at the BRAC Uganda country office

Michele Wehle is a Kiva Fellow working in Kampala, Uganda with Pearl Microfinance Limited and BRAC Uganda. Want to help Pearl Microfinance and BRAC Uganda reach more borrowers? Become a member of their lending teams here: Friends of Pearl Microfinance Limited and Friends of BRAC Uganda.

This week, the fellows in Africa continue to get their bearings in the field. Learn about the importance of trust in Cameroon, find out how political instability affects businesses and microfinance in Uganda, and take a trip to a fellow’s country mountain home in Cameroon.

Trust: Members of a trust group in Rwanda wait for their loan together (by Carolyn Nold)

Instability and Microfinance in Kampala
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Michele Wehle (KF15)
Michele learns about protests in Kampala and their effects on borrowers.

A Little Trust Goes a Long Way
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Carolyn Nold (KF15)
Carolyn shares how the principle of trust allows both her and a Rwandan lending trust group to achieve their goals.

My Country Mountain Home
Country: Cameroon / Fellow: Faith Garlington (KF15)
Faith invites us to her new country mountain home in Uganda, which is a little bit like the one of her childhood in the Smoky Mountains of Knoxville, Tennessee, yet worlds apart.

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Updates from the past month:
Unsung Heroes, Community Alliances + and Mission Statements Made Reality
Personal Connections, Supply and Demand + A Culinary Excursion
Farewells, Mistaken Identities + Micro-Microfinance
Earth Day, Celebrations + Exceeding Expectations
Trash, Delicious Treats + Community Outreach
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Plus more pictures from the past week:

Uganda (by Michele Wehle)

Rwanda (by Carolyn Nold)

Cameroon (by Faith Garlington)

Pearl Microfinance Ltd. "...a choice to success"

I am beginning to feel as if I’m getting a handle on life as a mzungu (foreigner) in my second week as a Kiva Fellow in Kampala. Despite my luggage being lost and having to wear my clothes inside out my first full day in the country, I was excited to start work at Pearl Microfinance Limited. Pearl has been a Kiva partner for almost four years, and does wonderful work with more than 16,000 borrowers throughout Uganda. In fact, Pearl is Kiva’s Partner of the Month for June! No surprise here as Pearl’s staff is a committed and hardworking bunch, and I am very honored to be part of the team. My first day at work started off as I envisioned, and included many warm introductions and to-do lists. When lunch time rolled around, I was treated to my first Ugandan meal of fish in groundnut stew, matooke (mashed bananas similar to plantains), and greens. The food was delicious and the portions monstrous. It quickly dawned on me that intense food comas and weight gain would be in my future if I did not take all necessary precautions.

As my first day of work as a Kiva Fellow was coming to an end, I suddenly heard a loud commotion coming from the street. Extremely curious, I joined several of my colleagues at the window (probably not recommended) and saw that the street right outside of Pearl was completely filled with people shouting and yelling. I wasn’t sure if there was an accident or a mutiny, but my colleagues informed me that people were protesting rising fuel and food prices. Note: Fuel prices have risen more than 50% in the past few months. I asked if protests happened often and in this location, and to my delight I was told yes, this does happen often! In fact many of the government protests over the recent February elections took place in this very location. Apparently many “idle” people frequent this area of Kampala, which brews the perfect opportunity for voicing discontent over government politics and policy. I found myself captivated by this turn of events, but obliged when my responsible Kiva Coordinator named Grace requested that I leave the area before things got worse. What, banish an innocent Kiva Fellow to the rioutous street you ask? Rest assured readers. Both Grace and another dedicated Pearl employee named Richard ensured that I secured a safe and fairly priced boda boda ride, think motorcycle, back to my guesthouse. As I sped away from the commotion, I saw large blue tanks holding the Ugandan police traveling in the opposite direction.

Me, Richard, and Grace at Pearl Microfinance HQ

One would think that as an expat living in Uganda for the first time, make that an expat living and setting foot in Africa for the first time, I would have some trepidation reporting to my second day of work given the circumstances. Despite being utterly exhausted I looked forward to day two at Pearl. I went to work refreshed after a good night sleep and Tuesday started off similarly to Monday. At lunch over another plate of matooke and too many starches to name, I asked Grace if the protests affected the businesses of Pearl’s borrowers. As it turns out, many borrowers with businesses in the area found themselves needing to close shop temporarily due to the instability. This naturally affected borrower’s cash flows and abilities to make timely loan repayments. I reflected on this and added political and economic instability to my mental checklist of why interest rates at MFI’s are higher than some would like. Other items on my mental checklist include transportation costs to obscure field locations, mother nature, and the lack of collateral (to name a few).

My week at Pearl continued with more memorable experiences. One of my favorites was being stuck in a torrential rainstorm enroute to a borrower meeting outside of Kampala with my Field Support Specialist, his Field Support Manager, and a Pearl credit officer. The journey from Pearl went something like this: shared taxi ride to taxi park, traffic, second shared taxi, more traffic, torrential downpour, 30 minute wait under awning of a hair salon in the village, and alas – borrower meeting! If visiting borrowers in Kampala can have this many obstacles, how many more will I face when I trek to rural Uganda? Stay tuned.

In short, my first week as a Kiva Fellow was filled with much excitement, learning, weight gain, understanding, and appreciation. Nothing quite caps off a good first week as a second commotion from the street however. This time the noise wasn’t due to rising fuel prices. When I asked what the commotion was about a colleague responded, “don’t worry, they are just killing a thief!”. I think my time here will be quite an adventure.

Uganda Police Tank

Michele Wehle is a Kiva Fellow working in Kampala, Uganda with Pearl Microfinance Limited and BRAC Uganda. Want to help Pearl Microfinance and BRAC Uganda reach more borrowers? Become a member of their lending teams here: Friends of Pearl Microfinance Limited and Friends of BRAC Uganda.

Personal connections: Kiva borrower, Muhammad, in Sierra Leone looking at the 38 global lenders who funded his loan (by Eric Rindal)

As the 14th class passes the baton to the 15th class, the Kiva fellows are sharing their final thoughts and first impressions. Be inspired by the personal connections Kiva creates between lenders and borrowers in Nepal and Sierra Leone. Find out how a phenomenal harvest can prevent farmers in Nicaragua from repaying their loans. Discover the creative ways of assessing credit worthiness used in Uganda and around the globe. Sample local customs and cuisine, while reading about the Day of the Child in Mexico and taking a culinary excursion in Liberia. Lastly, share the experiences of Kiva fellows across three continents in Colombia, Ghana and Ukraine.

Farewell from the Field
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Claudine Emeott (KF14)
Claudine shares a thank you note she wrote to lenders on behalf of BPV Patan borrowers in Nepal.

Kids Get Their Day
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
April 30th is the Day of the Child in Mexico. John takes this opportunity to shine some light on the many problems children face and how microfinance may help provide a better future for some of them.

Microlending Behind the Scenes: How MFIs Judge Credit Worthiness
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Nila Uthayakumar (KF14)
With their diverse customer base, microfinance institutions must be creative when assessing credit worthiness. Nila illustrates several methods used in individual and solidarity group lending.

Kiva Farmers: A Tale of Irony and Woe in Nicaragua
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
How can a phenomenal harvest be detrimental to farmers? Karen explores how supply and demand affect market prices and the repayment ability of farmers.

Stretching a buck in Monrovia
Country: Liberia / Fellow: Carlos Cruz Montaño (KF14)
A dollar won’t buy you much in most developed countries, but in Liberia it gives you the chance to sample several delicious snacks. Carlos takes us on a culinary tour of Monrovia.

Along the road
Country: Ukraine / Fellow: Jacqueline Gunn (KF14)
You get out what you put in. Jacqueline shares a few of the things she has learned as a Kiva fellow in Ghana and Ukraine.

Faces: How We Connect.
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: Eric Rindal (KF15)
“To touch a person’s heart, you must see a person’s face.” Eric explores how pictures of borrowers and lenders make Kiva a very personal experience.

Video Blog: Interactuar – A Quite Amazing Organisation
Country: Colombia / Fellow: Nick Hamilton (KF14)
Can microloans alone be enough or are support services such as training and consultancy also needed? Nick lets his 2-part video do the talking.

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Updates from the past month:
Farewells, Mistaken Identities + Micro-Microfinance
Earth Day, Celebrations + Exceeding Expectations
Trash, Delicious Treats + Community Outreach
Cute Pigs, New Toilets + Everything is Relative
April Fools, Terrible Coffee + Getting Attached
~

Plus more pictures from the past weeks:

Nepal (by Claudine Emeott)

Mexico (by John Farmer)

Uganda (by Nila Uthayakumar)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Liberia (by Carlos Cruz Montaño)

Ghana (by Jacqueline Gunn)

With the help of several other Fellows in the field

Borrowers of an MCDT solidarity group meet under the shade of a tree in Kampala, Uganda.

I’ve met all kinds of borrowers. From age 16 to 76; from orphans to a former beauty queen; from potato sellers to auto parts saleswomen to motorcycle transportation tycoons. I’ve met them in urban slums, in villages, in homes, on porches, in churches, in community centers, and outside in grassy fields. I’ve listened to their stories, I’ve photographed and filmed them, I’ve played with their children, and I’ve been welcomed into their homes. Two months into my Kiva fellowship, and I am more motivated and inspired than ever. My name is Nila and I live and work in Kampala, Uganda.

What I have understood from these borrowers is that poverty takes many shapes and forms. Poverty can mean desperation and destitution, and it can also mean having to make impossible choices between paying medical bills or school fees. It can mean not having enough food to eat today, or not having a secure enough future to be able to retire. The microloans I have seen in action place into the hands of borrowers the power to shape their own lives. The recipients of these loans are among the most dignified people I have ever met, and when given the chance, these individuals make tremendous improvements in their lives.

Collateral-free Lending to At-Risk Adolescents

The demand for microloans is incredibly high the world over. With the faces and stories of the world’s working poor being so varied and diverse, microfinance institutions must be creative with the methods by which they assess credit worthiness and offer loans, especially in order to lend to hard-to-reach demographic groups.

ELA adolescents club group members beginning a financial literacy class. Photo by James Allman-Gulino

Last week I met with a group of teenage girls who were members of an adolescents club started by the BRAC Uganda office in their area. BRAC Uganda is one of Kiva’s partners in Uganda that makes loans to roughly 800,000 men, women, and adolescent girls in locations spanning the entire country. The adolescents clubs offer a place for teenage girls and young women to meet, make friends, and learn life skills in a supportive environment. Joining a club is also the first step that girls can take to be eligible to receive an adolescent’s loan from BRAC.

To receive a loan, a girl between the ages of 16 to 25 must join a local adolescents club (called an ELA club, which stands for Empowerment and Livelihoods for Adolescents). She pays 2,000 Ugandan Shillings (Ush) or $.83 cents for admission, and after a four week education and training program which covers topics ranging from business skills to family planning to responsibility to one’s community, she is eligible for a loan. When a girl applies for a loan, a BRAC loan officer visits her business and determines its worth and her ability to pay back a loan. Upon approval, the loan applicant will receive between 50,000 Ush (US $20.83) to 100,000 Ush (US $41.67), depending on her business. The girls who take ELA loans continue to receive support from their fellow ELA members and BRAC mentors, and over time become eligible to borrow larger sums of money.

BRAC’s strategy to make loans to this vulnerable demographic group has been highly successful, and it is one of the rare opportunities that young women with no collateral have to receive loans and grow their businesses. In fact, there is no collateral or guarantor required to receive an ELA loan. The loan is given with good faith in the borrower and her business. The best part? ELA loans have a 100% repayment rate.

Group Savings in the Solidarity Lending Model

MCDT borrowers gathering for a group meeting in Kampala, Uganda.

Other microfinance institutions have their own methods to train borrowers and judge their credit worthiness. Prior to BRAC Uganda, I worked with another Kiva partner in Uganda: Microcredit for Development and Transformation (MCDT). A new loan applicant at MCDT is required to complete a business skills training course, and then join a solidarity lending group within her neighborhood. At that point, the loan applicant starts making deposits into a group savings fund, and when her contribution to the fund totals 50,000 Ush (US $20.83) she is eligible for a loan of 100,000 Ush (US $41.67).

When a borrower completes repaying her loan and submits an application to borrow again, all the loan officers sit together and assess her application. They discuss the borrower’s repayment record and consider if the borrower has put a strain on the rest of the solidarity group members. After looking at the borrower’s history, they may give her a step up on the loan (200,000 Ush or $83.34). Each time the borrower applies, she may be eligible for a a higher loan amount, depending on her repayment record. Some MCDT borrowers borrow as much as 2 million Ush (US $831.95).

A CRAN solidarity group meeting in Cape Coast, Ghana. Photo by Mei-ing Cheok

In MCDT’s model, the group savings fund and the group members create the collateral, should a borrower default. In addition, a borrower’s ability to save is used as an indicator of creditworthiness. Varying solidarity group lending methods are used around the world to reach very poor borrowers. From South Africa, Alexis Ditkowsky details the lending process at Women’s Development Business.

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The Group as Collateral

By Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa

Staff from WDB’s Eshowe branch prepare to quiz a new solidarity group about policies and procedures before allowing them to take out their first loan. Photo by Alexis Ditkowsky

The approach of Women’s Development Businesses is very straightforward – they target poor and very poor rural South African women with their microcredit services. Only women in groups of five can take out loans and all loans must be used in support of an income-generating activity.

WDB’s due diligence focuses on ensuring the solidarity of a potential group by asking them questions in the initial interview about their member selection process (the group should be self-selected), their goals, their plans for managing the group (including delinquencies), and if they understand the role of the group as collateral to their WDB loan. In addition to satisfactorily answering these questions, group members must also come from the same village and remain in the same area during the loan term to attend required meetings.

Next up: Orientation. This process lasts several days and provides more in-depth information on WDB’s policies, the responsibilities of the group, the loan application and repayment procedures, and principles for improving their businesses. Once the loan officer thinks the group members are ready, the branch manager conducts a Final Group Evaluation to confirm their understanding of everything they’ve learned in the past few weeks. After that, the group can sign up for their very first loan.

This process may sound arduous and time-consuming but as in the Grameen model, the group IS the collateral. Without a solid group foundation, WDB can’t count on social pressure and community ties to encourage repayment. Plus, with a target of poor and very poor women, WDB doesn’t want to be in the business of taking property or assets from families who are already struggling.

For photos from a Final Group Evaluation and borrower meeting, check out Photos from Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. And click below to watch a short video of the opening hymn at that same meeting.

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The methods used for lending to groups differ from those used to lend to individuals. Many MFIs use individual loans to target entrepreneurs from a slightly higher economic group. Correspondingly, the loan amounts for individual borrowers are often higher than those of solidarity group borrowers, and often require a guarantor. From Bolivia, Clara Vreeken explains the processes that MFIs use to lend to individual borrowers.

Using Economic and Social Evaluations in Individual Lending

By Clara Vreeken, KF 14, Bolivia

Borrowers of the Bolivian MFI, IMPRO. Photo by Clara Vreeken

In Bolivia I am working with two microfinance institutions that lend to individuals: IMPRO and Emprender. These two MFIs manage the risk of individual loans firstly, by asking for guarantors. This guarantor should be a person who owns a house. Secondly, IMPRO and Emprender make loans to borrowers without collateral through agreements with unions and associations. Emprender has a settlement with a transport union in Santa Cruz, and IMPRO with a milk producer association near La Paz. Clients do not need a guarantor for their loan, but just need to get permission from their union or association.

Before lending, the loan officers of these institutions visit the borrowers at home to verify and list their possessions (television, dvd player, refrigerator, etc.). They also analyze how much the entrepreneur earns and what costs he or she has, as well as factor in whether the borrower has taken loans from other institutions. With this information the loan officers calculate how much money will be left every month to repay the loan. Neither microfinance institution lends more than the clients can afford.

In addition to the economic evaluation, IMPRO also performs a social evaluation of every borrower. The loan officers ask questions about the borrower’s education, whether his or her children go to school, and whether he or she has insurance. They also ask specific questions about the borrower’s home; for example, whether he or she owns or rents, if the house is made of clay or bricks, the number rooms in the house, if there is power and water, and so on. In the end, the loan officer judges the client’s economic status. When the borrower is very poor IMPRO provides the loan with a lower interest rate.

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Some MFIs take the process of verifying creditworthiness even further. Although similar to the methods employed in Bolivia by IMPRO and Emprender, Karen Gray explains how her MFI adds to the process by using formal credit checks, personal references, and detailed inventories.

Credit Bureaus, References, and Inventories in Individual Lending

By Karen Gray, KF 14, Nicaragua

I recently joined a credit officer from MíCrédito in Nicaragua, on a loan application visit. The potential borrower was Kelly. She owns a shop in the town of Estelí and she sells essential items and tortillas. Kelly had applied for a $500 loan to buy basic inventory such as rice, sugar, and cooking oil to sell in her shop, as well as gas for cooking.

Kelly in her general store while a MiCredito loan officer inventories her assets. Photo by Karen Gray

To be considered for a loan at MíCrédito:

The borrower must have:

1. A national identification card

2. A guarantor

3. Collateral

4. Been in their business for at least a year

In the next step in the loan process, every borrower is checked against a credit bureau, either TransUnion or SinRiesgo, for outstanding debt. Each loan guarantor is also checked for debt. Then, the credit officer visits the borrower to collect information and make a very detailed list of all assets. The borrower is also asked to provide three names of neighbors who will serve as personal references.

In the case of Kelly, we counted all the goods in her shop, including the exact number of bags of sugar of the shelf, number of soup packets, and number of tortillas for sale at that moment. We also recorded the cost of these goods to Kelly, versus the retail price of the goods. After that, we wrote down the serial numbers of Kelly’s refrigerator and TV, and we noted the pieces of furniture she owned: a table and chairs, and a shop display case.

In addition to the thorough inventory, the credit officer inquired in detail about monthly sales and purchases in Kelly’s shop, as well as the cost of utilities. The credit officer also asked about the employment and financial status of her spouse. In the end, the credit officer did a simple calculation: earnings minus costs, to determine if the client can make the monthly loan payment. Finally, the information collected was reviewed by the Estelí branch manager of MiCredito, before the loan was approved.

The result of this long process was that Kelly was posted on the Kiva website as a borrower and received her $500 loan.

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What we can gather from the methods of these MFIs is that making loans to the world’s working poor involves much more than just the transfer of cash. Borrowers are not homogeneous and varying lending methods and credit worthiness assessments are required to reach diverse populations with differing needs. Kiva relies on its field partners for their on-the-ground expertise and know-how and without them Kiva loans wouldn’t be possible!

***

Check out Nila’s other blog posts:

The View from the Ground

In Defense of “High” MFI Interest Rates: Part II

Video Blog: The Story of Lini Nanyonga

Video Blog: The Kiva Story

My Heart has Taken Root

Note: This post was written approximately a month ago and Nila has since started her second KF15 placement in Kenya. She is currently serving as a roaming fellow based in Nairobi, Kenya, working with Kiva partners Juhudi Kilimo and Faulu.

Most of the photos for April Fools' Day were ready before we even hatched our plans (Cambodia pictured)

We hope you enjoyed our April Fools post on Friday! While we were entertaining ourselves pulling it all together, we also found the time to attend to some serious matters: coffee in Colombia is no joke (in a bad way), some borrowers are easier to locate than others, and oftentimes Fellows must say goodbye to people and places before they’re ready to. We also learned about the “No Pago” movement in Nicaragua, the elections in Peru, what daily life is like for a Fellow in Bolivia, and how to sensibly and respectfully collect past-due payments in Ghana. Somehow there was even time to host a previous Fellow and a documentary film student in Colombia and to visit borrowers, eat chocolate, and stop for the view in Armenia.

A Movement called No Pago / Un Movimiento se llama No Pago
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
Karen provides helpful context for the “No Pago” (or “No Pay”) movement in Nicaragua and what her partner microfinance institution is doing to ensure that it only signs on clients who are willing and able to pay back their loans.

Why does most coffee in Colombia taste like dishwater?
Country: Colombia / Fellow: Nick Hamilton (KF14)
It’s safe to say that Nick’s high expectations for coffee in Columbia have been shattered by reality: the best coffee is exported and what’s left is pretty much unpalatable. Poor guy!

Blast from the Past: KF7 turned microfinance professor visits Colombia to do field research
Country: Colombia / Fellow: John Gwillim (KF14)
Catching up with Fellows is always a treat, particularly when they visit with a documentary film student in tow and a presentation about microfinance models to share with your MFI.

Performing meaningful work for Kiva while learning a new culture
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Clara Vreeken (KF14)
Clara walks us through her day-to-day life as a Kiva Fellow in La Paz: giving trainings, meeting with clients at the office and at their businesses, updating lenders, and enjoying the opportunity to speak Spanish.

Owe Money, Pay Money
Country: Ghana / Fellow: Mei-ing Cheok (KF14)
Mei-ing is very relieved that her partner microfinance institution takes a much gentler and more respectful approach to collecting on delinquent loans than loan sharks back in her native Singapore.

What was your last business trip like?
Country: Peru / Fellow: Noreen Giga (KF14)
From the city to the mountains to the jungle and back again, Noreen battles altitude sickness, temperature changes, and limited transportation options in her attempts (only some of which were successful) to meet with Kiva clients.

My Heart has Taken Root
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Nila Uthayakumar (KF14)
Knowing that her time was limited, Nila tried to resist getting attached to Uganda. But the people, markets, and natural beauty of her home for the past two months pushed back and she now finds herself utterly enchanted just as she prepares to leave.

In Peru, the race for President heats up
Country: Peru / Fellow: Geeta Uhl (KF14)
Geeta provides a thorough run-down of Peru’s presidential candidates and some of their, um, colorful campaign slogans.

Special Update from the Field: Beaches, Safaris + Cambodian Glamour Shots
Countries: South Africa, Armenia, Cambodia, Mexico, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Peru, Rwanda, Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Benin, Indonesia / Fellows: Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14) with the 14th class of Kiva Fellows
In case you missed our hard-hitting April Fools’ Day coverage of what being a Kiva Fellow is REALLY like, you can revisit examples of how to sleep through reporting, torture your coworkers with your karaoke stylings, fabricate excuses to go to the beach, and so much more.

“The Good Family”
Country: Armenia / Fellow: Caree Edson (KF14)
Caree’s been on a winning streak during her past few visits to the field: chocolate, coffee, beautiful views, adorable livestock, and meeting with friendly borrowers tends to make for a pretty great day.

~
Previous updates from the field:
Social Quirks, Justin Bieber + Lots of Carbs
Fun Facts, Field Visits + Back to Basics
Carnival, Collaboration + Cheese-Making
Man’s Day, Singing Fellows + Learning How to Count
Videos, Epic Commutes + Going Beyond Microfinance
“Christmas”, Trekking, Adversity + Good Company
~

Plus more pictures from this past week:

Ghana (by Mei-ing Cheok)

Bolivia (by Clara Vreeken)

Peru (by Noreen Giga)

Peru (by Geeta Uhl)

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

Colombia (by Nick Hamilton)

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Uganda (by Nila Uthayakumar)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Where Kiva Fellows actually spend their time (Indonesia pictured)

Kiva Fellows are nothing if not creative. We’ve gone to elaborate lengths to convince you that it can be hard to visit borrowers and that when we’re not trekking for miles, we’re doing elaborate calculations or dealing with databases and reporting. In truth, it’s all a front for an extended holiday from our regular lives. You thought our recent Carnival coverage (here and here) represented a change of pace? Think again!

Frolicking at Foreign Monuments
Country: Armenia / Fellow: Caree Edson (KF14)
While masquerading as a Kiva Fellow in Armenia, Caree is actually spending her time decorating ancient monuments and historical sites.

Safaris in Swaziland
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
Why work on deliverables when you can be hanging out with rhinos? The alleged “border run” is a favorite work-avoidance tactic for Kiva Fellows.

Pretending to be a Princess
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Stephanie Sibal (KF14)
Not only does Stephanie spend all day dressed up as a Khmer Princess, she also documents her transformation in professional Cambodian glamour shots.

Going out into the field but only if there’s food involved
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
One Kiva Fellow does actually meet with borrowers, but only if there’s food involved. John followed up his recent visit to a tamaleria with a very important stop at the ice cream shop.

Staying Hydrated
Country: Ghana / Fellow: Mei-ing Cheok (KF14)
Mei-ing takes her health and hydration very seriously. Fortunately, she has discovered the wholesome goodness of Star beer, which she claims has prevented heat strokes on many an occasion.

Jungling and Rivering
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Nila Uthayakumar (KF14)
Nila was intrigued by the similarities between her name and the infamous River Nile, which proved to be as good an excuse as any to leave the office. She’s since been investigating the coincidence by traipsing through tropical forest and lounging by the river’s source in Jinja, Uganda.

It’s getting hot in here
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: David McNeill (KF14)
Did you know it’s hot in Sierra Leone? Like, really hot? Fortunately, David planned ahead and packed a hammock. Good luck to anyone who tries to pry him from it in the middle of the day.

Karaoke in Chiclayo
Country: Peru / Fellow: Sherrise Pond (KF14)
Sherrise spends most of her free time entertaining the residents of Chiclayo with her tone-deaf singing at Karaoke bars all around town. As Sherrise has been heard to say, “Any time of the day or night, it’s time to pass the mic!”

Watching the Wheels
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Adam Cohn (KF14)
Adam has chosen to indulge in the Rwandan pastime of lying by the side of the road, watching traffic go by. Adam prefers his choice spot above Lake Burera to staring at his laptop at the MFI head office, but plans to leave just in time to catch a flight to Bangkok in May.

Always Ready for Winter
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Clara Vreeken (KF14)
Clara’s been wearing a winter hat since her first day in Bolivia and chances are pretty good that she won’t remove it until long after she leaves. (She’s discovered that Bolivia can be surprisingly cold and you never know what the weather will be like in the Netherlands.)

Mud Man
Country: Colombia / Fellow: John Gwillim (KF14)
For centuries, locals near the Cartagena/Barranquilla mud volcano have warned tourists about the the mud’s transformative properties but John just wouldn’t listen. They fear that he’s become the latest incarnation of “Mud Man”, destined to aimlessly roam the countryside until the mud finally washes off.

Life of Leisure
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
Karen is taking her Kiva Vacation, er, Fellowship very seriously. From eating cheese to smoking cigars to just being a vaquera on horseback, she’s loving the opportunity to kick back, relax, and practice her español.

Let’s go fly a kite
Country: Benin / Fellow: Gareth Davies (KF14)
Aside from trying to keep his head above water while running the Kiva operations at his MFI, Gareth is testing out new eco-friendly travel methods which he hopes will “take-off” in Benin.

Playing on the Playa in Peru
Country: Peru / Fellows: Geeta Uhl (KF14) & Noreen Giga (KF14)
Geeta was sick of the torrential rains in Ayacucho and Noreen couldn’t stand the crowds in Lima, so they decided to stay put at the Playa San Bartolo. These super Fellows are making great progress on their Peruvian tans!

And an epic update from Lisa in West Timor:

What’s the point of being on an island if you can’t go surfing all the time?
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Lisa Skowron (KF14)
Lisa writes, “Sorry to break the news to you, but there has been some fallacy in my past blog posts about my ‘experiences in the field.’ I arrived in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia in late January bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to make a difference in the world working with TLM. However, I found that Edwin Au-Young (KF13) had already done all the work and TLM was running like an all-star, well-oiled machine. So what is a girl to do in that scenario after trekking 9,519 miles from Chicago? Surf!

The next morning I took the ferry out to Rote, an island 2 hours off the coast of West Timor, and began practicing my surfing skills. Now that I’ve spent 99.9% of my time in Indonesia surfing (sorry Kiva!), I’ll be competing in the Oakley Pro 11 in Bali. I hope to make the highlights reel with my wicked backhand re-entry!! Win or lose, at least I’ll get to spend the week partying it up!”

Plus more pictures from “the field”:

Indonesia (by Lisa Skowron)

Mexico (by John Farmer)

Cambodia (by Stephanie Sibal)

Sierra Leone (by David McNeill)

Ghana (by Mei-ing Cheok)

Uganda (by Nila Uthayakumar)

Swaziland (by Alexis Ditkowsky)

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Bolivia (by Clara Vreeken)

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Rwanda (by Adam Cohn)

Peru (by Sherrise Pond)

Benin (by Gareth Davies)

Peru (by Geeta Uhl and Noreen Giga)

The Source of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda

Nila Uthayakumar, KF14, Uganda

My Rough Guide to Kenya has been open face down on my desk for the past few days. My time in Uganda has been incredible. I have seen and experienced so much in such a short period. Like my life has been on fast forward. This country captured me instantly. Drew me in. And held me close. Whispering. This land is unlike any other.

But it seemed as if from the moment I set foot upon this soil, my presence so fleeting, that my footprints would disappear almost instantaneously. I knew I would be here for only two months. And my heart didn’t want to take root.

This city built on seven hills. Kampala. I’ve relished her. Hours spent on the back of motorcycles and stuffed in share-taxis. Open air markets. Shoulder to shoulder. Senses ablaze. Rainforest and a roaring river. Ubiquitous orange dust. Mud-caked and stained. Friendships. The kindness of strangers. Lives so vastly different, yet so much alike. Laughter and pain, sometimes one and the same. Like a cartographer’s quill, my mind races to fill in the blanks. I am at a loss. Restless.

I’ve lived in East Africa for more than eight months now. I wonder to myself if I am a different person from the girl who bounded aboard the flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last May. Heart aflutter, mind racing, ready to embark upon the next chapter of my life. I suppose I was always a romantic, an explorer. My gaze was always upward, towards the horizon. I dreamt of far away places.

The French call it Le Mal d’Afrique. An illness, a disease. This continent, she will rob you when you least expect. Everything you ever thought you needed and desired will be replaced with just one thing. You will feel and behave as though you were making your own choices, but they won’t be yours, because from the moment you’re infected every decision you make will lead you back to her.

But for me, it is that and so much more. It feels as though one has awoken from dormancy. As if emerging from a cocoon of silk, feeling sensations anew. The burn of the sun on the back of the neck; the tingle of the breeze as it grazes the lips. Like one could unfurl limitless possibilities, entire worlds with each pealing layer.

If fury and euphoria were one, and infinity stretched between my thumb and forefinger, I would pinch the threads of time. And if I thought this feeling in my chest would dissipate, those threads would transform and ensnare me. My heart has taken root.

Nila Uthayakumar is currently finishing up her Kiva fellowship in Kampala, Uganda. She had the pleasure of working with two Kiva field partners, MCDT and BRAC Uganda, and is looking forward to working with several more partners in Kenya. She is moving next week!

This week, take a trip to the field with Kiva Fellows (Mexico pictured)

For many Fellows, this week was about getting back to basics: the borrowers. In between fun facts about Kiva Fellowships, doing database detective work, and reflecting on the internal dynamics of Kiva’s partner microfinance institutions, Fellows found themselves in the field again and again, much to their delight and often to the delight of borrowers. From Latin America to Africa to the Caucasus to Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe, meet Kiva clients, learn about their businesses, and check out all of the great photos.

Kiva Fellows by the Numbers
Countries: Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Mexico, Ghana, Uganda, Mongolia, Ukraine, Nepal, Peru, Cambodia, Indonesia, Liberia, Guatemala, South Africa, Colombia, Bolivia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan / Fellows: By David McNeill (KF14) & Adam Cohn (KF14) but featuring the entire 14th class
Ever wonder how far Fellows travel for their placements or how slow the Internet really is in Liberia? And did you know that you can buy Coca-Cola in a plastic bag for $.15 in Cambodia? Discover more fun facts about Kiva Fellowships in this post and the accompanying spreadsheet.

Death By Fire
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
John considers the tension between business and family after meeting a borrower who successfully used microloans to set up a tamale shop but hesitates to make an expensive investment even though it would improve her family’s health.

Database Detective: South Africa Edition
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
For those of you who like reading about databases and reporting, Alexis has you covered. For everyone else who wants to visit a borrower, learn about her business, and look at lots of pictures, you’re taken care of, too.

Get into the groove
Country: Ukraine / Fellow: Jacqueline Gunn (KF14)
Jacqueline finally finds a cure for the shock of moving from Ghana to Ukraine in the middle of winter: visiting borrowers! Get to know Sergei, Yana, and Irina and learn about the philosophies behind their businesses.

Piece by Piece: The Garment Worker’s Loan
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Stephanie Sibal (KF14)
Stephanie introduces us to the challenges of working in the garment industry through Sok, a Kiva client. Thanks to a recent loan, Sok purchased a cow which she hopes will increase her family’s income stream so she can send her sons to university one day.

Realities Of Microfinance In Benin. (Part 1, The White Man)
Country: Benin / Fellow: Gareth Davies (KF14)
In case you thought that picking up and moving to another part of the world was easy, Gareth explains some of the new realities he’s encountered as a white man in Benin.

Women Working for Women: Staff + Client Collaboration in Nepal
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Claudine Emeott (KF14)
BPW Nepal not only serves women through its loan products and personable customer service, it also provides a warm and supportive environment for its staff, management, and board members, the vast majority of whom are female.

New Horizons- A Fellow’s First Field Visit
Country: Armenia / Fellow: Caree Edson (KF14)
Caree’s first trip into the field was definitely worth the wait. In addition to being welcomed with cake and chocolate at the New Horizons office, she learns more about their loan products and partnerships, meets several borrowers with very distinct businesses, and eats lunch at “indisputably the most beautiful place in Armenia”.

~
Previous updates from the field:
Carnival, Collaboration + Cheese-Making
Man’s Day, Singing Fellows + Learning How to Count
Videos, Epic Commutes + Going Beyond Microfinance
“Christmas”, Trekking, Adversity + Good Company
~

Plus more pictures from this past week:

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Mexico (by John Farmer)

Ukraine (by Jacqueline Gunn)

Nepal (by Claudine Emeott)

South Africa (by Alexis Ditkowsky)

Cambodia (by Stephanie Sibal)

Last week, Kiva Fellows took you to places you may not have known existed (West Timor, Indonesia, pictured)

The Fellows will be covering International Women’s Day later this week but let’s take a moment to acknowledge its lesser-known cousin in Kyrgyzstan, “Man’s Day”. And while you’re appreciating culture and history in far-off places, take a trip to Peru and West Timor through photos, visit borrowers in Uganda and Rwanda through video, learn a little something about communicating in South Africa, and catch up on the latest from Liberia, Ghana, and Mexico (home to the “Singing Fellow”).

What does Lima look like?
Country: Peru / Fellow: Noreen Giga (KF14)
Find out why Lima is nicknamed “El Pulpo” (“The Octopus”) and learn about an unusual local business: transporting a washing machine around the neighborhood and renting it by the hour.

The Meaning of “Now” in South Africa
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
“Just now” and “now” are much fuzzier concepts than a type-A American was prepared for. Plus pick up a few more South African-isms in the post and in the comments.

Knowing and Understanding, Saber y Entender
Country: Liberia / Fellow: Carlos Cruz Montano (KF14)
Carlos explores some of the barriers to understanding between borrowers and microfinance institutions (MFIs) through examples from Liberia, Paraguay, and Guatemala.

The Rookie (El Novato)
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
The most important thing you need to know about this post is that there’s a video of John singing his own song about microfinance, a highlight from his 45 hours of loan officer training.

Video Blog: The Kiva Story
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Nila Uthayakumar (KF14)
This week, Nila introduces us Adella, Deborah, and Florence, three borrowers who discuss their loans, their businesses, and how they’ve used their profits.

Video Blog: Francoise, A Kiva Borrower’s Story
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Adam Cohn (KF14)
Bright colors, catchy music, and the story of Francoise, a smiling borrower who started with a $25 World Relief grant and is now her family’s breadwinner.

Gone Fishing
Country: Ghana / Fellow: Mei-Ing Cheok (KF14)
Mei-Ing gives a detailed overview of the fishing industry in Ghana and how recent government regulations are impacting lending decisions at her microfinance institution.

Huh, There’s a West Timor?
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Lisa Skowron (KF14)
In case you weren’t familiar with West Timor, Lisa shares a gorgeous slideshow from her first month plus some startling statistics about Indonesia’s poorest province.

Ensuring a manly man’s day
Country: Kyrgyzstan / Fellow: Charlie Wood (KF14)
Kiva Fellows learn about and participate in a wide range of local holidays. Charlie appropriately celebrates Man’s Day in Kyrgyzstan with a trip to an entrepreneurial eagle hunter.

The next generation of microentrepreneurs
Country: Peru / Fellow: Geeta Uhl (KF14)
Jumping off of last week’s post “Kiva Field Partners: More than just microfinance“, Geeta describes how her partner offers classes and activities for children of borrowers.

Five things you may not know about Rwanda
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Michelle Curtis (KF13)
Before saying goodbye to Rwanda, Michelle shares some of the important things she’s learned, including how to count with her fingers. (FYI, five is a fist and seven is a fist with two fingers poking over the top like rabbit ears.)

~
Previous updates from the field:
Videos, Epic Commutes + Going Beyond Microfinance
“Christmas”, Trekking, Adversity + Good Company
~

Plus more pictures from this past week:

Peru (by Noreen Giga)

Ghana (by Mei-Ing Cheok)

Indonesia (by Lisa Skowron)

Guatemala (by Carlos Cruz Montano)

South Africa (by Alexis Ditkowsky)

Nila is a Kiva Fellow living in Kampala, Uganda. She looks forward to working with several Kiva partner MFIs in Uganda and Kenya over the next few months.

Kiva's microfinance partners often provide services beyond finance, including housing (pictured above in Colombia), education, energy, agriculture, hospitality, business, women's rights, community, and culture.

Another week, another incredible range of dispatches from around the world. Several Fellows told their stories with video and pictures while others took time to reflect on the state of microfinance as a global industry and in their respective countries. And what would a week in the field be without getting to know a few borrowers? Plus, scroll to the end of the post for pictures you may have missed the first time around.

Video Blog – The Life Of A Kiva Fellow
Country: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia / Fellow: Nick Hamilton (KF13, KF14)
Need a break from reading about what Kiva Fellows do? Then watch Nick’s video for a fun yet informative overview. (Don’t let the opening scenes on the beach fool you – being a Kiva Fellow is a lot of work.)

Video Blog: The Story of Lini Nanyonga
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Nila Uthayakumar (KF14)
Nila introduces us to Lini Nanyonga, a microfinance client in Uganda. Learn more about her business, how she used her loan, and her hopes for the future in this short video.

A Kiva Fellow’s Photo Album: Six Months Along The Equator
Country: Ecuador, Kenya / Fellow: Tara Capsuto (KF12, KF13)
Tara tries to find the words to describe her Kiva Fellowships but ends up letting photos of local foods, finding borrowers, hanging with Kiva Coordinators, and much more speak for themselves.

Ten interviews with Mongolian entrepreneurs
Country: Mongolia / Fellow: Amber Barger (KF14)
Be sure to click on each picture in Amber’s post for business updates from a meat saleswoman, a painter, a cook, a car repairman/builder of low-income housing, and five other borrowers.

Participating in the Dialogue: The Role of Microfinance Critics (Part 2)
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Julie Shea (KF13)
Julie responds to some of the controversial statements being made about microfinance with the story of CIDRE, the microfinance institution she’s been working with in Bolivia, and a round-up of related links.

Kiva Field Partners: More than just microfinance
Country: Colombia / Fellow: John Gwillim (KF14)
As John details in his post, Kiva’s partners often provide services well outside the scope of traditional microfinance. In addition to examples from Colombia, read more about programs in Ghana, Paraguay, and Peru.

Money, Money, Everywhere
Country: Benin / Fellow: Gareth Davies (KF14)
Gareth makes thoughtful and stirring connections between Samuel Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and economic activity in Benin.

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Landscape of Microfinance in Nepal
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Claudine Emeott (KF14)
Access to finance and microfinance in Nepal is directly related to geography – the higher you climb, the fewer the options. Claudine lays out the current situation while pointing to some promising developments.

The Highland Commute
Country: Guatemala / Fellow: Gustavo Visalli (KF14)
Gustavo gives us a taste of his daily commute in Guatemala. Find out how he survives “The Sardine Act”, “The Highway Shoulder Hike”, and “El Carnicero” (aka “The Butcher”).

Cindy’s Baptism by Onions
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
The first visit to the field is just as exciting for new microfinance staff as it is for Kiva Fellows. While there are always challenges (often related to transportation), there can be unexpected surprises, too.

Microfinance Marketing 101: The Loan Officer
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Stephanie Sibal (KF14)
As Stephanie writes, loan officers not only tackle on-the-ground PR for a microfinance organization, they also play an essential role in marketing, customer service, product feedback, and, of course, loan administration.

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Previous updates from the field:
“Christmas”, Trekking, Adversity + Good Company
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Plus more pictures from this past week:

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Guatemala (by Gustavo Visalli)

Kenya (by Tara Capsuto)

Bolivia (by Julie Shea)

Mongolia (by Amber Barger)

Nepal (by Claudine Emeott)

Nila has just arrived in Kampala, Uganda after having spent six months in Zanzibar, Tanzania last year. She considers East Africa home now, and looks forward to working with several Kiva partner microfinance institutions throughout the next few months in Uganda and Kenya.

Fellows wrote about visiting with borrowers and so much more (South African clients pictured above)

Members of the 14th class of Kiva Fellows have officially hit their stride. While we never know where the next dispatch will come from or what interesting topics the Fellows will cover next, we always know we’ll be transported, entertained, and edified. This past week, topics included “Christmas”, trekking to a remote village (with video!), handling adversity (including a serious car accident and stolen electronics), and enjoying the company of loan officers, borrowers, and community members. Enjoy!
 
First Borrower Visit (Take 350+)
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
A Fellow’s “First Borrower Visit” is a rite of passage. Alexis lists a few highlights from her first time in the field.

In Defense of “High” MFI Interest Rates: Part II
Country: Uganda / Fellow: Nila Uthayakumar (KF14)
Nila demonstrates just how expensive it is to run a microfinance organization by sharing her partner MFI’s budget.

Hey, Soul Sisters!
Country: Ghana / Fellow: Mei-ing Cheok (KF14)
Mei-ing meets with her first group of borrowers in Ghana and shares their stories on the blog and on Kiva.org (click on the links at the end of her post).

Part 4: What is the industry doing to protect borrowers?
Country: Ghana, Ukraine / Fellow: Jacqueline Gunn (KF13, KF14)
Even though she’s in transit between Ghana and Ukraine, Jacqueline weighs in on borrower protection in this on-going series about the state of microfinance.

A Post about Nothing
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
John recounts a wonderful and rewarding day in the life of a Kiva Fellow that unfortunately ended on a disappointing note.

A Month in Armenia
Country: Armenia / Fellow: Caree Edson (KF14)
While Caree’s past week in Armenia has been shaped by a serious car accident, she writes beautifully about both the challenges and joys of her new home.

Video Blog: Trek to Kanaan Village
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Lisa Skowron (KF14)
Lisa’s post is a perfect visual companion to Nila’s defense of “high” interest rates. Just wait for the part where a loan officer tries to drive a scooter through a river so he can (eventually) visit a client.

Next Steps for Kiva’s Partner in South Africa
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
In addition to a behind-the-scenes look at Kiva’s partner in South Africa, Alexis shares pictures from training loan officers and visiting new borrowers.

Lessons from my own Country – Lecciones de mi Tierra
Country: Mexico / Fellow: Lourdes Toussaint (KF13)
Lourdes reflects on the impact of poverty in her home country, the limitations and opportunities of microfinance, and the fantastic women she’s met in the past few months.

Christmas in Managua
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
What does it feel like to turn down a struggling family for a microloan? Karen paints a dispiriting yet honest picture.

The Financial Donut Hole
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: David McNeill (KF14)
Where do entrepreneurs go for financing if microloans are too small and bank loans are unattainable? David’s conversation with a taxi driver in Freetown illustrates this conundrum perfectly.

Bolivian Kiva borrowers: buying a cow, selling food, acquiring sewing machines and constructing rooms
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Clara Vreeken (KF14)
Clara introduces us to borrowers in Bolivia and shares the wide range of ways they’re using their loans.

Check out all the posts from this past week

On the one-year anniversary of Eva Wu’s blog post entitled In Defense of “High” MFI Interest Rates, I was inspired to write a post on this exact topic. The date of this post is a coincidence, as I was actually inspired by the concerns of a group of friends I met with last week. They inundated me with questions: Why is it that microfinance institutions (MFIs) all over the world charge interest rates between 30 to 60% or even higher in many cases? Are they all predatory organizations, profiting from the hard earned money of the world’s working poor? How are these astronomical interest rates even remotely justifiable?

As they asked me these questions, I found that I was repeating myself in answering them. It is expensive to run an MFI. There are bad roads and very high transportation costs, it is time consuming to make visits to borrowers, borrowers often do not have collateral and loans are given to solidarity groups whose members guarantee each other’s loans, and borrower default is also a problem. These are but a handful of the issues that make microlending very different from traditional banking. Still, as I explained, I was not convinced myself. I wanted to see some numbers.

I am currently supporting a Kiva field partner based in Kampala, Uganda called MCDT. MCDT charges its borrowers 2.5% monthly interest or 30% interest per year, plus other fees. With the fees added to the interest rate, the portfolio yield (interest income earned plus fees divided by the total loan portfolio) is 64.5% per year. Does that figure shock some of you? It was difficult for even me to wrap my head around why my MFI needs to charge that much to its borrowers to stay in business, and I am in Kampala working in the middle of it all. A quick check of MCDT’s budget clarified that question for me. Here is the breakdown:

Currency is given in Ugandan Shillings on the left and US Dollars on the right. The exchange rate used is 2,358.49 USh to the US dollar.

* MCDT banks with commercial banks. They have savings and checking accounts, and also make wire transfers, etc.

**This includes employee severance packages, a basic lunch for the staff, gifts of appreciation for employees during the Christmas season, and similar staff morale expenses.

***Although Kiva’s loans are interest free, MCDT works with other sources of funding that do charge them interest (i.e. Stromme Foundation)

****MCDT is a Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO), which means each of its borrowers are considered members and own shares in the company. The members are trained in business strategies and are given support as long as they are MCDT borrowers.

So, after all of MCDT’s expenses are covered, they are left with about $10,000 in profit, which they use to expand their business and make more loans to people who do not have access to affordable credit. There were a total of 15 employees at MCDT in 2010, which makes the average salary $4,507.

I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves and let you draw your own conclusions.

Special thanks to MCDT for access to the figures. How’s that for transparency.

Nila has just arrived in Kampala, Uganda after having spent six months in Zanzibar, Tanzania last year. She considers East Africa home now, and looks forward to working with several Kiva partner microfinance institutions throughout the next few months in Uganda and Kenya.

Mindblank! Recently I have been at a loss for words, and haven’t felt so compelled to share anything on the blog. Instead I decided to focus my efforts on producing a video of my time in the field as a Kiva fellow. One of the most amazing parts of being a Kiva fellow is the beautiful meetings you have with microfinance clients. In these sessions you have the opportunity to chat with borrowers about anything and everything. At the end of an interview we all commonly ask borrowers what are their hopes and dreams for the future.

This video compiles footage of 6 months as a kiva fellow in the Philippines and Uganda, interviewing over 50 microfinance clients. Each business was different, but the purpose of these businesses were often the same. All of these clients were happy that with their loan, and increased business profits, they could send their children to school, to support their family, and to improve their living.  To many this is a massive acheivement.

In this way microfinance is not only empowering individuals from the developing world, but also giving their children the opportunity to dream, and to think big. I believe the real benefits of microfinance will be seen in future generations of children who were educated from the proceeds of these microloans.

The microfinance industry is often under scrutiny, and the economics have a way of turning a seemingly simple concept into a complex one. I believe beneath this scrutiny and apparent complexity it is important to remember the heart of microfinance. Why it happens. Why the need for capital started in the first place. Why people aspire to improve their business. Beneath interest rates, repayments, foreign exchange fluctuations, microfinance institutes, and so on, the heart of the matter is this…..

Anna Cleal, KF13 has recently completed her final fellowship in Uganda.  She loved every minute of her time in the field especially the opportunity to meet and work with such amazing people in both the Philippines and Uganda.  After 6 months in the field she remains an avid Kiva supporter and will continue to lend to the organisation.

Sam the loan officer counting loan repayments

By Nila Uthayakumar, KF 14, Uganda

Tuesday morning. It was just my second day at Micro Credit for Development and Transformation (MCDT), a Kiva partner microfinance bank based in Kampala, Uganda. I sat at the helm of a grouping of desks in an airy room within an office building perched at the very tip-top of a hill in Kampala. What a view. Of the city, but also of the four loan officers preparing to go into the field and meet with their borrowers. I looked out of the window, and then back at the people in the room. How did I get here again?

I needed to remind myself, lest I forgot. It had been the most intense month and a half of my life. In the beginning of December I was still living in Zanzibar, Tanzania. More specifically, I was painfully packing away six months into my backpack and getting ready to visit the States. I would be home for a month and a half, (although home for me is relative at this point), and I had an expanding to-do list to address. Most importantly, I was to attend Kiva Fellows training in San Francisco in January. I, along with a group of nineteen others, was going to be taught how to be Kiva’s eyes and ears on the ground. What exactly that meant, I could not have possibly known until I got to “the ground.”

“The ground” is an appropriate title for the space that I occupy at the moment, especially relative to where I was before. Let me explain. To understand and appreciate what goes into a microfinance institution’s day-to-day operation from the cloud of the internet is impossible. On the internet, Kiva’s partner microfinance institutions have profiles, and so do their borrowers. Information fits into boxes, and statistics are given in percentages. It is neat and tidy. Here where I am, on the ground, it is anything but…

On the ground, files and records are tied up with string and stacked up in corners; infrastructure is lacking and the streets turn into muddy rivers with the onslaught of tropical rain; computer systems crawl at speeds that rival that of molasses; and operations during elections must be carefully planned in case of civil unrest. On Tuesday at 9 AM, I left for the field with Sam, a loan officer working for MCDT. Shirt and pants pressed, and paperwork neatly tucked away into his bag, Sam marched like a man on a mission straight into Kampala’s dusty, chaotic cacophony of a city center, with me trying madly not to fall behind.

We boarded a share-taxi and first made our way to a commercial bank where we received loan funds that would be dispersed that day to borrowers. Next, we boarded another share-taxi that took us up and down several hills and dropped us off at a share-taxi stand. Then we walked for about ten minutes and arrived at a street corner, at which point Sam negotiated with a motorcycle taxi (called a boda boda here in Uganda) and we hopped aboard. The boda boda dropped the two of us off at the city’s edge where we walked into a small room with several benches, and about ten Kiva borrowers awaiting our arrival. It was 11 AM, and we had just started.

It started to rain shortly after we arrived at our meeting with the Kiva borrowers, and although Sam and I had escaped the rain, some of the people we were meeting with had not. To add, school had just gotten back in session, and many had to drop their children off beforehand. So, of the forty total women we were to see, only a handful made it within the first two hours of the meeting. None of this resulted in so much as a crease of tension on Sam’s face, however. It was business as usual and he rolled with the punches.

Kiva Borrower meeting

Sam spent the next four hours collecting loan repayments, counting and recounting stacks of money, filling out form after logbook, and handing out loan dispersals. I did a lot of watching, sitting, and chatting with borrowers. During the course of the day, there was one thing that I did contribute: I conducted a Kiva borrower interview for a woman named Hadijja. Hadijja will be receiving a loan that will be funded through Kiva’s website, and I had the pleasure of asking her some questions so that Kiva lenders can know a bit about her and her business when they lend to her. Near the end of the interview, I asked Hadijja why she chose to work with MCDT instead of the several other microfinance institutions in Kampala. Her response to my question was that MCDT’s interest rates were low and affordable. And that is when everything I had seen that day became real.

Microfinance is rough. It involves long distances, long waits, long rides, and long days. Microfinance is also expensive. It took Sam and me four share-taxis and a boda boda to get where we were going and back. Some of the Kiva borrowers we were supposed to meet with to collect loan repayments from never came. Sam and I got back to the office at 4:30 PM, and neither of us had eaten since 8 AM. And yet regardless of any of the difficulties on the ground, MCDT and Sam have to offer borrowers the lowest interest rates they can, while still covering their operating costs and staying in business. That’s how it is here on the ground, and that’s what the website can’t tell you in a box.

Nila has just arrived in Kampala, Uganda after having spent six months in Zanzibar, Tanzania last year. She considers East Africa home now, and looks forward to working with several Kiva partner microfinance institutions throughout the next few months in Uganda and Kenya.

These words were inspired by a recent conversation I had with a Ugandan man who had spent 10 years of his life living and working in the UK.  He left shocked over the lack of community, how you couldn’t just talk to a stranger on the streets like in Uganda, and how people would refuse to acknowledge someone sitting next to them on the subway.  ”They all just want their space!” he exclaimed mortified. He looked at his watch and said; “and it’s all about time.”

Here I seek to compile a list of my observations from living in both developed and developing. In my eyes both have certain advantages and a merger is what we need to aspire to.

The Developing World

Pros

• Sense of community and openness:  One thing I loved about arriving in the Philippines was that you could drive along the street and see into peoples lives, doors were open, children played happily on the street, everything seemed alive and you could feel the heartbeat of the place.
• Evidence of culture and cultural identity:  One of my biggest fears for the world is that it will become like an extended airport. I’ve passed through many an airport recently and apart from the shape of the building they really do feel much the same. Sometimes when I’m in Manila, Philippines, I have to think very hard to remember which country I am in, yet when I go to Bohol where I volunteered last with Kiva, I know I am Philippines. Likewise there are parts of Kampala, Uganda, where it is hard to tell what country you are in, and other parts where it is screamingly obvious. We need to hang on to these parts, to cling to them like a kid you’re walking across a busy road.
• Less emphasis on time, less rushed, more idle time, time to think, waiting isn’t such a burden.
• Vibrancy, colour, disorder, noise – I think one thing one notices about the developing world is it’s lack of aversion to colour, vibrancy and noise. A carnival-type atmosphere often results which I think development can sometimes suffocate. Yes, I think we want suitable infrastructure and a degree of safety, but I also think we need to let the true colours of a society to shine on through.
• Local markets, buying from just down the street, vegetables of natural size, local produce

Cons

• Lack of freedom based on financial restrictions – continually have to make decisions based around money, very difficult to travel, can’t afford luxuries and purchases that make life easier (e.g. washing machines)
• Lack of infrastructure, access to health care
• Stress from monetary pressure and greater physical hardships
• Less regard for the value of human life, safety
• Susceptibility to corruption, disease, natural disaster

The Developed World

Pros

• More freedom of choice based on access to capital, savings, in a word money.
• Quality of education, access to knowledge, world becomes oyster
• Physical ease of lifestyle, comfort, less time spent on menial tasks
• Potentially more opportunities to pursue dreams, to dream big
• Orderly infrastructure and sound legal system

Cons

• Increased stress from job pressures, often still monetary pressures to keep up with a certain type of lifestyle
• More time pressures despite having machines to carry out menial tasks, what I like to call “I’m so busy mentality” which is quite different to the “I might just sit here on the side of the street all day” mentality of the developing world
• Lack of connection, safe houses with walls, gates, locks, not stopping and talking
• More structured sense of community instead of general ‘all inclusive’ sense of community
• Tendency to become disconnected with nature because of the lack of contact with the outside world, and no longer relying on personal crops, food supplies (e.g. cursing the rains when, in actual fact for someone growing crops, rains are a blessing)

Please note that I realize that many people live outside the generalizations I have made.  I’m merely commenting on observations I’ve made over the last few years and realize this is not true for everyone.

Ultimately I think we need to…
1) Aim for quality of life as well as quantity – for us to develop, but to slow down. Not to clock watch, not to have to be so aware of time.  For all people to have the ability to stop in the street and talk. For no one to say “I’m so busy or I’m so stressed.” For those in the developing world who do live a slower paced life, to have greater access to health care and to live longer.
2) Aim for greater financial freedom for all around the world, access to capital and opportunities.  For every individual to have the right to dream big.  For everyone to have the opportunity to travel, to explore different cultures.
3) Aim to maintain a sense of community and culture as we develop.

These are my dreams.  Maybe I’m unrealistic.  Maybe I’m not.  Of course I can make these decisions for myself as an individual yet realise that not everyone wants to live like me, and that some people thrive on that fast paced lifestyle.  I just want to let people know that for some reason I think living 80 years at 100 miles an hour probably feels the same as living 40 years at 50 mph.  So how far have we really come? What is development? Have we really developed at all? What does development mean? Does it mean more money and better living conditions, or does it mean happiness and the time to enjoy the wonders of life? I think as we develop we need to put more emphasis on happiness and the enjoyment of life than on statistics such as life expectancy and gross GDP.

Thus my belief… The developed world can learn as much from the developing world as vice versa. Let’s keep this in mind as we grow.

I call on all those reading the blog, traveling, working in both developed and developing to comment and share their observations.

Day One: I arrived at Entebbe airport Uganda. Found a taxi to take me into Kampala, to my new abode, met my new flatmates, and went to sleep. Don’t worry the week gets a little more exciting after this!!

Day Two; Comparison number one: The art of getting to work is VERY different to my home town of New Zealand, and a little different to the Philippines where I last worked as a Kiva fellow. After a hair-raising trip to work on the back of a Boda Boda or motorcycle taxi (I wasn’t wearing a helmet so my hair was blowing in the breeze) I started at Pearl Microfinance. Pearl is one of the longest standing and largest Kiva partner Microfinance Institutes (MFI). Here I met 30 something Ugandans, remembered about 5 names, and forgot the other 25 (note I have improved throughout the week). I met Grace, Pamela and Richard who were all responsible for Kiva related duties and who I would be working closely with.

Day Three: I started to familiarize myself with Kiva processes and how Pearl does things differently to the last MFI that I worked with (Community Economic Ventures (CEVI)) . I ate some matoke (a kind of mashed banana dish), rice, cassava, pumpkin and fish.

Day Four: I watched stunned as Pamela packed up her things. Her contract had expired, and while she thought it would be renewed, this was not the case. I felt sad as someone that I had just started building a rapport with was leaving so soon. I started reading some statistics about Ugandan employment rates. Uganda has a very high youth unemployment rate and it is especially hard for university graduates to get jobs following their tuition. I just gave up a fairly good engineering work to become a volunteer with Kiva and I wondered if they thought I was crazy.

In the evening we went to the national theatre in Kampala to watch the movie Imani. This was an amazing Ugandan movie about 3 different lives in various parts of the country.

Day Five: Still getting to know the office, processes, finding my feet, riding crazy boda-bodas to work. I invested in a helmet (wise), and noticed how many people in Uganda don’t ride with a helmet. I also noted that the life expectancy in Uganda is 53 years old, compared with 80 in New Zealand. I felt sad as both my parents are over this age and I expect them to be alive in 20 years, I couldn’t imagine not.

Day Six: We started to work through some issues with repayment reporting. Suddenly it was Friday and I’d just finished my first week at Pearl Microfinance. I went home and slept!

Day Seven: I went into the office in the morning as we were still working through repayment reports. I made a few of the people in my office some sammies, as after 5 servings of matoke and rice I felt like something different. In the afternoon we drove to Ggaba on Lake Victoria and I started to get acquainted with Kampala. I visited Pamela’s house and we went out for pork and a few drinks to end the week. Ugandans seem to enjoy going out on the weekend, they like dancing and having fun.

Today – Day Eight: I learnt a few facts about the boda driver I have been using today. He is currently hiring the bike he drives for 10,000UGX per day. He makes about 20,000UGX per day, so 10,000UGX ($4.50USD) after paying for the bike. He has one big aim in life at the moment, and that is to buy a bike in order to double his income each week. He is looking into microfinance options to fund this plan; and his hopeful that he can stop living from day to day, and worrying about the future. This is good to hear.

If you want to get to know a foreign culture and work in microfinance for 3 months please join the Kiva fellows program asap!

If you want to help people like my boda driver please donate on the Kiva website asap!

PS I’m calling all you others to follow suit, let’s share our ‘week ones’ and give people a glimpse into the life of a Kiva fellow.

Anna Cleal is working as Kiva fellow at Pearl Microfinance Limited in Kampala, Uganda. Throughout her time in the field she will also be visiting Brac Uganda and MCDT SACCO.

A perk of the Kiva Fellowship is having friends who live and work in diverse locations around the globe. After a few months in Kenya, I decided to take advantage of this network of colleagues and visit a KF12 classmate in Kampala. This is the latest chapter in the Only as a Kiva Fellow novel that I’m constantly writing in my mind.

Sarah’s First Rafting Experience

It all started when rafting down the Nile on my first day in Uganda. My original vision of this river (a tranquil body of water upon which Ancient Egyptians rowed boats through reeds and past the occasional crocodile) was quickly revealed to be egregiously misinformed.

Beginning at the river’s source in Jinja, we paddled (and sometimes unexpectedly swam) for 30 km through more than 12 advanced rapids. The first few bumps were great. We paddled. Ducked. Paddled some more. What fun… until we learned some interesting facts about our guide: it was his 11th day on the job, he couldn’t swim, and his main qualification was his background as a fisherman. Hopefully he’s a quick learner? No luck.

I reached my limit when stuck underneath the capsized raft while cruising down a Class V. Sarah’s moment of terror occurred as we free fell down a 20 foot waterfall while the guide shouted “I love you, Sarah!;” and he was somehow the only member of our 8 person raft to fall out and then blamed sweet little Sarah for pushing him off. Don’t worry, he’s fine. A safety boat scooped him up and brought him back to us.

We opted not to purchase the photo pack, so the only memento from the day (other than living another day to tell the tale) was Sarah’s first degree sunburn.

Rwanda Time

After recovering from our first epic adventure and a few days of work in Kampala, Sarah and I took off for the Rwanda-Uganda border by boda.We soon found ourselves in a futuristic world marked by aliens in green helmets, stoplights, and peg-legged rastafari dripping with dreds who concurrently knocked on their prosthetic limbs creating a makeshift drum circle of sorts. Let me explain.

Rwanda can be summed up in two words: safety first. The streets of Kigali operate with logic and standard that restores a mzungu’s comfort in crossing the street. Ann, Sarah, and I stood on the sidewalk (yes, slabs of concrete line the roads meant for pedestrians only, real sidewalks) mesmerized by the painted lines on the road, stoplights above, and the traffic that actually adhered to them. The intuitive orderliness and efficiency of the Western world had all but evaporated from my habits and mind until suddenly and unexpectedly confronting them in Kigali.

Since 1994, the RPF has worked to instill a stable law-abiding society, or at least one that appears that way to an outsider and weekend tourist. The government is so serious about these reforms that even President Kagame can be found picking up trash outside his home on the third Saturday of the month (a mandatory national rubbish collection day).

And the rastafari? Turns out the proceeds from our hostel fund an on-site prosthetics workshop.

The Odyssey Continues

So you think the story is about over? So did we. After stopping by an “exploding lake” that sporadically produces bursts of CO2 and methane (a lethal combination that asphyxiates all living creatures in the vicinity), we resumed our epic migration back to Uganda with 16 hours remaining until my flight departed. The task was simple and timing realistic but we failed to account for the typical unforeseen obstacles that would belabor our return.

As the lone mzungus, Sarah and I charmed our way onto a bus headed back to the promised land of Kampala. Unfortunately, it was packed beyond capacity. No seat? No worries. We joined the other 10 plus seat-less passengers on the floor, squashed and smelling like sardines in a tin can. And that is where we remained for the next 9 hours, watching Tanzanian rap music videos as the vehicle waded through floods, dangled atop cliffs, and bounced over the unpaved “road.”

Eventually we transferred to another bus where I stretched across a row of seats and a pool full of an unidentified liquid. Sleep at last—or so I thought. An old Mama came aboard, nudged me out of my prime seat space, snuggled her face into my thigh, and snored like a beast. She seemed pretty content for the next 8 hours. Oh well, at least we had seats this time.

Sarah and I said our groggy goodbyes around 3 am as she hopped off in a dark town where she was scheduled to meet a Kiva borrower the following day. I was left alone with the snoring beast on my lap.

Exhausted Yet? Me Too.

I definitely did not make my flight. After wandering like a zombie from one airline office to the next, I caught the next plane out, ran to the Karen Blixen Museum during my layover in Nairobi, and rushed back to the airport.

After learning of my flight’s delay, I hunkered down at the terminal’s only café and feasted on overpriced hydrogenated goods, caffeine, and maji (water). This is when I realized I hadn’t eaten anything for the past 30 hours (we went into survival mode on the bus and adhered to a motto of “dehydration or bust”) and I was one step closer to making it home and passing out underneath the ethereal gauze of my bed net.

It was back to the office as usual the next day.

Katie Morton (KF12) is glad to be back at the Yehu office after an epic adventure in East Africa. Check out Yehu’s currently fundraising loans and its lending team!

Here is a photo diary of what I have seen in Uganda over the past three months.

Sarah Curl is a Kiva Fellow serving in Kampala, Uganda.  She is working at Pearl Microfinance while spending time navigating the taxi park and logging some serious hours on busses, matatus and bodas all over Uganda.

Join Pearl Microfinance’s Lending Team here!

Find Kiva loans from Pearl Microfinance here!

It’s five thirty in the morning and my cell phone that functions as an alarm, telephone, clock and flashlight is going off.  The sound starts off soothing but gets more obnoxious as the minutes pass.  I reach out but my bed net is blocking my access to the blaring sound.  I fumble around the bed net and find some opening to reach out and turn my alarm off.  This morning is the start of a long day which consists of traveling to a branch that is five hours away.  As I quickly get up, I stumble around and find clothes that appear appropriate in the dark.  I grab a yogurt that I drink while I walk the ten minutes to find a boda-boda.  My eyes have not completely opened yet but with the boda speeding through traffic lanes and oncoming traffic, it always has a way of waking you up and being the natural caffeine you need in the morning.

I get to the taxi park at around seven in the morning.  After living in Kampala for over 2 and a half months, I find the taxi park a welcomed comfort.  This place was my nightmare when I first arrived.  I was told on week two to get to the taxi park and take a taxi to a branch.  Much easier said than done when you are on your own and a taxi park consists of hundreds of similar looking taxis with conductors calling out prices and final destinations.  Now I feel like the pro who knows exactly where to go or at least thinks I know where I am going.  The round trip commute alone is going to take ten hours today so I settle in my seat and get comfortable.

As I wait for the taxi to depart, various items are being sold through the open windows of the taxi.  It almost feels as if the market has come to you, since you have the option of purchasing everything from bars of soap, goat meat, air time for your cell phone, ice cream, gold watches and everything in between.  The taxi park looks very overwhelming when you first arrive but soon you realize there is an order to the chaos.  Every taxi is in some sort of line which waits till it is full before departing.  Full is a relative term because full in Uganda means every inch of seat must be occupied and this includes children on laps and animals under the seats.

As we drive out of Kampala, I realize how comfortable I have become in Uganda.  When I first got here, I was in the back of a taxi, gliding through the streets at ten at night with a terrified look on my face.  Now what used to make me think about how different this is from home, seems more familiar than different.  I have become accustomed and can’t help but feel like in a few weeks when I head home, I am going to feel the same out of place feeling when I drive back through the streets of Los Angeles, my hometown.  And all the while, during my realization of how at home I feel, the two chickens who are on the same commute as me have wandered away from their owner and now reside next to my feet for the five hour journey.  The clucking and movement of the chickens, the noise and brush on my leg every few minutes doesn’t even seem to alarm me as much as it would have months ago.

To get a better idea of the taxi park in Uganda, I have attached a quick video.  Also, feel free to type into Google Images “Uganda Taxi Park” and you will get a better understanding of what I am talking about.

Sarah Curl is a Kiva Fellow serving in Kampala, Uganda.  She is working at Pearl Microfinance while spending time navigating the taxi park and logging some serious hours on busses, matatus and bodas all over Uganda.

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