Do: A Kiva Fellowship. It'll change your life. (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

The sixteenth class of Kiva Fellows has all but left the field- but we’re by no means done talking about our experiences. We’ve collectively spent 422 weeks in the field (just over 8 years!) and worked an estimated 16,650 hours at Kiva field partners around the world.  Needless to say, we’ve got a lot of opinions about how to use this time wisely.

Now, we’re no experts in living or working abroad (though we sure do like it), but we have some nuggets of wisdom to offer up for those of you transitioning into a life abroad or beginning your next Kiva Fellowship. Stick by these tips, and you can’t go wrong. (And for more hints and tips, check out 33 Tips from Kiva Fellows (written November 2009) or 45 More Tips from Kiva Fellows in South America.) Enjoy!

Best Way to a Kiva Fellow’s Heart is through…

1. People love to share food in El Salvador. If you’re having lunch with someone or with co-workers, offer up some of what you have for them to try. (Andrea Ramirez, KF16 Costa Rica & El Salvador)

2. Though most of the USA fast food places are here, don’t bother with them, Turkish food is wonderful. (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

3. If you take a trip(s) during your fellowship, remember that in some cultures it’s customary to bring back (small) gifts to friends and coworkers from your travels! I found that a box of chocolates to share in the office of my MFI was always much appreciated and disappeared within hours. (Laurie Young, KF16 Indonesia)

They may not look good. They may not taste that good, either. But do it: eat the fried cow intestines.

4. Make sure you try the different casados(rice and black beans paired with some sort of salad, and meat). It’s delicious, affordable, and the closest thing to home-made. (Andrea Ramirez, KF16 Costa Rica & El Salvador)

5. Try everything. Ok, yes, you could get sick, but worse, you could live the rest of your life without knowing what guinea pig, cow tongue, fermented maize, cow heart, llama, friend random thing with more random things in it, magical juice in a bag, etc., etc., tastes like. If these things don’t seem appealing, remember: even worse, you could miss out on a big chance to share in a local cultural experience that will stay stayed with you forever. (Mariela Cedeno, KF16 Bolivia)

6. Befriending office mates is easy as pie, especially if you bake one. Any baked treat will do the trick: cookies, cupcakes, 7-layer bars – anything tasty and homemade will suffice. Walk around and offer your treats during the afternoon coffee break. (Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras)

How do you say…

7. No amount of “city” Spanish will prepare you for the linguistic richness and diversity of Spanish spoken in rural Costa Rica. That said, bring a notebook for ALL field visits, and let the loan officers be your best professors and guides. Even Costa Rican urbanites find themselves lost among the colloquialisms of Tico country Spanish. (Julie Kerr, KF16 Costa Rica)

8. Learning common words and phrases in an indigenous language is the quickest way to break the ice. Guaraní is Paraguay’s other official language and is spoken by the majority of the population. Purete means cool, haso means not cool, kaigue is lazy, nde ha’e kuña guapa means “You are a hard working woman!,” chevare’a means “I am hungry,” and amokose means “I want a drink!” (Alba Castillo, KF15 Paraguay)

9. Get rid of “uhm” in your vocabulary- it mean a female private part in Turkish. (Kim Strathearn, KF16, Turkey)

10. When a farmer says he brings his harvest to market using his “salchichón” (commonly known as “sausage”), blush not my friends, he means “horse”. (Julie Kerr, KF16 Costa Rica)

11. If you lose the thread of a conversation don’t just say ‘sí‘ or intermittently laugh. Get them to repeat things and when that get boring pick out a word or phrase that you Do know and make a comment or nonsequitor. They might be saying “fijate, las olas son bravas en la playa” and your response might be an unrelated, “¿Te gusta la playa?”  This gets the conversation back on your own terms. Think about how often you respond like this in English! (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

12. Because they will ask: Kiva means “unity” or “agreement” in Swahili. (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador & KF16)

What to Bring

Do: bring a tuperwear container. Sporks can also come in handy, for that mid-morning mountain climb.

13. My three smartest investments for my fellowships? A SteriPen, a tuperwear container, and a pocket knife with a corkscrew. (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador & KF16 Peru)

14. Always carry a small, sturdy umbrella. It will get you through unexpected showers; as well as hot, sunny days. (Alba Castillo, KF16 Paraguay)

15. Rain is as plentiful is the air we breathe. Bring an umbrella if you prefer to shower before getting dressed. (Julie Kerr, KF16 Costa Rica)

16. Bug spray, bug spray and MORE bug spray!! For those of you who like more natural alternatives, anything with menthol or eucalyptus helps repel the mightiest of mammoth mosquitoes, sand flies, ticks and chiggers. Slather it on THICK! (Julie Kerr, KF16 Costa Rica)

17. Bring clothes or shoes that need to be fixed, mended, or altered. It is cheap and the work is top quality. The sasterías and zapateros are EVERYWHERE. (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

There’s no place like home (in a new country!)

18. If you can, try to find accommodation near the central market building: there’s nothing like eating shrimp ceviche with avocado at 7 o’clock in the morning. Besides, this may be your only chance for the entire day to get your hands on food that’s neither triple-fried nor made out of pure pork fat. (Emmanuel von Arx, KF16 Ecuador)

19. If it’s possible, go with a homestay! Local food, local language, and a solid support group in-country are just a few of the obvious perks of living with a family. (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador and KF16 Peru)

20. For Kiva Fellows in the former Soviet republics: If you’re looking for apartments in older Soviet buildings, check to make sure that the utilities actually work. Gas outages can be frequent (sometimes in the dead of winter), and running water tends to be spotty on higher floors. As a rule of thumb, try not to live above the fifth floor – after all, the elevator might also not work! (Chris Paci, KF16 Tajikistan & Azerbaijan)

Getting from point A to B

21. When moving around by taxi in Cuzco, do everything possible to seem local to get cheaper prices (there are lots of local gringos, so you can pull it off). How to go about it?

• Say hi to your taxista like this “Buenas, maestro.” Saying hola is touristy, saying chofer is touristy, and asking anything about anything is touristy. You don’t care. You are local.
• Tell him where you are going by saying “I will get off at such and such location”. If you are going to a restaurant, know its name, what street it is on, the nearest cross street, and a reference point nearby BEFORE you get in. Otherwise you won’t be able to pull off the “trabajo aquí.”(Miss any of those four, you are officially a tourist.) (Rob Gradoville, KF16 Peru)

If you're feeling the need for speed, do: hop on your loan officer's motorcycle.

22. If you’re taking the bus and you don’t know where you need to get off, just ask the bus diver. Costa Rica has the nicest bus drivers around! (Andrea Ramirez, KF16 Costa Rica & El Salvador)

23. Note the taxi number (on side of doors when you get in) can help you retrieve forgotten item. Also can help if the taxi driver sees you note the number, he might be less likely to take the long way. It is common for taxis to stop and ask other for directions if they don’t know the place your going. Always make sure they turn the meter on. In the tourist area, always flag down a moving taxi–the ones that are just waiting around are just waiting to rip you off. Beware of the money switcheroo (ie you give them a 50 lira note that is the same color as a 5 lira note and they do the switcheroo and try to convince you that you only gave them the 5. Females always sit in the back and not in the front. I have have some excellent taxi driver and some dinks as well. Rider beware (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

Get to work!

24. If you have any freedom to do borrower visits, have no shame in visiting anyone who owns a panatería, heladería, or pisco vineyard. Peruvian hospitality and pride in their business translate to homemade treats for you. Microtenterprise never tasted so good. (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador & KF16)

25. Make people laugh, even when it’s awkward. Visiting clients who are on a spectrum from extreme introvert, to slightly less extreme introvert, can be daunting, but like everything else in life, there is nothing better than a laugh. You’d be amazed how many times my laughing at people and saying “por favor, sonria porque se me va a romper la camera si sigue asi,” actually made them smile. Don’t rush, don’t pull out your pen and BV template, and don’t start dangerously pointing your camera right way. Chill out, smile, shake hands, take in the scenery, interact! (Mariela Cedeno, KF16 Bolivia)

Do: hang out with coworkers after work. Don't: let them win.

26. Make sure to hang out with MFI staff outside of work. Don’t worry so much about about keeping it strictly ‘professional.’ I built trust, learned office hierarchy, gossip, and got a lot of technical questions answered after a few beers with loan officers. (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

27. Fake it ’til you make it. You will be considered an expert in all things Kiva, even if you’re not. Embrace the challenge. You will have multiple resources at your disposal: use them. Learn along the way and don’t be afraid to tell your field partner, “Can I get back to you on that? I want to confirm with Kiva.” (Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras)

28. Invest in your coworkers. From the service staff to the reception staff to the MIS, they not only help you with your job but they can be great friends and connectors to your life in a new country. (Jill Hall, KF16 Philippines)

29. They tell you this at training, but really, do it: spend your first week only asking questions. Lots and lots of questions (and start on your Loan Product Survey or Social Impact Assessment first- asking pointed questions while completing items on your workplan is a double whammy!). Being extremely informed about every aspect of your MFI will only make your work easier moving forward. (And teach you more about microfinance, which is the whole point of the Fellowship, right?) (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador & KF16)

30. If it should take a day or two, it’ll take three or four. If it’s your Borrower Verification, it’ll take a month. (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador & KF16)

31. Figure out how your MFI communicates. They are probably using chat or skype. Get your coworkers chat/skype info early on. Sometimes you can formulate better questions, get better responses and be less annoying chatting rather than visiting their office for every little thing. (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

32. Email coworkers when you leave! – Even if they weren’t helpful with that one thing you were working on…they still care and want to hear from you when you’re gone. (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

33. Participate! Don’t be shy (or obnoxious) and get involved with after work sports or after work drinks. This is your new community. (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

Gringo Pricing

34. Don’t be afraid to bargain for transportation and goods! In many developing countries, it’s expected of everyone. You’ll probably be quoted a much higher price at the start than you should be paying, and it’s not because the vendor’s trying to “cheat” you as a foreigner. It just makes economic sense – it would be foolish for the entrepreneur not to sell for as high a price as he/she can get. (Chris Paci, KF16 Tajikistan & Azerbaijan)

35. Never take the first price- haggling is expected. On the other side of the coin (jaja), though, don’t haggle some old woman trying to sell you a scarf in the Sunday market into oblivion- that extra dollar probably means an awful lot more than her than it does to you. Lay aside your hubris and indignation from time to time and accept the gringo tax. (Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador & KF16)

Safety

36. Should you ever attract negative attention from the police in the former Soviet world, an effective tactic is to pretend (or demonstrate) that you speak barely any Russian – enough to understand their questions, but not enough to maintain a conversation. As long as your documents are in order, they will likely decide you’re too awkward to be worth it and let you leave. Hurray! Oh, and always carry your passport and registration with you. Always always always always always. (Chris Paci, KF16 Tajikistan & Azerbaijan)

37. Remember, guys: It’s better to appear like a total sissy than to get robbed or killed. If you feel that you are getting into a dangerous situation or a dead-end street in a bad neighborhood, don’t hesitate: simply turn around and run! Don’t worry: nobody will ever know about this – your reputation as a fearless globetrotter stays alive, and so will you… (Emmanuel von Arx, KF16 Ecuador)

38. It’s natural to burn with curiosity about your host country. But if you’re not living in a democracy, be cautious about the sorts of political questions you ask, unless you know your conversational partners well. For instance, my first placement was in Khujand, Tajikistan, in a region surrounded on three sides by the hostile country of Uzbekistan, and the authorities were always wary of Uzbek spies. My current placement of Azerbaijan is a country that considers itself at war and has suffered terrorist attacks in the past, so as the police see it, there’s a lot to be suspicious about. Be hyper-aware of these sorts of issues. And if you feel tempted to criticize the political system there and/or extol the virtues of your own, stop and reconsider. It’s not why Kiva sent you there, and in the worst-case scenario, you might get both yourself and your conversational partners in genuine trouble. (Chris Paci, KF16 Tajikistan & Azerbaijan)

39. Never carry your credit card unless you are making a withdrawal. I prefer to carry large sums of money in my shoe rather than bringing my card out of hiding. (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

40. Make and carry a photocopy of your passport. Carrying it around for real is a real bad idea, and having no record makes it hard to check into hostels/hotels. (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

41. If you’re in a country with a heavy police presence, be careful what you photograph! Sometimes the most unexpected subjects – bridges, factories, metro stations, gorgeous government buildings – can be deemed security risks, and photographing them can attract negative attention from the police. (Chris Paci, KF16 Tajikistan & Azerbaijan)

Hugs and Handshakes

42. If you are an unmarried woman and living in a country where the locals aren’t used to seeing women wandering around alone and are often inquisitive of where you are going and why you aren’t married, bring and wear a fake wedding band. Also, make sure you figure out which hand is the hand that the locals wear it on! It’ll do wonders for (sometimes) avoiding uncomfortable conversations if you don’t want to have them. (Laurie Young, KF16 Indonesia)

43. Outside of San Salvador the people are pretty conservative. Men won’t shake a woman’s hand unless she extends her hand first. (Andrea Ramirez, KF16 Costa Rica & El Salvador)

44. In Paraguay, you greet and say goodbye to friends with not one, but two kisses – one on each cheek. (Alba Castillo, KF16 Paraguay)

45. In Turkey, among friends the greeting is a kiss on both checks (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

Living and Looking Local:

Do: try to dance like the locals. Don't: fool yourself into thinking you're really, really good at it.

46. Although Turkey is fairly well connected, don’t rely on google. (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

47. If you want to look like a local, wear jeans. Even if it’s 100 degrees outside. Tourists are associated with shorts. (Andrea Ramirez, KF16 Costa Rica & El Salvador)

48. One of the best ways to learn about a culture is to people watch– what are they doing and not doing in public. (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

49. When in Rome…always pour some out for Pachamama. If you find yourself sitting around a big bucket of Chicha with nothing but a full gourd in hand, don’t be stingy, pour some out for Mother Earth, she’s thirsty too. (Mariela Cedeno, KF16 Bolivia)

50. Walk, walk everywhere, all the time. Yes you need to be at the office at 8 a.m. and you get up at 7:40, but maybe during your two hour lunch break and on weekends you can make sure to take the time to pace yourself. Remember to absorb everything around you: the sounds, the streets, the people, the street vendors, the conversations, the protests, the smells. For some reason, those were also my most peaceful times. (Mariela Cedeno, KF16 Bolivia)

51. Getting haircuts is cheap and always a great experience. Getting a straight razor shave sounds bad ass but is just bad and hurts a lot. (Jim Burke, KF16 Nicaragua)

52. Get into the rhythm of your location. If the locals take time to smell the roses or take a tea break –you should too. This is a great video (in English) on what a glass of tea means (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

53. Sit in a park/plaza by yourself…someone will sit next to you. (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

54. Be a guest (and a friend) – allow people in your host country to take you around…you don’t always have to pretend like you’re not a tourist…let’s be real, this is not your native country (if it is, still go on some trips!). (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

55. Get off the internet! Your friends at home really don’t need to hear from you every day (although your mother/father probably does). It’s way cooler to say, “I was out of internet range…” (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

Mind your manners:

56. You are going to be thoroughly stared at. Get used to it, as it is not rude here. (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

57. Don’t be offended when asked how much money you make, how much is your apartment, are you married, have kids, no to either question is followed by why not? Good way to deflect is nicely reply why do you want to know? Turks are very curious and have a different sense of what is private information. (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

58. Turkish people are very hospitable and gracious to guests–learn what it means to be a good guest. (Kim Strathearn, KF16 Turkey)

59. Most people in the former Soviet republics love to be photographed! Once you do, though, they might surprise you by asking when they can expect to receive a printed copy of their photo. There are plenty of little shops here where you can get a picture printed, so always take down the person’s address and try to bring or mail them a copy. With an inexpensive little gesture like this, you can absolutely make someone’s day. (Chris Paci, KF16 Tajikistan & Azerbaijan)

60. Follow through on promises (or obligations)– go to dinner with coworker’s families, take a day trip with coworkers or friends, etc. (Eric Rindal, KF15 Sierra Leone, KF16 Bolivia)

Kate Bennett (KF16) is thrilled to be working in Ica, Peru with Kiva Field Partner Caja Rural Señor de Luren. For more on Kate’s experiences with Caja Rural Señor de Luren or life in Peru or Ecuador, follow her work here.

Before I volunteered as a Kiva Fellow in Sierra Leone (May of 2011) and Bolivia (September 2011), I was living in Santa Barbara, California. Imagine: Santa Barbara beaches saturated with color, mansions with the smell of jasmine twisting through the air, and a pace of life only to be set by the sun. While there, I was working for a de jure artist and took up the ranks as a de facto artist myself. Life was pretty easy, and moving to a developing country and working with microfinance seemed a million miles away. Leaving it all made me wonder why I would forfeit the comfort and normalcy of home for places where it feels like I have to relearn basic parts of life (i.e. restroom, showers, and food).

While volunteering, I was often asked , “Why would you come volunteer in my country?” Each time, I rambled about a desire to foster opportunities in the development of people around the world. But that is just it, how concise can pre-volunteers really be?

Well, the life of a volunteer goes with the wind. Four weeks ago I was living in Sierra Leone and today I am sitting in an office in Bolivia. Obviously, volunteering is not the most advantageous financial move one can make; in fact, while in the States, I qualified for free immunizations before coming to Bolivia because I was “low income”. In all honesty, most volunteers are a footnote to an organization’s real employees, and the “We couldn’t do it without you” speech only gets volunteers high for a split second. So why endure the bucket showers in Sierra Leone and language barriers in South America? Why volunteer?

For me, it has to do with something I encountered as a child while hiking around my home in Washington State. I saw the diverse beauty of nature: cedars, Douglas firs, ferns, and myriad wildflowers. I then thought about the diverse beauty of humanity (although those weren’t my exact thoughts as a child…). What it came down to was that I knew people (and the world) had to be different beyond my hometown population of ninety-something.

I didn’t leave and volunteer to “save the world.” (Do people still do that?) Rather, I had this desire to cease to be dichotomized from the developing world. Volunteering was a means to share life with people and hope to understand why populations live at different standards of living. This, hopefully, is joining in the process of lifting people out of poverty –the more minds and hearts that are included in the “process” (any process or cause you are volunteering for), the more potential there is to yield results and answers.

The wonder in volunteering, I have found, is simply in the interaction between me and a Kiva Borrower (those who recieve loans). In most cases, we each have something to add to the life of the other. With Kiva, microfinance volunteer work is geared to sustainably enable entrepreneurs in developing countries by facilitating capital for their business through loans.

My greatest interest in life was to see this “process,” and I have been so encouraged by what Kiva Borrowers are doing with their loans to better their lives. In reality, when any volunteers collaborate with people in development, we begin to answer for ourselves the questions we could not articulate beforehand. Within it all, volunteers are fortunate to take the time and witness the diverse beauty of humanity.

***

Eric Rindal has had the privilege to be a Kiva Fellow based in La Paz, Bolivia working with Emprender and IMPRO. He is a big proponent of Kiva Lenders lending to people in countries they have not lent to. If you have not lent to a wonderful borrower in Bolivia, click here to find a smiling face. Eric was a Kiva Fellow in Sierra Leone during the 15th class — if you have not lent to someone in Sierra Leone, click here to find a wonderful person! 

Part of my Fellowship here in Bolivia is to complete two Borrower Verifications (BVs) for two Kiva partner microfinance intuitions: Emprender and IMPRO. During the BV, I ask four questions to verify that the borrower is the real borrower, and I ask one question to understand the Kiva borrower better. This one question: What is your dream for you life or your business, is the most moving part of my Fellowship. I am so inspired by Kiva borrowers. Some of their dreams are simple, some are grand, and others take hold of my heart with profound sincerity. I would like to introduce you to my friends and their dreams.

Gregoria

Dreams to…Own sewing machines to make and sell clothing

Gregoria is a mother of seven, four of which live at home, and she sells shoes in the local markets around Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I visited her in a half-constructed small home in the outskirts of town; her sons built the home using their mom’s profits. Her three sons adore their mother and are all a part of the business decisions and the loan process. With a huge smile Gregoria said her dream was to purchase sewing machines and make clothing. This will allow her to employ her sons with a steady job. Clearly the bond of the family would be a driving force in her business.

Irene

Dreams to…Purchase a car to help her traveling business

Irene sells cleaning towels, cleaning products, and small household items out of a small cardboard box. Her business is, well, a traveling business. She walks twelve hours per day along the streets between towns selling these small items. I met Irene in the mid-morning after she had been walking for a few hours; she was already tired. “I am getting old,” she said, and she isn’t able to walk as far or as long as she used to do. With great strength she does not complain about walking, but her dream is to purchase a car so she does not need to walk everywhere and wear herself out to make a living.

Teodocio

Dreams to…Buy a fabric cutting machine to increase efficiency

Teodocio lives with his wife and two daughters in El Alto, Bolivia. He works at home three days a week making large brimmed hats for field workers and he sells the hats in the marketplace the rest of the week. He previously had one sewing machine to complete his work, but then purchased a second sewing machine with his loan. Since taking out his loan Teodocio has been able to employ both his daughters to sew the hats. Teodocio’s dream is to buy a fabric cutter to create custom designs and produce the fabric cuts at the pace and moment he needs them.

Julia

Dreams to… 1) Purchase a larger bus, and 2) Travel to Europe

Julia is the owner of a bus for public transportation in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I expected her to be a bus driver, but she hires a driver and simply is responsible for all the maintenance. She is a woman of great business savvy, and is also is an active distributor of Herbalife products. As a responsible borrower and businesswoman, she is always seeking to grow her business and uses microloans as a means to expand and actualize her goals. After using a loan to purchase the bus, her new dream is to purchase a bus big enough to fit 40 or 50 people. I asked if she had other goals; her eyes became distant and she laughed as if it was utterly ridiculous, but Julia’s other dream is to make enough money to travel to Europe. She would “love to see Europe.”

Valentine

Dreams to…Plant more fields and increase his herd of cows

Valentine is a farmer and raises cattle in the quiet warm agriculture area outside of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He has 30 cows and a few fields where he plants corn, yucca, and peanuts. Valentine lives in a house on the hillside with his wife and young son who loves to sing (he is about 6 years old and sang a few songs while strumming his guitar). I asked Vincent why he took out loans, “if I didn’t have a loan I couldn’t buy more seeds. If I do buy more seeds then I can plant and harvest more fields.” It’s that simple. Valentine’s dream is to buy more cows for his farm and more seeds to plant – both of which allow him to supply the local cooperative market.

Elvira

Dreams to…Construct her own house

(Elvira is the second from the left, in the back)

Elvira is member of the nine-woman-strong “New Hope” group working in a street market of Cochabamba, Bolivia. She sells noodles, rice, and beans in her market stall and is the dedicated leader of the solidarity group. With the few profits Elvira makes each month, her dream is to construct and complete a home. “That is all I want…to construct a home,” she said.

Martina

Dreams to…Pay for her two children to graduate from university

Martina lives in the rural town of Achacachi, Bolivia near the shores of Lake Titicaca. She owns four dairy cows and sells the milk to a local cooperative in her area. She has two sons in their early twenties who are attending university in La Paz. Her dream is to pay for her two sons to graduate from university. She has been using all her profits from milk sales to pay for their education. She purchased her fourth dairy cow with her loan, but it has since become pregnant and currently produces little milk. Despite slow milk production and sales, Martina is determined to pay for their schooling. Even while things are uncertain until the cow’s birth in January, she is frugal and knows she will see them both complete their education.

Gabriel

Dreams to…Own a reliable dump truck

Gabriel drives a dump truck for hire in La Paz, Bolivia. He used his Kiva loan to buy a new motor for his truck; his other motor up and died a few months ago. As an older man it is difficult to get steady work, so he relies solely on his skill of driving large trucks. He is the only worker in his family, and his financial situation is delicate, so if his motor goes out he has no income. Gabriel’s dream is to purchase a new, reliable dump truck to ensure his employment and steady income. He then would not need to worry if his “business” could break down at any moment.

Lilian

Dreams to…Travel to Europe and attend hairdressing workshops

Lilian owns a two-chair hair salon in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She is extremely kind, welcoming, and a great hairdresser. During my whole interview she had a huge smile and described how her loan allowed her to buy more hair products to sell to her customers. When asked about her dream, Lilian exhaled, rolled her lips inward, and closed her eyes, “I want to take hairdressing classes and workshops in Europe or the United States. I have heard of these classes and want to learn new styles and see Europe.” She knows it would be expensive, but she still has hope that one day her dream will come true.

Hugo

Dreams to…Purchase another skill saw and hire an employee

Hugo is a puzzle maker in El Alto, Bolivia. With his Kiva loan he purchased a skill saw to cut the intricate shapes of children’s puzzles. Previously he was cutting all the shapes by hand using a small tricky saw. Hugo’s dream is to purchase another skill saw and hire an employee (who would become his apprentice). He says there are plenty of people who want to work in his area and there is also high demand for his puzzles. Hugo loves puzzle making, and expanding his business is his ultimate goal.

Cesar

Dreams to…Re-open a restaurant with internet and a book store

Cesar owns two restaurants in La Paz, Bolivia, one is directly across from a local high school and the other is in a small neighborhood. With his wife, they have taken out a loan to expand and remodel the restaurants. “There are internet cafés, restaurants, and book stores,” he said, “but no one in his areas has combined all of them.” A true entrepreneur, Cesar’s dream is to remodel his restaurant, connect wi-fi, and offer bookstore items for the nearby high school students.

Eric

Dreams to…Start his own printing and copy shop

Eric studied at a local university in La Paz, Bolivia. He has been working at his father’s printing and copy shop making money to pay for his classes. However, he has had to take some time off from school to save up enough to continue his classes later. In the mean time he has decided to pursue owning his own print and copy shop. Learning from his father how to run a print and copy business, Eric’s dream is to use a loan and purchase his own copy machine and printers…thus moving out on his own and starting his own business.

Juana

Dreams to…Maintain steady sales and be equipped to do business

Juana owns a small storefront on a main street in La Paz, Bolivia. She has run the small store for years and taken out loans since 1995 to keep her business competitive and innovative. Always trying to differentiate herself, Juana has purchased phones for customers to use for local and international calling; no one in Juana’s neighborhood has these phones. When asked about her dream, Juana simply smiled and said, “I would like to equip my store and make it of the highest quality. I would like to continue on as I currently am…and, well, in the future make a little more in profits than I am now.”

Miguel

Dreams to…Start his own dairy

Miguel has taken out two loans so far. He lives in a rural farming community hours away from La Paz, Bolivia. His uncle owns a farm with dairy cows, and Miguel wanted to try his hand at owning a dairy. With his first loan he purchased a cow, and he did the same with his second loan. His dream is to be a dairy farmer and little by little he is reaching his dream.

Ben

Dreams to…Send his two young daughters to school through university level

Ben is a painter who specializes in the restoration of 17^th-19^th century colonial art works living in La Paz, Bolivia. With his loan he was able to purchase more works of art in antique shops and more supplies to continue his restoration business. Ben sells his renovated pieces to private collectors as well as in the markets of La Paz. He lives with his wife and two daughters in a beautiful little home with paintings (most are his own) from floor to ceiling. His dream is to make enough money to send his two young daughters to school through university level.

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I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to share with you the dreams of some Kiva borrowers I met here in Bolivia. Dreams are a wonderful thing to share and are a part of people’s lives regardless of economic standing. It may be expected that people living in developing countries might only have dreams for cleaner water or better healthcare, however most have very concrete dreams for one more cow or traveling to Europe or owning a car. There is kind of a glass ceiling above people in developing countries in the perception that poorer people might only want potable water or medicine. This idea really limits their dreams and desires to a perception of what I (we) feel they are asking for. Their dreams are greater and go further than I can imagine. The dreamers are creating their futures..! How awesome that Kiva is able to play a small part in assisting these borrowers on the path to their dreams!? So Kiva Lenders, thank you for believing in and promoting the dreams of the borrowers. Seriously, though, thank you.

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Eric Rindal is a part of the Kiva Fellows 16th class in La Paz, Bolivia. He is currently working with Emprender and IMPRO. He was previously in KF15 based in Sierra Leone. If you would like to contact Eric, just visit his lender page. 

A Warm Welcome! Manana offers the best from her garden. By DJ Forza, Georgia

This week’s Fellows Blog focuses on adaptability: Adapting microinsurance to poor households in Indonesia, an MFI in Turkey adapts to the needs of women entrepreneurs, a multifaceted borrower in Nepal adapts to market pressures, and a Kiva Fellow adapts to changing expectations. In a continuation of The Stuff Kiva Fellows Like series we hear how different fellows have adapted to their lives abroad by ‘crashing parties’ and ‘going to the Bazaar’. We hear about how practitioners are adapting finance and microinsurance products to their borrowers. Equally nimble we hear from a few borrowers and how they have expertly adapted to market pressures and changing circumstance. Microfinance is a dynamic industry by nature and like DJ or Binu or Maya Enterprise for Micro Finance, ensuring success means staying flexible and welcoming new opportunities born out of challenges.

Microinsurance in Indonesia: Current Challenges and Innovations.
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Laurie Young, KF16

Laurie takes us to a microinsurance conference and explains the challenges of getting appropriate insurance products to poor households in Indonesia.

If It Is Tuesday It Must Be Izmit+ more of my favorite borrowers+ “buyurun agabeyi”…
Country: Turkey/ Fellow: Kim Strathearn, KF16

Kim explains the history of Maya Enterprise for Micro Finance and gives a profile on the women micro-entrepreneurs served by the organization in Turkey.

Multi-faceted Borrowers Part 2
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Abhinab Basnyat, KF16

Abhinab continues his series on multifaceted borrowers by introducing Binu, a Kiva borrower, and explaining her many business ideas.

Second Chances (Part 1)
Country: Georgia/ Fellow: DJ Forza, KF16

In this heartfelt and honest post DJ explains how she adapted her expectations and settled into her Kiva Fellowship in Georgia.

Stuff Kiva Fellows Like #10-17
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Jim Burke, KF16

The ‘Stuff Kiva Fellows Like’ series continues. Fellows discuss the stuff they like and how they have adapted to living abroad and working in microfinance.

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Questions from the Field: Why Do We Lend, What’s a Kiva Fellowship + How does Microfinance Support Green& Agricultural Development?
Update from the Field: New Products in Microfinance, Over-Indebtedness+ Transparency
Update from the Field: Earthquakes, 5Ks+ The Pain of Sickness and Loss
Update from the Field: Expanding the Reach of Microfinance, Downsizing Development+ Why We Kiva

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Plus more on-the-ground photos from the past week:

Vice Minister of Finance giving the Keynote Speech on the second day of the event. By Laurie Young, Indonesia

Binu infront of her canteen. By Abhinab Basnyat, Nepal

Spectacular Sighnaghi! By DJ Forza, Georgia

Jill in a Poofy Pink 'Filipiniana'. By Jill Hall, Philippines

We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From party crashing to bazaars to street food, these are the things we like and thrive on. Check out Stuff Kiva Fellows Like (SKFL) #1-9!

#10 Street Food

Mariela Cedeño, KF16, Cochabamba, Bolivia

I’m not really sure why, but there is something inherently appealing to a Kiva Fellow’s being about food that is prepared, cooked, and sold on the streets. Perhaps it’s the dubiously hygienic food preparation, the alternative cooking apparatus used to bring food to fire, or it’s ready availability and our relative laziness…wait, no, it’s actually our need to literally ‘taste’ the local culture. In our fits of street food deliriousness we are open and ready to taste all that our surroundings have to offer, however, we often find that the local fare may not quietly find a home in our stomachs. Thankfully, before leaving to our local assignments, our travel nurses reminded us that in times of intestinal woe, Cipro and other like antibiotics will be our best friend. They sometimes are, but because we are well versed in the dangers of overusing antibiotics and are haunted by nightmares of creating giant super bacteria that start kidnapping local women and children, we use them sparingly and wisely.

Nevertheless, a Kiva Fellow is not threatened by the possibility of exposure to parasites, e. coli, or anything of it’s kind, and with unready stomachs we take in all the savory goodness that the streets have to offer. Often we eat things without knowing what they are, and when told what they are, we shrug our shoulders and press on. We seek cultural immersion through food; we are bold culinary pioneers.

#11 Party Crashing

Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras

Kiva Fellows (KFs) LOVE a good party. Food, music, drinks: what’s not to love? KFs are repeat offenders for obvious reasons. They do not consider their behavior to be ill-mannered or inconsiderate: crashing is merely a survival tactic. It can get very lonely in the field and KFs can’t sit and wait for invites to flood their Facebook wall because well, odds are they won’t. So, KFs crash. Weddings, birthdays, retirement celebrations, grocery store inaugurations, TGIF fun, holiday festivities are all fair game. Sure, the KF may not know Marta from accounting or her husband to be, or Adrian the birthday boy, but KFs firmly believe that nothing brings people together like cake. In the pursuit of brotherly love (read: food, music, drinks), KFs show up and wow coworkers and strangers alike with their witty banter and impressive dance moves (moonwalk anyone?). As (invited) party-goers head for home, they are usually heard saying something along the lines of, “That KF is really something.”

#12 Personal Space

Crowded ferry ride

Lauren Barra, KF 16, Kenya/Tanzania

The world’s population has just surpassed 7 billion people. Whether we’re boarding a matatu, dala-dala, or ferry, Kiva Fellows are painfully reminded of this fact each time we set out into the field. Public transportation in the developing world usually involves hoards of people, pushing and shoving, all desperately trying to secure a coveted seat. Hesitate, and you’ll end up standing for most of the bumpy ride. Although buses have legal limits, more people pile in at each stop because “there’s always room for one more.” You’re packed in like sardines and it suddenly occurs to you. What wouldn’t you give for a few more inches of personal space?

#13 Podcasts

Kate Bennett, KF16, Peru

Stuff You Should Know Team howstuffworks.com

You’re living in middle-of-nowhere Perú, or Sierra Leone, or Cambodia. You’re feeling isolated, whether due to your language skills, culture shock, or sheer exhaustion. You’re covered in mosquito bites, your toilet doesn’t work, and you can’t remember the taste of strawberries or what it feels like to not be in 100°F weather. The only English you’ve spoken or heard in three months are your own inane mutterings over PA2‘s most recent tech glitch.

But then, you flip on your iPod. All your troubles slide away as the smooth, calming voice of Ira Glass envelops you. It almost doesn’t matter what Ira is going on about, it just matters that he’s there for you. And it’s not just Ira: it’s the Stuff You Should Know team, the hilarious duo at RadioLab, and maybe a little bit of Prarie Home Companion for posterity’s sake. Meet your new best friends. You’re learning, you’re growing, and you’re keeping yourself sane through the incredible technologies of podcasts. And now that there’s a Stuff You Should Know lending team? Well that’s just gravy.

#14 Being ‘Xtreme’

Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua

Volcano Boarding Leon, Nicaragua

Kiva Fellows are adventurous, risk taking individuals. They are Xtreme. The natural habitat for the Kiva Fellow is the extreme cold (La Paz), the extreme heat, or the extremely uncomfortable. KFs thrive in new environments, welcome an adventurous BV visit, and like being pushed to the limit physically and mentally. KFs love extreme sports like whitewater rafting in Uganda, volcano boarding, walking around Guayaquil, or canoeing flooded city streets.

Kiva Fellows are extreme but what they like even more is to remind people how extreme they are. They do this by wearing outdoorsy clothes, or accenting their business casual office wardrobe with hardcore Keen gear. KFs also establish their field cred by downplaying how extreme they are. They especially like pretending really shocking things are no big deal. Be it a GIGANTIC earthquake, election violence or sky diving, recounting these harrowing tales always ends in; ‘Oh, but it was really just no big deal…’

#15 “Going Native”

Jill Hall, KF16, Philippines

Jill in a Poofy Pink 'Filipiniana'

A Kiva Fellow is lucky if they get an email from their MFI prior to leaving for the field detailing a list of appropriate clothing items to bring. Some fellows get hints like, “at your placement, they are a bit more formal so take a suit” or “you will be visiting agricultural borrowers in remote areas so take durable clothes”. It is not often that you get a “bring a gown because every company event you attend everyone there will be dressed to the nines” so you can imagine my shock when I attended my first work event in the Philippines and everyone is in beautiful gowns called “Filipinianas”.

Every Kiva Fellow knows there is that moment where they can decide to “go native” and we either do as the locals do or we don’t. As fellows we whole heartedly embrace the phrase, “When in Rome…”. With this in mind, I finally traveled to the labrynth of a market to find my own Filipiniana. Initially I had reservations but when I walked into the room in my new bubble gum pink gown, I saw a room full of smiling faces. For this type of reaction, any Kiva fellow would “go native”!

#16 Eating Stuff With Weird Names

Kim Strathearn, KF16, Turkey

Karnıyarık, otherwise known as 'Split Belly'

Kiva Fellows like to eat. But not the stuff that made Rob sick, twice! We like good food with weird names such as the Imam fainted, Sultan’s Delight, split belly, angle hair, lady’s thighs, lady’s belly, attractive lady’s lips, priest’s stew, Ali the gentlemen, cigarette pastry, Albanian liver and Lion’s milk (yes too much of it does make you roar!) More than eating strange foods, Kiva Fellows like to take charge and  cook local specialties themselves! Nothing says immersion and cultural understanding more than whipping up a batch of ‘vizier’s fingers’!

The fellow in Turkey is probably the luckiest because of the amazing cuisine available. Turkey has a rich culinary history dating back to the Ottoman Empire. Don’t forget that the Sultan controlled the spice trade crossing his territories so only the best ingredients ended up on his table. Legend says that imperial cooks were rigorously tested for hire solely based on their method of cooking rice, a simple dish. KFs are foodies and have mastered the subtle differences between rice, beans and other simple dishes

#17 Going to the Bazaar

Chris Paci, KF16, Tajikistan/Azerbaijan

The Bazaar

As Kiva Fellows, we try to do all we can to support the microentrepreneurs that Kiva has sent us abroad to help. The flip side of that – natural, if you think about it – is that we’re required to feel guilty whenever we shop at an enterprise that is not sufficiently micro. It ruins our field cred. You see, we have been sent out into the world as MICROFINANCE MISSIONARIES!: volunteers who spread the Kiva gospel while leading ascetic lives of self-deprivation that bring us closer to the impoverished societies in which we live. Upscale clothing stores and glitzy shopping malls just don’t square with that self-image.

Luckily, there’s a loophole, and it’s called the bazaar. Vast, labyrinthine, and bursting with local color, the bazaar is packed with every good a Kiva Fellow could need, all sold by hundreds of individual entrepreneurs who are micro enough to earn our attention. The bazaar makes us feel more assimilated just for having stepped inside. Even the word “bazaar” is resonant with exoticism and magic, which means, of course, that it should be dropped into casual conversation as often as possible. “Why yes, I buy all of my shashlyk from the bazaar.” “I found the most amazing Engrish T-shirt at the bazaar yesterday.” “I might be a little late; I need to pick up some apricots from the bazaar after work.” Any one of the above lines is guaranteed to make us at least 20% cooler in the eyes of our developed-world peers.

And of course, as every Kiva Fellow knows, successfully haggling with a microentrepreneur is the number-one way to gain field cred!

Read Stuff Kiva Fellows Like (SKFL) #1-9 here!>>>

Be a part of loans that change lives. Apply to be a Kiva Fellow!

Jim Burke is a Kiva Fellow working with AFODENIC in Nicaragua. When not diligently working on his Kiva deliverables he kills time reading the blog SEAWL. To learn more about Kiva borrowers around the world please visit Kiva.org.

This Monday morning I woke up under new sheets on a small bed in a small room amid warm and verdant Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It took me 30 frantic and confused seconds to piece together where I was as the sun beamed through the cracks in the unfamiliar blinds. The day before I was living across the country for two weeks verifying loan terms of Kiva borrowers. Three weeks before that I was in La Paz, Bolivia for eight weeks creating new Kiva borrower profile templates. I wander, therefore I am…a Wandering Fellow.

Juana and Eric -- La Paz, Bolivia

A Wandering Fellow is a Kiva Fellow who works with one or more Kiva partner microfinance institutions (MFI) within one country during their 16 week Kiva Fellowship. Kiva headquarters in San Francisco serves as the foci to our plasma globe  lives while us Fellows travel the world volunteering.The Wanderer, as he or she is often known, is never lost. However, they may wake up one too many mornings squinting, blinking, and darting their eyes around as they try to understand where in the world they are today.

But we’re more than world travelers, we’re traveling Fellows. You see, some, maybe most, Fellows have a relatively static Fellowship and are stationed at one MFI, in one city. These Stationaries may only venture to another city for Borrower Verifications of Kiva clients (checking loan terms, usage, and actual repayments made). The benefit of being a stationary Fellow is an ability to develop trust and friendship with MFI staff, from the person who cleans the office to the CEO. However, despite most efforts by the Wanderer, he or she may inadvertently prompt a sense of disloyalty or apathy from the MFI – which isn’t helpful for anybody.

Nueva Esperanza Group and Eric -- Cochabamba, Bolivia

The real test for the Wanderer is how well they can complete and juggle their colorful Kiva Workplan. This Fellow To-Do list consists of audits to determine loan product types and interest rates, questionnaires about the social performance of a MFI (the target market, non/financial services, efforts made toward equality and poverty alleviation, etc.), and implementing process changes (e.g. new questionnaires or templates for the Kiva work). Make sense? Great.

What this means, in practice, is that cultivating trust, confidence, and familiarity with the MFI is imperative to completing these workplan items. Honestly, MFIs don’t want some fly-by-night volunteer asking (or demanding) all their financial information. This has been one of my greatest challenges as a Fellow; during my first Fellowship in Sierra Leone, I worked with three different Kiva partners. This Fellowship in Bolivia bounces me between two partners and four large cities. I feel somewhat polygamous. And let me tell you, the dance of the Wandering Fellow is more complicated than the say Michael Jackson’s lean (3:50), Michelle Kwan’s figure skating, or learning to c-walk.  I swear.

Gregoria, her sons, and Eric -- Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Want a fresh look at Kiva clients on-the-ground? This week fellows share stories and mixed-media that bring us directly into the cities, homes and pulperías of borrowers. From the marketplace in Bolivia, to the streets of Guayaquil, to the dumps of Kenya, we learn about the challenges of working in developing countries and the strategies loan officers and Fellows can use to mitigate them. Not to mention we can see the work of Kiva fellows and Kiva Field Partners in Cambodia, Honduras and Bolivia in living color. What’s even better than reading a post by a Kiva Fellow? Seeing what we see in the field for yourself!

Making Room for Charity: Gift Giving to the Poorest Clients at CREDIT
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Dave Weber, KF16

Dave gives us a rare on-the-ground glimpse (and video!) of Kiva Field Partner CREDIT World Relief’s unique Vulnerable Services Unit (VSU) gifts program, which works to support CREDIT’s highest-needs clients with critical household and other items.

What’s Easier Than Getting Robbed in Guayaquil?
Country: Ecuador / Fellow: Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF16

Guayaquil, Ecuador is not a city known for safety. But though Emmanuel, Banco D-Miro loan officers, and even (and often) Kiva clients have been victims of crime in Guayaquil, Emmanuel reminds us that there are still those in the city trying to grow. So what’s easier than getting robbed in Guayaquil? Lending to a client in Guayaquil, and laying a foundation for a less dangerous and less vulnerable future.

Video Blog: ODEF’s First Kiva Borrower
Country: Honduras / Fellow: Sandra Pina, KF16

If you’re a new lender, you might not be familiar with the Kiva borrower profile posting process. But even if you’re an old lender, you’re definitely not familar with ODEF Financiera, S.A.’s borrower profile posting process. Sandra’s video blog brings us along as Kiva’s newest Honduran Field Partner posts its very first loan on Kiva.

Going Green? Overcoming Cultural Barriers to Promote Green Loans (Part 1)
Country: Kenya / Fellow: Claire Markham, KF16

Sustainable environmental management is not often high on the list of Kiva clients’ priorities. Nor is it much of a concern in many of the places around the world where Kiva works. But why? In Part 1 of her discussion of overcoming cultural barriers to promote green loans, Claire explains the obstacles standing in the way of green loans.

Loans Available Here ->
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Mariela Cedeño, KF16

Microfinance institutions provide entrepreneurs with the tools to start their own micro-enterprises. The trick, however, is expanding access to those that most need it, and letting these clients know it’s available. Mariela describes the strategies that Kiva Field Partner CIDRE employs to reach out to its clients, and shares a video from on-the-ground outreach in the marketplace!

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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
Costs of Kiva, Donkey Shares + the Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns

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Plus more on-the-ground videos from the past week:

CREDIT Microfinance Institution VSU Program Gift Giving: Takeo Province, Cambodia from David Weber on Vimeo.

Every time I walk into one of CIDRE’s offices in Bolivia, I always stop and take a look at their street sign. I’m not sure why, it’s a weird habit that reminds me of where I am, who I am working with, and the amazing opportunity that has been afforded to me as a Kiva Fellow. This past week, however, when walking into one of CIDRE’s branch offices I thought to myself, “I see this sign and I know that it means ‘loans available here’, but how do entrepreneurs know that they can get access to tool at CIDRE that could help change their lives?” Microfinace, after all, has as much to do with access to credit as it has to with anything, so I started asking around….how do people find out about CIDRE?

CIDRE's Office in Colomi

Word of Mouth

In talking to one of the veteran loan officers, her first response and a response that has been echoed many times since was simply: word of mouth. For decades now, some of CIDRE’s loan officers have been working in specific neighborhoods, learning about various communities’ productive activities, and offering a way to help those businesses thrive. More than that, they have become trusted community members by getting to know their clients and their families, listening to their hardships, and celebrating in their triumphs. So once one community member becomes a CIDRE client, it is highly likely that they will spread the word….in comes Francisca.

Francisca With Her Cows

Francisca has been a CIDRE client for sometime, so when her community started thinking of a way to grow their dairy businesses, Francisca suggested CIDRE could help put their plans into action. A few weeks later, 15 had committed to the plan. Together, they each took out a loan to help purchase a refrigerated milk tank from which the group’s daily milk production could be picked up by Bolivia’s largest dairy company, Pil Andina. With this direct connection to Pil, they no longer have to piecemeal irregular sales together through family and neighbors but rather have a steady source of income.

But now you’re thinking, ok, but when those star clients aren’t around to get their neighbors to CIDRE, what happens? Well CIDRE goes to them.

Spreading the Gospel of CIDRE

In Colomi, the small branch office has 3 loan officers, 4,000 inhabitants, and a lot of productive territory to cover. In order to help grow CIDRE’s presence in the small town, loan officers from the central office and a nearby brach traveled to Colomi to spread the gospel of CIDRE. On Colomi’s Dia de Feria (main market day), 6 visiting loan officers set up a small booth in the midst of all the action and got to work.

Dia de Feria, Colomi

After setting up CIDRE’s “Loans Available Here” booth, ensuring that enticing cumbias were playing on the car stereo, and stapling copies of Colomi loan officer business cards to CIDRE flyers, we were ready to go.

The CIDRE Crew

One by one the loan officers approached market antendees and gave out flyers and cards.

Getting to Know CIDRE

Some were already familiar with credit and asked specific questions regarding interest rates and loans products.

Reviewing Loan Types, Terms, and Rates

Some looked very confused…

CIDRE, what?

In the end, the loan officers handed out a hundreds of flyers and gave a lot of credit talks. We don’t know how many will become CIDRE clients in the future, but we do know that some promised to at least stop by.

Mariela Cedeño is part of Kiva’s 16th Class of Fellows serving with CIDRE in Bolivia. Cows are her new favorite thing on earth.  Please support CIDRE‘s hard-working entrepreneurs by making a loan today and  join the Friends of CIDRE/Amigos de CIDRE lending team to stay involved!

Another day, another dollar lost as a volunteer. The first part of my second Fellowship has gone by tremendously fast. I only have two more months left of what will be my seven months as a Kiva Fellow. No longer do I feel like a volunteer, this is now my way of life. At this juncture, after leaving Sierra Leone and entering Bolivia, I ask three questions: Why micro loans; Why small business; and Why poverty.

As a Fellow these questions encapsulate most of what I think about. In short, I want to know why things are the way they are. Always surrounded by questions of how to cultivate economic development, I am finding few answers but am still encouraged. Rather, I see a conglomerate of ideas that help make sense of volunteering within economic development.

Some answers are clear: when people are treated equally and offered an opportunity to help themselves financially, they truly have a greater chance of bettering their life. In this case, equality is seen in access to financial capital. My Kiva Coordinator at IMPRO in Bolivia noted that roughly 60% of their clients did not qualify to receive funding from regular banks. Part of Kiva’s mission and most microfinance institutions’ missions is to knock down the barriers for access to funds. A Kiva borrower I interviewed, Nelly, said, “If I don’t have any money [to start a business with my loan], then I don’t have a business.”

Kiva Borrower Nelly

In few words, that answers “Why microcredit?” These small loans really do get people started and on a path toward personal economic growth.

So, why small business? Really, they offer the greatest flexibility and are kindled by ingenuity. In an economy with high unemployment and few formal sector jobs, an entrepreneurial mind thrives. With a single micro loan I have seen productivity and sales increase dramatically when a puzzle-maker purchased a skill saw, when a store owner purchased a freezer to sell cold drinks, or when a woman purchased a cow for milk.

Doña Martina with her Cow

There is great potential to grow a small business, and micro loans are a significant catalyst for this growth.

Now, I hesitantly and naturally ask, “Why poverty?” What I have seen, is that a lack of opportunity, in nearly every sense of the word, truly plagues many people living in the developing (and developed) world. These opportunities can be exemplified by decent education, healthcare, nutrition, and an involved government, which are scarce in many areas of the world. I believe the presence of these forces can distinctly contribute to a person’s growth or to their stagnation. Their absence can ultimately be a shackle to poverty. If opportunities in each of those areas are offered to a population, they have the capacity to provide stability and a foundation for growth.

What role we play in the lives of those around the world can alter the way things are. The small role I play as a Fellow in getting a loan up on Kiva is barely noticeable… but crucial. Kiva offers opportunities for anyone to be part of this microcosm of getting borrowers started and to empower him or her. The role of a Fellow differs from a loan officer at a MFI or even, you, the Kiva lender. If we start with equality, continue with opportunity, and foster ingenuity, we have an occasion to participate in redefining the answer to why things are the way they are.

Eric Rindal is a Kiva Fellow based in La Paz, Bolivia working with Emprender and IMPRO. It would be awesome if you lent to Bolivian borrowers or joined the Emprender Lending Team. Eric previously volunteered in Sierra Leone as a KF15, and worked with BRAC, ARD, and SMT. It would be awesome if you also checked out Kiva borrowers in Sierra Leone

We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From alpaca fur to FSSs to ziplock bags, these are the things we like and thrive on.

#1 Being the first foreign person that somebody has ever seen in their life

Dave Weber, KF16, Cambodia

Few life experiences will measure up to the one where a Kiva Fellow is   told that he or she is ‘the first foreigner that somebody has ever seen  in their life’ (TFFPTSHESITL).  This experience often comes  with having ones hair and skin touched, which people in our home countries don’t find nearly as interesting.  KFs know that their image will forever be bored into the mind of the Latino/African/Asian/MidEastern borrower since we assume they ‘never forget their first one.’
A Kiva Fellow will react to being TFFPTSHESITL in several ways.  They will utilize social media  to get the word out to 500 people in their friend list and possibly even engage the Stories from the Field blog to get the message out to potentially hundreds of thousands.  It will also be the first story they tell supporters and people back home.  Kiva Fellows will also often use the phrase, “I’m pretty sure I was the first foreign person to ever go there” when referring to locations, even if they’re talking about Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat or the running of the bulls or the Washington Monument.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend my holiday evening at a Cambodian air conditioned movie theater which I’m certain no foreign person has been to before and I will be TFFPTSHESITL to at least half of the moviegoers there to engage in the revelry entitled Cowboys vs. Aliens.  

#2 Alpaca Fur Clothing

Eric Rindal, KF16, Bolivia

It is no secret amongst the vendors in the Andean regions of South America that Kiva Fellows are suckers for tightly knit alpaca fur scarves, gloves, sweaters, or caps. Maybe Fellows have this presumption that everyone is doing it…even the locals (I swear, dude). However, that is a bold conclusion and is a slippery slope to justifying the egregious “natural blue” alpaca fur sweater adorned with kitschy dancing alpacas circumnavigating the dangly tasseled periphery!

All that to be said, the Kiva Fellow living in La Paz (who is freezing!) finds it imperative to wear his alpaca fur scarf, cap, and fingerless gloves (which allow him to type his Borrower Verification notes) all the time. But, let it be known, this only occurs in the privacy of a locked MFI office or while home alone!

#3 Eating The Profits

Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua

Kiva Fellows love eating borrower’s profits. The Kiva Fellow will shamelessly track down the Kiva borrowers that sell tasty things like street food or pineapples. Undoubtedly the Fellow will return home with bags of (free) fruit or a belly full of street chicken. Understanding their clients is important to the fellow and clearly there is no better way to do this than eat the fruits of their labor. The fellow is culturally sensitive and understands that offering to pay is offensive to most borrowers. The extreme generosity is not something to be taken advantage of but the free nacatamale did MAKE the experience collecting a journal. If its fried crickets, boa, fresh bread, anticuchos, whatever we are trying it! If we can taste a loan we know its real.

#4 Our FSSs (Field Support Specialists):

Laurie Young, KF16, Indonesia

Let’s face it, Kiva Fellows secretly (well I guess it’s not a secret anymore) wish they could have the job of their FSS.  Honestly, who wouldn’t want to live abroad and travel to/work with microfinance organizations in the countries which Kiva operates? Sign me up!  What makes us ‘like’ them even more is that they are our ‘Yoda’ while in the field.  They are the one’s that setup our workplans (list of tasks we must complete as fellows) and provide guidance for helping us complete them.  We were fortunate to spend a week with them at KF16 training in San Francisco this summer and got to see both their fun and intellectual sides!  They are crucial in the success of Kiva and deserve immense amounts of credit and respect for the hard work they put in to maintain positive relationships with Kiva’s Field Partners!

#5 Responding more promptly to the local vocabulary for “white person” than his/her actual name

Allison Moomey, KF16, Burkina Faso

Whether it’s blanche (French), nassara (Moore), barang (Khmer), mzungu (Swahili), chelito (C. Am Spanish) or any other local dialect, it now takes just a single word to get our attention.

“Wait… you mean I don’t fit in?”

#6 Being Mistaken for a Local

Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras

Kiva Fellows (“KFs”) work tirelessly to adapt to local culture. KFs are renown for their commitment and will go to extreme lengths to assimilate. Sure, under normal circumstances a KF would likely decline the glass of banana-flavored soda with breakfast, but when in the field, they embrace all character building moments. This extends to many facets of daily life including but not limited to, clothing, hair, cuisine, sports, slang, hygiene, leisure activities, driving and partying habits. The mission is a noble one so it rightly justifies spending a Saturday night at T.G.I. Friday’s, drinking instant coffee, wearing dress pants in 90 degree heat, or watching a nightly dating game-show in order to partake in the morning gab session with office-mates over a mug of instant coffee. Yes, the lengths can be somewhat extreme, but well worth the sacrifices. KFs  live for the surprise and confusion that color the faces of locales when they reply, “Nope, actually I’m not from here, I’m from X.” Oh yessss, chalk one up for Team Kiva!

But in all seriousness, there are some hurdles that simply can’t be jumped no matter a KF’s commitment  level or the duration in country. Dance and language ability, vegetarianism, and ancestry have been known to hinder efforts. But, as on would expect, KFs soldier on. Can you spot the fellow?

#7 Ziploc Bags

Tejal Desai, KF16, Sierra Leon

Freak 10-minute downpours and a broken umbrella. Dusty winds. Ants.Mud. These bad boys can sustain it all. In Sierra Leone, Ziploc bags have been essential in protecting KF necessities when in the office and out in the field: flash drives, cameras, usb modem, extra batteries, cell phone, notebooks, directions scribbled on scraps of paper. Not to mention, they are master guards at protecting biscuits and others snacks from the interests of Sierra Leone’s ant kingdoms and families of spiders. It’s clear that Ziploc is more than just your average sandwich bag.

If liking Ziploc bags is wrong, we don’t want to be right!

#8 Planes, Trains and Automobiles

DJ Forza, KF16, Georgia

Kiva Fellows love to talk about their adventures on new and interesting forms of transportation. We especially like it when, going on a borrower verification to a remote area, we get to take two or three various modes of transport in one day; walk 20 minutes to the microbus, ride a Poda-Poda for five hours, hop on the back of a moto for 30 minutes, take ferry for 45 minute crossing, cling for life to a motorcycle driver, chill in a 4×4…all those bumpy, dusty and crowded hours spent planning our next blog post to share the fun and exciting ways we get around our new country! Even hailing a taxi is opportunity for another amazing Kiva adventure! As for me, I’m off on a marshrutka for a six hour journey to Ninotsminda near the Armenian border…where, hopefully, I will need to ride in the back of a donkey cart the last mile or so.

#9 Finding an Upscale Cafe to Escape To

Claire Markham, KF16, Kenya

Kiva Fellows often fully adapt to the local cuisine and eat all of the traditional staple foods throughout the week. However, sometimes, it is necessary to escape to that happy place with North American foods to indulge in. For me, this upscale haven is Art Caffe in Nairobi where I can get reliable wifi while I enjoy a chai latte and chocolate molten lava cake. I recognize I am paying ten times as much as I would for a more traditional Kenyan experience, but once in a while, this luxurious escape is exactly what I need to treat myself after a productive week.

Be a part of loans that change lives. Apply to be a Kiva Fellow!

Jim Burke is a Kiva Fellow working with AFODENIC in Nicaragua. When not diligently working on his Kiva deliverables he kills time reading the blog SEAWL. To learn more about Kiva borrowers around the world please visit Kiva.org.

“Banking the unbankable“ has always been my favorite nomenclature attached to the microcredit movement that has gained such strong momentum in recent years. When feeling more long-winded, I like to describe microcredit as a useful poverty alleviation tool (a piece of the pie) by which those that have been traditionally left out of the formal banking sector can access capital to help grow their enterprises. Though it’s difficult to measure exactly how many people in the world are unbanked, my overzealous use of cellular technology has made one statistic stick with me: there are twice as many people in the world with cellphones as there are with access to financial services. But why? Well there are many, many reasons and I [un/fortunately] am not a seasoned economist, however, beckoning my finite knowledge I can say that one marginalizing factor that keeps the poor from access to credit is formal collateral – no collateral, no money. Here’s where CIDRE comes in….

CIDRE is one of Kiva’s Field Partners in Bolivia, and though day-to-day they largely look like a typical bank, they have atypical clients, and those atypical clients and CIDRE’s own roots as a research and rural development think tank are the driving engines behind CIDRE’s push to continue to look for ways to provide loans under alternative collateral models.

One of their pioneer alternative credit projects involved providing loans based on community ownership of forested land. In conjunction with the Department of Forestry, CIDRE developed a forested land appraisal system and began granting loans for agricultural production based on the value of the trees on the community owned land. Interestingly enough, this alternative collateral system also furthered the mission of CIDRE’s Habitat and Environment Division, as the loans came with training regarding the importance of protecting natural resources and lessening the use of agrochemicals. Furthermore, because the trees were being used as collateral and every tree, the value of that tree, and the years of life left for that tree were registered with the Forestry Department, it was imperative that the lenders that chose to cut their trees for profit engage in sustainable forestry to replace the value of the trees.

Though in its inception the alternative forestry collateral model worked well, it seems to have somewhat eroded over the years due to evolving loan use. The initial purpose of the forestry collateral loans was for agricultural production, however, as the program expanded lenders began using these loans for lumber ventures as well. Infighting began over how the communal land was divided for the sale of lumber, individual lenders were dissatisfied with trees located on their plot, equipment couldn’t access certain areas, and those with ‘skinny’ trees were not being paid enough to repay their loans and replant. CIDRE continues to work with these borrowers to alleviate the issues that have arisen in hopes of circling back to where things started.

Nevertheless, as CIDRE’s focus has always been on production, we have finally arrived at the type of collateral to which this post owes its name, my recent nearest and dearest friend, the cow.

CIDRE’s lenders are primarily located in the rural areas of Bolivia, as such the vast majority of CIDRE’s loans fund dairy and/or agriculture businesses. In order to ensure that these lenders can access the kind of capital necessary to start or grow their businesses, CIDRE has created an internal policy by which cows become the collateral guarantee. Each cow owned by the lender is assigned a value (according to their breed, size, state, and milk production) and 80% of the cow’s value is then given as a collateral guarantee against which lenders can draw loans. The loans are almost always used to reinvest in their dairy business: to purchase more cattle (most often when a cow is pregnant, nursing, or has fallen to mastitis), for feed, to invest in ‘stock’ for their communal dairy cooperatives, milking machines, to rent land for the cows to pasture, or to buy refrigerated milk holding tanks. By all accounts these cows are in fact the most precious thing that a dairy farmer owns as they are a single source of income, sustenance, and now collateral, so it seems fitting that CIDRE has so readily acknowledged the value of their most popular clients’ trade.

As I sit around the office or head out to make field visits it seems strange that the cowllateral guarantee has become such commonplace in this organization’s day-to-day work, in fact, it’s become a regular part of my own microfinance vernacular. Just as impressive, is the wealth of ‘cow-knowledge’ that the loan officers acquire throughout their tenure with CIDRE — equipped to answer questions and analyze information regarding cows, the dairy business, and the way that community groups operate. To not hog all the cow-knowledge, here are some gems that I’ve acquired in my time with CIDRE:

• Dutch, Jersey, Holstein, and recently Creole cows populate Cochabamba’s dairy farms.
• Cows eat all the time, literally all day. Their feed consists of a balanced mix of Chacla (chopped up corn plants) , minerals, oats, pasture, alfalfa, and soya bean shells. A truck load of feed which will last 6-8 months can run up to $8,000 U.S.
• Due to pachamama (mother eart)h, her pastures, and the way that cows are raised, Cochabamba produces the best quality milk of any department in the country. This could be biased information, but I have tried the milk and cheese that comes from these bovines, and it’s pretty spectacular.
• Last, but not least, this is what a cow milking professional looks like:

Mariela Cedeño is part of Kiva Fellows 16th Class, serving with CIDRE in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Cows have become her new favorite thing on earth.  Please support CIDRE‘s hard-working entrepreneurs by making a loan today and  join the Friends of CIDRE/Amigos de CIDRE lending team to stay involved!

After Jeffrey Sachs  started talking about ladders, rungs, and poverty, many wondered if there would be an end to poverty. The way he saw it was that if a developing country could just make it to that first “rung” on the ladder, they would reach the global economy and lift themselves from poverty. He augmented this with “clinical economics,” treating developing countries like patients by offering a unique diagnosis, by properly addressing a country’s need. I am not going to analyze Sachs’ book, rather I will compare the differences of my two Kiva Fellowships in  countries considered on similar “rungs.”

Street in Freetown, Sierra Leone

A month ago I was living in Sierra Leone  for my first Kiva Fellowship, today is my tenth day in La Paz, Bolivia for my second Fellowship. These are two very different experiences; sometimes I don’t know where I am when I wake in the morning. In Sierra Leone I was often the only white person (I am part Norwegian) in most situations, and in Bolivia I am often the tallest person in the room (barefoot I’m 6’ 4½ ”). I don’t fit in, so what? Fortunately these Kiva partners in Sierra Leone and Bolivia have looked past what I am, to focus on who I am. Spending time in each country has given me a glimpse into their views on development and microfinance. This has allowed me to not look at what these countries are — considered the poorest in their regions – but who they are – uniquely developing. I am finding the needs of a country vary tremendously.

Street in La Paz, Bolivia

As a “beginner” to microfinance and international development I often asked, “What does it really look like?” I was under the impression that developing countries had congruent needs and utilized similar inputs to achieve desired outputs. But I did not account for their “starting point” or standards of living…until I lived there! The level, or “rung,” at which a country finds itself seriously affects their focus and ambitions. In Sierra Leone, development looked a little like obtaining running water at home, securing reliable electricity, the ability to pay for health care, remaining in school, investing in better infrastructure, and maintaining a job. As I walk around La Paz, most everyone has running water, lights, a more developed healthcare and education system, and the paved roads are lined with tall buildings. Comparing my Fellowships, I catch myself thinking, “If people in Bolivia are not always showering out of a bucket with cold water, using a pit toilet, and burning charcoal in stoves for cooking – as life was in Sierra Leone – then they must be developed.”

La Paz, Bolivia

This is where I am wrong. Bolivia is considered one of the poorest and least developed countries in South America; however that only captures what Bolivia is, not who Bolivia is. If each country is developing in different ways, then what are their needs for progress? This is where I am stuck – two developing countries with two very different levels of need.

Freetown, Sierra Leone

As the “basics” in a country are attained, the society evolves to enrich the multifaceted standard of living. This evolution spans the progression of human rights, political representation, and human equality. Kiva is effective as they intentionally strive to meet borrowers wherever they are on the ladder’s rung. Microloans take on a unique role of strengthening a borrower’s financial base –which enables and improves their life – thus promoting the pursuit toward stability and self-sufficiency. When you see a borrower on Kiva.org, know that your loan is addressing the borrower’s needs and, without a doubt, equipping them (and maybe even their country) to attain their goals for development.

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.

Transportation is an apt topic when so many Fellows are saying goodbye (Sierra Leone pictured)

We’ve officially hit the point in the Kiva Fellows cycle where the current batch says goodbye just as the latest group is getting their bearings at Kiva HQ. Fortunately, there are a number of posts this week to help us through the transition and cheer us up. If you’re interested in a comprehensive image gallery of the hot designs for share taxis in Rwanda, we’ve got you covered. We’ve also got stories about micro-micro-businesses in Sierra Leone, visiting research fellows in West Timor, and the intersection of medicine and microfinance in Bolivia. Plus, take long trips to the field in Armenia and Peru, and catch up on the impact of microloans in South Africa.

Note: Speaking of goodbyes, this will be my last “Update from the Field”. It’s been a pleasure sharing stories by Kiva Fellows with you each week and I look forward to seeing what the 15th class does with this space once they settle in. Cheers!

Economies of scaling down
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: David McNeill (KF14)
Instead of buying in bulk, consumers in Sierra Leone often buy precisely what they need at the time and nothing more. Microfinance has a role in serving this market but David wonders about the additional ways we can scale down services.

Share Taxis Around The World: The How, Why & Design
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Adam Cohn (KF14)
Adam’s comprehensive gallery of share taxis includes “That Bieber Fever” and “King of Hip Pop Officer Ricky The Boss” plus tons of fantastic paint jobs.

25 Years Working Where the Need is Greatest
Country: Peru / Fellow: Noreen Giga (KF14)
Noreen introduces us to some of the clients served by her partner microfinance institution, including a restaurateur, a women who now owns a few cows, and a shop-owner.

Unusual Roles of a Kiva Fellowship
Country: Liberia / Fellow: Carlos Cruz (KF14)
How does a Kiva Fellow get mistaken for a woman, a priest, and a diamond trader? Carlos shares the humorous back-stories plus a few more roles he’s taken on during his Fellowship.

New Beginnings
Country: Armenia / Fellow: Caree Edson (KF14)
While she finishes up her time in the field, Caree takes us to meet a new microfinance client, sheds light on why some MFIs are for-profit, and explains a few of the day-to-day loan management duties of loan officers.

Herbal tea and witch doctors
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Clara Vreeken (KF14)
Clara devotes her final post to how her MFIs combine medicine and microfinance, including loans for health services and working with witch doctors to ensure women who follow indigenous practices receive medical attention when necessary.

West Timor Research Insights from a Boren Fellow
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Lisa Skowron (KF14)
Lisa helps connect a graduate student in international affairs with her MFI and then interviews her about her research on financial inclusion in West Timor.

Sala Kahle: Saying Goodbye to KwaZulu-Natal
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
Many Kiva Fellows are saying farewell this week and Alexis is no exception. Read the note she shared with lenders to her MFI’s clients and check out a few final pictures from the field.

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Updates from the past month:
Earth Day, Celebrations + Exceeding Expectations
Trash, Delicious Treats + Community Outreach
Cute Pigs, New Toilets + Everything is Relative
April Fools, Terrible Coffee + Getting Attached
Social Quirks, Justin Bieber + Lots of Carbs
~

Plus more pictures from the past week:

Indonesia (by Lisa Skowron)

Sierra Leone (by David McNeill)

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Peru (by Noreen Giga)

Liberia (Carlos Cruz)

South Africa (by Alexis Ditkowsky)

Bolivia (by Clara Vreeken)

Clara volunteered as Kiva Fellow in Bolivia. She worked for the micro finance institutions IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender. In this blog she elaborates on health issues in Bolivia – Bolivians prefer to drink herbal tea and listen to witch doctors instead of seeing a doctor – and she says goodbye as the end of her Kiva Fellowship has arrived.

Bolivian people prefer to drink a herbal tea (maté) than going to a doctor.  The herbal tea here in Bolivia is delicious, however it does not cure you from all diseases. Therefore the Bolivian micro finance institutions try to get their customers seeing a doctor. The two Bolivian field partners Pro Mujer and Emprender have both clinics at their offices and IMPRO provides health loans.

Medical checkup with your loan
Most of Pro Mujer’s offices have a clinic at the office. When clients want to borrow money, they first have to go for a checkup at the doctor. In this way Pro Mujer’s doctors find out if clients have diabetes, cancer or other diseases. 

Clinic at Pro Mujer’s office

Another way of fighting for health are Pro Mujer’s health campaigns. When the clients come every two weeks or month to repay their loan they get training. One important theme is health. I attended once a training where the trainer explained how you can keep your hands clean when working in the street: by using a bottle upside down with a little back of soap attached. Pro Mujer also provides information about how you can protect yourself from pregnancy. In Bolivia sex is a taboo and many young girls get pregnant before reaching their twenties.

Information about preventing pregnancy

Witch doctors
Also Kiva’s Bolivian field partner Emprender has started a pilot with one clinic at the office in La Paz.

Clinic at Emprender’s office

When I was verifying Emprender’s clients in Cochabamba, I stayed at a friend’s place. This friend Carmen has employed an indigenous woman named Maria for helping her with cleaning and cooking. Carmen told me that Maria once produced an unpleasant smell. Carmen found out that she had an infection between her legs. Carmen said her that she had to see a doctor, but she did not want to.

Fortunately Carmen knows about the customs of indigenous people. She told Maria that she had visited a witch doctor in La Paz. Every day the witch doctor sent some messages via Carmen to Maria. In order to cure her infection she had to clean her room, had to light a candle, had to clean her room, etc. One day the witch doctor said that Maria should see a doctor. Because the witch doctor said it, she was convinced and went to the doctor. And he cured her from her infection.

Attributes used by witch doctors

Loans for health
Kiva’s field partner IMPRO has another approach to help customers with health problems. IMPRO provides loans that can be used to visit a doctor, for operations and medicines. I visited one borrower who had used a Kiva loan for health issues. This is the story of Silvia.

Silvia did not know that she had diabetes until visiting a doctor because of an infection at her leg. Unfortunately she had to amputate part of her leg. She is going to use the Kiva loan for a prosthetic.

Silvia wants to buy a prosthetic for her amputated leg

Silvia lives with her husband Francisco with their three grown up children in La Paz. Silvia and Francisco live on the highest floor of their house. Silvia tried to go down the stairs – which are very steep -, but she fell twice. Now she has decided to stay home, until she gets the prosthetic.

Silvia and Francisco make chips from potatoes as their job. Silvia cleans and cuts the potatoes and Francisco and one of their daughters sell them (see video).

The doctor advised Silvia to wait with the prosthetic for at least two months. Francisco lent 500 dollars from Kiva, but the prosthetic cost 800 dollars. Their children will all support to get the last 300 dollars together. However, their son-in-law – who had another loan – died one month ago in a car accident. So now they have to take care that his loan will be repaid, next to the contribution to the prosthetic.

You can imagine how live has changed tremendously for Silvia and her family in such a short period of time. Let’s hope that they can find the additional money for the prosthetic so that Silvia can walk again.

Strikes
In April Bolivians were striking to get a higher loan. The government had offered a 10% rise of salaries for the salaried people in Bolivia. However, because of a higher inflation than 10% the salaried people – including medical staff – did not agree to this increment and went to strike in La Paz as you can see here. They striked for more than a week. And the result? A salary incrementation of 12%, but also 200.000 people who were not attended at hospitals and around 2.000 surgeries that were not performed (source: newspaper ‘La Razon’, 20-4-2011).

Goodbye
My volunteering for Kiva has ended. It was a wonderful experience to work for IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender and to meet and write about their clients in Bolivia. I have made a compilation of the borrowers I have met, which I would like to share with you before leaving Bolivia. Here you can watch the videos of Emprender’s clients. On this video Pro Mujer’s borrowers are shown and here you find IMPRO’s borrowers.

After this wonderful experience as a Kiva Fellower I am going to travel with my husband trough Peru and Colombia. We hope the people there are as nice as the Bolivians!

Goodbye La Paz, goodbye Bolivia!

Kiva Fellows celebrated Earth Day around the world (Rwanda pictured)

Kiva Fellows observed Earth Day by sharing projects initiated by their partner microfinance institutions and host countries and by celebrating Kiva.org’s first batch of “Green Loans”. The upbeat mood also extended to anniversary parties at MFIs in Jordan and Armenia, enthusiastic endorsements to travel to Colombia, and reporting on a great opportunity for Kiva clients in Mongolia. Fellows also visited with borrowers in the Philippines, South Africa, and Armenia, and took us on a typical commute in Mexico City. All in all, a very busy week as members of KF14 wind down their time in the field.

Spazas + Tuck Shops: Corner Stores in South Africa
Country: South Africa / Fellow: Alexis Ditkowsky (KF14)
The difference between a spaza and a tuck shop is still a matter of debate but no one disagrees about the importance of corner stores in South Africa.

Colombia: Lose your perception of the past and come visit!
Country: Colombia / Fellow: John Gwillim (KF14)
John enthusiastically endorses Colombia for your next trip abroad. Beaches, mountains, jungles, colonial cities, modern amenities, and friendly people – it’s hard to go wrong.

Time, Love, Money & Energy
Country: Philippines / Fellow: Kaajal Laungani (KF12)
Inspired by the wisdom of a martial arts champion, Kaajal asks borrowers, “Do you have enough time? love? money? energy?” and shares their thoughtful responses.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
Country: Jordan / Fellow: Alex Silversmith (KF14)
Alex’s partner MFI celebrates twelve years of impact with cake, pashminas, watches, and a few of their 57,000 current clients.

The Subway Show
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
A trip on public transportation can quickly transition from entertaining to awkward to uncomfortable. John recounts one such morning in Mexico City.

Expectations
Country: Armenia / Fellow: Caree Edson (KF14)
Caree’s experience meeting with borrowers and business owners all over Armenia has met (and exceeded) her expectations of microfinance.

Additional XacBank Kiva borrowers eligible for interest rebates in savings accounts
Country: Mongolia / Fellow: Amber Barger (KF14)
Amber has been assisting her MFI in a special program: Kiva clients who pay back their loans early or on time receive a partial rebate on the interest paid, deposited straight into a savings account!

Happy Earth Day from Kiva Fellows around the Globe!
Countries: Armenia, Bolivia, Rwanda, Jordan, Cambodia, Ghana / Fellow: Compiled by Caree Edson (KF14)
While there is plenty of bad news about the environment to go around, Kiva Fellows took a moment to highlight environmental initiatives at their partner MFIs and in their host countries in honor of Earth Day. And in more good news, Kiva just launched a series of “Green Loans” so lenders can support environmentally conscientious businesses.

~
Updates from the past month:
Update from the Field: Trash, Delicious Treats + Community Outreach
Cute Pigs, New Toilets + Everything is Relative
April Fools, Terrible Coffee + Getting Attached
Social Quirks, Justin Bieber + Lots of Carbs
Fun Facts, Field Visits + Back to Basics
~

Plus more pictures from the past week:

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Cambodia (by Stephanie Sibal)

South Africa (by Alexis Ditkowsky)

Jordan (by Alex Silversmith)

Mexico (by John Farmer)

Philippines (by Kaajal Laungani)

Mongolia (by Amber Barger)

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

One of the unfortunate sight-seeing adventures that you never sign up for when you travel (especially in developing countries) is the unseemly amount of trash cluttering the otherwise beautiful landscapes. In Armenia, it isn’t possible to see the horizon through the smog most days and the streets are covered in cigarette butts and litter. I found no exceptions to this as I inquired from other Kiva Fellows about the dire situation in their countries. Environmental education and reform are simply not a top priority in many countries. But the future of climate change initiatives are not entirely hopeless…

Overlooking Yerevan, Armenia

As an organization that works internationally, Kiva is concerned about this issue and has decided to shoulder the responsibility as well by launching a new line of “Green Loans”.  Many microfinance institutions do their part by extending green loans to clients that are environmentally conscientious.   You can read about some of these Kiva loans in the US, Mongolia, and Bolivia by clicking here. In honor of Earth Day this year, I decided to focus on the positive and report, with the help of my fellow Kiva Fellows, on the Earth-friendly initiatives that are happening across the globe.

In Armenia, SEF International strives to educate clients on environmental concerns. Rouzan, the Kiva Coordinator at SEF, tells me that SEF International’s loan contract obliges the borrower to act responsibly towards the environment, humanitarian and legal spheres.  There is also a fee in case the contract in this section is overlooked. Apart from that, most of SEF’s farmer clients are engaged in organic agriculture for internal consumers.  Through its loans, SEF International encourages the implementation of advances in organic agriculture. The office also makes a point to recycle and participates in Earth Hour each year by shutting off all electricity for an hour.

There are other nationwide events such as “Clean up the Earth Day”, in Armenia, where the government mandates that all citizens should spend the day picking up trash and brightening the appearance of their neighborhoods.  With garbage cluttering many of the parks, there are also festivals that take place to educate and encourage the neighborhood to keep their parks clean. The majority of cars in Armenia have been converted to run on natural gas. Most consumers opt for this choice as natural gas is quite a bit cheaper than petrol, but it also happens to be better for the environment. It is a bit tough on the engines of cars that are not originally built to run on natural gas and takes an awful lot of power away (you can see marshrutkas puttering slowly up hillsides in every town) and the possibility of explosions are ever present as customers wait 20 feet away from filling stations for their cars to be filled, but it is certainly commendable that an entire nation is switching to natural gas and finding a way to work through these set-backs.

A natural gas filling station in Armenia

In Bolivia there is a lot of pollution on the streets because of old buses and cars that run on gasoline. Kiva’s Bolivian partner, IMPRO has provided loans to 21 taxi drivers to convert their cars from gasoline to biogas.  The following was contributed by Clara Vreeken, the Kiva Fellow in Bolivia:

IMPRO’s client Emilio is a taxi driver in the capital of Bolivia, La Paz. He was one of the first taxi drivers who converted his car from gasoline to biogas with a Kiva loan in 2007. When I was interviewing him, he explained the environmental advantages of this change: “When a car drives on gasoline, it produces toxic gases. However, when it drives on biogas it doesn’t. Moreover, biogas is healthy. And nowadays, according to the climate changes, I would advise that all vehicles should function on biogas.  Working all day on gasoline, I used to spend around 100 bolivianos ($15 dollars) a day. After having changed to gas, I spend around 40 bolivianos (6 dollars). So there is an enormous difference.”

Emilio with his car

Adam Cohn contributed a story from Rwanda where plastic bags are illegal and there is a surprising absence of garbage on the ground throughout the country. “At supermarkets they abuse paper bags like they abuse plastic ones in Asia. At all the other markets, kids run around selling either paper bags or reusable bags like we have in the states or like those that rice comes in. And for those that don’t want to pay for them? *Gasp* they bring their own!!  I’m tellin’ ya, Rwanda is a model for the developing world.”

Submitted by Adam Cohn, KF 14, Rwanda

From Alex Silvermith in Jordan: In Jordan, a country that shares a border with Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and its development arm, Wild Jordan, are implementing multi-pronged conservation efforts around the country to rejuvenate pockets of wilderness badly damaged by commercial over-use and inattention. In a country the size of Indiana, where 75% of the land is desert, RSCN has partnered with local residents in conservation efforts in 6 wilderness areas. A hut system, online shops, and hand-made products from locals all help sustain the conservation efforts. As a result, you can stay in wetland lodge run by local Chechens or buy local goat leather from the Bedouin that live near Petra. While conservation efforts still have a long way to go towards raising awareness amongst the general population — one need look no further than piles of strewn trash to pinpoint popular picnic spots — sustainable conservation efforts reflect something exceptional in a region better known for the indoor ski resort of Dubai or oil pipelines of Saudi Arabia.

You wouldn't know you were surrounded by desert in every direction, Dibeen Forest Reserve

Stephanie Sibal reports that “Cambodia as a whole has started a couple of projects towards bettering the environment. For example, there are ads encouraging shoppers at Lucky Supermarket to use canvas/recyclable bags– if you buy one, the proceeds go to the Ministry of Environment.”

“Also, Cambodia has a lot of lush jungle that is home to many endangered species such as Asiatic black bears and Indian tigers that have fallen prey to illegal poachers. With very little money coming in from the Ministry of Environment/central government to protect the wildlife parks, there are quite a few American and French NGOs based here in Phnom Penh that have hired and trained more full-time park staff to monitor the area and they’re hoping that will cut down on the poaching.”

Mei-Ing Cheok contributed the following story about fishing boats in Ghana:

It is a real shame though to see the rubbish piled up on the sandy beaches – more often than not, empty water sachets – and sometimes floating in the water. Waste management has a long way to go in Ghana. Nonetheless, it is heartening to see that the government is making an effort in other areas.

Fishing has long been a major industry and source of livelihood (and protein!) for many people in Ghana. However, bad fishing practices – by both local and foreign fishers – have depleted the fish stocks in Ghanaian waters. The government recently took the bold step of banning certain destructive fishing practices, such as light fishing (the use of light to attract fish at night) to allow fish stocks to recover.

Bojo Beach

There is of course short-term pain with this ban as fishermen break old habits and adopt alternative methods of fishing. Further, there is more to be done, especially in dealing with illegal fishing by foreign trawlers, to sustain long term fish stocks and the livelihoods of the coastal communities. However, the Ghanaian authorities have taken a commendable step in righting its marine eco-balance and they are setting a great example for the rest of the world (particularly, the Western governments).

Read more about this in Gone Fishing.

When it comes to environmental challenges, we all need to clean up our act. It’s refreshing to hear new and innovative ideas from around the globe that will affect the next generation and create new Earth- friendly habits.

Happy Earth Day from the 14^th class of Kiva Fellows!!

To learn more about Kiva’s exciting new line of green loans or to lend to one of our environmentally conscious borrowers go to www.kiva.org

Kiva Fellows love to learn about the intersection of food and business (Colombia pictured)

Let’s take a moment to vicariously consume baked goods in Colombia, coffee in Nicaragua, tomatoes in Ukraine, and a traditional meal in Nepal. Once you’re sated, you can read about the dismal state of trash collection in Guatemala, the lives of borrowers in Bolivia, what “mobile” savings really means in Indonesia, and how Kiva’s partner MFIs all around the world are providing life-enhancing services and engaging with the community in meaningful ways.

Nicaraguan Coffee Odyssey – Lend To Growers Now!
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
Karen’s commitment to food in Nicaragua continues with updates on the coffee industry. She visits a local coffee grower, a coffee cooperative, and a coffee fair, where she enjoys a chilled banana, chocolate, and espresso rum concoction. Yum!

What women want in Bolivia
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Clara Vreeken (KF14)
Clara introduces us to four borrowers in La Paz: Francisca with her macramé-embellished blankets, Rosa with her beautiful hand-made shoes, Carlos the cab driver, and Wilma who is struggling to pay back her loan.

Conflict Generated Displacement and Microfinance: Helping People Build a New Life
Country: Colombia / Fellow: John Gwillim (KF14)
John profiles Merys, a local Kiva client who, like many Colombians, was displaced by violence and had to rebuild her life from scratch. With the support of John’s partner MFI and others, Merys now runs a successful bakery and plans to expand her business.

[Video blog] Glory to the tomato!
Country: Ukraine / Fellow: Jacqueline Gunn (KF14)
Jacqueline visits a hub of Ukrainian agriculture and learns about the benefits of greenhouses, the challenges of fluctuating prices, and the impact of agricultural loans offered by her partner MFI to entrepreneurs in the region.

A Different Spin on “Mobile Savings”
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Lisa Skowron (KF14)
Lisa was thrilled when she learned her partner MFI was launching a mobile savings program but soon realized that the process involved vans not cell phones. At the end of the day, though, impact is not about cutting-edge technology, it’s about execution, and her MFI has big plans for “mobile” banking.

Guatemala’s Trash Problem and One Pueblo’s Response
Country: Guatemala / Fellow: Gustavo Visalli (KF14)
Most places in Guatemala lack a formal system for trash collection and it shows. Fortunately, Gustavo’s partner MFI has taken matters into its own hands, establishing a community collection service without government assistance.

Giving Women a Voice: Local Governance in BPW Patan
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Claudine Emeott (KF14)
Despite a backdrop of political upheaval in Nepal, Claudine’s partner MFI has demonstrated a commitment to local governance, encouraging borrowers and center chiefs to provide candid feedback about services, pricing, and improving relationships.

~
Updates from the past month:
Cute Pigs, New Toilets + Everything is Relative
April Fools, Terrible Coffee + Getting Attached
Social Quirks, Justin Bieber + Lots of Carbs
Fun Facts, Field Visits + Back to Basics
Carnival, Collaboration + Cheese-Making
~

Plus more pictures from the past week:

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

Ukraine (by Jacqueline Gunn)

Guatemala (by Gustavo Visalli)

Indonesia (by Lisa Skowron)

Bolivia (by Clara Vreeken)

Nepal (by Claudine Emeott)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Clara volunteers as Kiva Fellow in Bolivia. She works for the micro finance institutions IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender. She visited a lot of borrowers, of whom many women.

Francisca has to fight hard taking care for her large family and has a heart of gold by inviting me at her home. Rosa was beaten by her ex husband and became stronger by having her own shoe business. Not only women have hard times surviving in Bolivia, also men suffer. Read the story of Carlos the taxi driver who almost died. And what happens with women who do not show up on repayment meetings?

Heart of Gold
As a Kiva follower I have to verify the borrower information of two Bolivian field partners: Emprender and Pro Mujer. The latter micro finance institution lends mainly to groups of women. These women pay their loan back every 15 days or every month at one of the offices of Pro Mujer. I scheduled my interviews with the dates that they were coming to the office.

When I verified the data of the communal bank ‘Corazon de Oro’ – Heart of Gold -, I interviewed the leader of this group, Francisca. Francisca makes macramé decorations on blankets. After having explained that she used her loan to buy land for her family, she invited me to have a look at her house.

Francisca shows her self made blankets at the office of Pro Mujer

So we went by minibus – not made for tall Dutch women like me – to the furthest part of the town. As you can see on this video Francisca makes macramé decorations on blankets. She learned how to make the decorations already when she was 8 years old.

Francisca has 11 children from the age of 11 to 36. Six children have already been married. Five are still single and live with Francisca in her little house. Her husband works in Cochabamba – around six hours away from La Paz – in construction. Francisca and her husband see each other once every month.

Francisca tells me that in the near future she would like to borrow more from Pro Mujer/Kiva, because she would like to build a better house on her land. Now her house is made of clay and she would like to build a house with bricks and cement. In this way she wants to improve the way of living for her and her family.

Overcoming the beating by having her own business
Rosa is a woman who borrows money via Kiva’s field partner IMPRO. She used a Kiva loan to buy the materials needed to manufacture women’s shoes. When Rodrigo, the loan officer, and I visited her just after Carnival, she told me that she had sold a lot during the Carnival period. Normally she makes 36 pairs of shoes in a week and sells 24 pairs. During the week of Carnival she sold 625 pairs. 

Rosa and one of her sons

Rosa is a single mother of three children aged 7, 9 and 11. She told me that her ex-husband used to beat her. She says: “When I got my own shoe business, I felt stronger and decided to get a divorce”. Rosa and her children are now living in one big rented room and Rosa makes her shoes in a tent outside her house. She was able to buy a sewing machine, which makes the work easier. Her wish is to get her own house where she can have her shoe business. Rosa dreams about exporting her shoes to Peru or Argentina.

Have a look at the tent where she makes the shoes and at her room where she has her sewing machine, by clicking here.

Dying because of your car
Not only women are struggling for their live in Bolivia. The capital La Paz can also be very dangerous for men, especially for taxi drivers.

For a borrower verification at Emprender I interviewed the taxi driver Carlos. He told me that he almost died one year ago. He was working late when three young people enter his car. They wanted to go to a remote place in La Paz. When he almost arrived they grabbed Carlos by his neck, tried to kill him and threw him out of the car.

Carlos the taxi driver

Fortunately, Carlos did not die and woke up in the street some hours later. He went to the police. For a certain amount of money they wanted to help searching his car. The police found the car: it was totally stripped. With the Kiva loan Carlos bought the missing parts. I asked if he was not afraid that it would happen again. He answered: “Yes, I’m still afraid, but I don’t work in the evening or night anymore.”

When one group member does not repay the loan
The last client I had to find for the borrower verification of ten clients for Pro Mujer was Wilma. She is the president of the ‘Hormiguitas’ – ‘Ants’ – group. She did not show up twice when this group had to repay the loan at Pro Mujer’s office. The first time she had sent the money with someone else of the group. The second time she didn’t send any money. The group did not have enough money to stand in for Wilma’s repayment, so we all went to find her at her new job and to collect the money.

Pro Mujer’s group ‘Hormiguitas’ looking for Wilma (in yellow) at her work

Wilma told me that she had a hard time surviving as a single mother. She wanted to buy a stall where she could sell vegetables on Fridays and Saturdays. However, the selling lady did not want to sell it anymore when Wilma came with the money from Kiva. Wilma got the opportunity to enter as cleaner in a hospital/kindergarten, where they also take care of her 3 years old child. The father of her son left her when their son was born. Because she could not buy the stall she decided to use the loan to buy a TV and DVD.

As she did not get permission from her work to go to the office of Pro Mujer, she could not attend the repayment meetings. Fortunately she had the money with her when we came to visit her at her work. As nobody wanted to return to the office and bring Wilma’s money, I offered to do it. In this way the group members could return to their businesses. But I don’t think Wilma will be part of the Hormiguitas group again when they will get a new Kiva loan.

What do you think of these stories? What do women want in Bolivia?

Are you interested to lend money to women in Bolivia? Then click here for loans from women who borrow via IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender.

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)

Clara volunteers as Kiva Fellow in Bolivia. She works for three micro finance institutions. She verifies borrowers’ data, implements changes and informs the lenders about Kiva’s entrepreneurs. In this blog she elaborates on her tasks as a Kiva Fellow.

Why volunteering as a Kiva Fellow?
Together with my husband I took a sabbatical from our work. Instead of traveling around the world, we wanted to improve our Spanish and learn a South American culture. After the application process via internet and skype, Kiva gave me the opportunity to work for Kiva in Bolivia. In January the Kiva Fellows class was trained at the headquarters of Kiva in San Francisco. Now we all have been sent to Kiva’s field partners all over the world!

Training at the headquarters of Kiva in San Francisco

I’m working together with Bolivian bank employees 40 hours a week. With the loan officers and Kiva coordinators I visit clients and perform interviews. The bank employees and borrowers do not speak English (or Dutch in my case) so enough time for me to speak Spanish!

Eyes and ears of Kiva
Every year Kiva sends Kiva Fellows to its field partners. They are the eyes and ears of Kiva and have three objectives:
1. To verify data of the borrowers at the micro finance institutions by reviewing the system and visiting the entrepreneurs.
2. To implement changes. Kiva is a young organization and changes fast. The new policies are introduced and implemented by the Kiva Fellows.
3. To inform you about the entrepreneurs and Kiva’s work!

Some field partners of Kiva work already a long time with Kiva, others recently partnered up. This means that these field partners need different work from the Kiva Fellows. That is the reason that every Kiva Fellow has its own work plan with different activities for one or more field partners. I work with the following three micro finance institutions: IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender. All three of them have been working already a long time with Kiva.

Implementing change and informing about the entrepreneurs at IMPRO
IMPRO’s employees know how to upload pictures of borrowers and what to write about their clients in the borrower profiles and updates. One part of my work plan was to improve the content of the borrower profiles and updates and the pictures. So I gave trainings to the loan officers and the Kiva coordinator explaining what information the lenders are interested in and why they would like to see a smile on the borrower’s face.

Giving a training at IMPRO

Next to implementing changes I inform the lenders about IMPRO’s borrowers. I visit the clients at their home or they come to the office and I write updates about them to the lenders.

Interviewing a client from IMPRO

Verifying borrowers’ data at Pro Mujer and Emprender
For both Pro Mujer and Emprender I am verifying the data of their borrowers. For both institutions I had to visit 10 clients or client groups and verify whether the loans had really been made.

Pro Mujer works mainly with groups (mainly women). These groups meet every two or four weeks at the offices of Pro Mujer in La Paz. At these meetings the groups repay part of their loan and they receive trainings – about how to run their business, why it is important to save money and about health issues. Sometimes groups meet in the street with their loan officer when the office is difficult to reach for them.

Meeting Pro Mujer’s clients in the streets

Before or after the repayment and training, I interview the leader of the group. I check whether the loan dates, the loan amount and loan use are the same as reported at the Kiva website. I also make notes for an update to the lenders on how the business of the borrower is going and if changes have happened in her live.

Interviewing the leader of one of Pro Mujer’s client groups

At Emprender I had to interview 9 clients and 1 client group, in La Paz and  in Cochabamba (10 hours by bus from La Paz). They have different types of businesses: butcher, hair dresser, taxi driver, agriculture and seamstress. Sometimes the clients are not at home. For example in Cochabamba, one client was not at home twice. Fortunately, she showed up at the office two days later!

Visiting one of Emprender’s clients in La Paz

Kiva Fellowship: amazing experience
The three months of Kiva Fellowship (nowadays the minimum is 16 weeks) are flying! The experience to work with Bolivian bank employees and to visit borrowers is amazing! I would recommend the Kiva Fellowship to everyone, especially to people who want to perform meaningful work for an amazing nonprofit organization and to learn a new culture meanwhile!

Would you also like to become a Kiva Fellow? Have a look at www.kiva.org/fellows  for more information!

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”.

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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
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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)

Fellows, tourists, and locals celebrated Carnival all over Latin America (Colombia pictured)

This past week was all about collaboration: Fellows coordinating across continents to profile entrepreneurs and organizations who believe International Women’s Day should be every day and community members coming together to celebrate Carnival in all of its elaborate glory. We learned about public health in Peru, making cheese and cigars in Nicaragua, the impact of climate change in Bolivia, and the challenges faced by a microcredit saleswoman in Guatemala. Life as a Kiva Fellow is busy as always!

Carnival de Barranquilla
Country: Colombia / Fellows: Nick Hamilton (KF14) & John Gwillim (KF14)
Celebrate Carnival de Barranquilla vicariously through Nick’s words and John’s stunning photos. You’ll feel like you’re right in the middle of the action.

Celebrating Women around the World!
Countries: Cambodia, Ghana, Rwanda, Armenia, Bolivia, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan / Fellows: Stephanie Sibal (KF14), Mei-ing Cheok (KF14), Adam Cohn (KF14), Caree Edson (KF14), Klaartje Vreeken (KF14), John Farmer (KF14), Charlie Wood (KF14)
Supporting a family entails enormous personal and financial sacrifices for many women but economic empowerment can help alleviate some of the burden. This group post highlights the successes and challenges faced by select women from around the world and organizations and people who are committed to making fundamental improvements in their lives.

Empowering women through microfinance in Ghana
Country: Ghana / Fellow: Mei-ing Cheok (KF14)
Mei-ing lays out the legal and cultural roadblocks to female financial empowerment in Ghana and the many ways her partner microfinance institution (MFI) is dedicated to its clients, from loans to savings to academic scholarships for clients’ children.

Celebrating Carnival in the Andes
Countries: Peru, Bolivia / Fellows: Geeta Uhl (KF14), Noreen Giga (KF14), Sherrise Pond (KF14), Clara Visser (KF14)
After your trip to Colombia for Carnival, head down to Peru and Bolivia to see how they celebrate it in the Andes. Check out the traditional costumes, paint-covered Fellows, multitude of parades, and so much more in the photos.

Mud torrent, climate change and food crisis in Bolivia
Country: Bolivia / Fellow: Clara Visser (KF14)
Clara’s partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) are working hard to assist clients who are suffering from the impact of rising food prices and climate change, including recent mudslides in La Paz that destroyed at least 1500 homes.

“No Pasa Nada”
Country: Peru / Fellow: Noreen Giga (KF14)
“No Pasa Nada” is a ubiquitous phrase in Peru and it’s now the cornerstone of a recent public health campaign targeting HIV/AIDS discrimination. It’s catchy, it’s clear, and it sends the message that “Nothing is going to happen, discrimination is ridiculous.”

The Microcredit Saleswoman
Country: Guatemala / Fellow: Gustavo Visalli (KF14)
Gustavo shadows a loan officer in the highlands of Guatemala and discovers a very different dynamic between door-to-door saleswoman and potential clients than he’s used to in the United States.

Say Cheese For Kiva Student Loans
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
Karen conducts important taste-testing at a local university where students have invested small loans from Kiva’s partner microfinance institution (MFI) into making cheese and selling it on campus.

What are they smoking in Nicaragua?
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14)
A double-header from Karen. After learning about making cheese, she visits a tobacco-grower (and Kiva borrower) who makes cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua.

~
Previous updates from the field:
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:

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

Peru (by Geeta Uhl)

Guatemala (by Gustavo Visalli)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Bolivia (by Klaartje Vreeken)

Ghana (by Mei-ing Cheok)

Peru (by Noreen Giga)

Rainfalls caused a hilltop to collapse in a poor neighborhood of La Paz (Bolivian newspaper ‘La Razón’).

Heavy rains in the north of Bolivia (Rurrenebaque) with 11.000 harmed families (Bolivian newspaper ‘La Razón’).

Mud torrent has washed away one part of La Paz

Bolivian women are watching the destroyed houses

Destroyed area in La Paz because of the heavy rainfalls

As a Kiva Fellow I work for the micro finance institutions IMPRO, Emprender and Pro Mujer. Many clients from these three institutions have suffered from the heavy rain falls in Bolivia. One cashier of Emprender lost his house. Emprender is helping him donating him goods and money. When visiting the home of Pro Mujer´s client Francisca, she showed me how one of the walls on her land (which she bought with a Kiva loan) had fallen down. For other clients who have lost their house Pro Mujer is collecting donations, ranging from clothes and blankets to water and money. The party for Carnaval last Friday was canceled and the money went to the people in the effected area.

Pro Mujer´s client Francisca next to the fallen wall – because of the heavy rain fall

Climate change
Bolivia is suffering from the world wide climate change. The heavy rains, droughts, frosts and hailstones endanger the production of food (e.g. potatoes) and cause deaths among cows.

Bolivians with their cows on the street (Bolivian newspaper ‘La Razón’).

Comic in the Bolivian newspaper ‘La Razón’: ‘Now that you have water at home, we are going to start working with the connection of natural gas’.

Food crisis
Last months the food prices in the international market have increased. In order to keep food affordable for the Bolivians, the government of Evo Morales kept the prices low and prohibited the producers to export their food products.  In this way the producers were not motivated to increase their production and could not take advantage of the higher prices in the international markets. The agro industrials produced 35% less food. The result: sugar and corn were out of stock and Bolivia had to import these products, which resulted in higher prices.

This picture shows the increase in price of various products (the red line is sugar).

Nowadays the centers of the big cities in Bolivia are at least once a week crowded with people protesting against the increased prices of different products.

To view the video with a demonstration in La Paz, click here.

The combination of the economic and food crisis have caused an increased number of people suffer from hunger. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations more than 1.000.000 people worldwide are chronically hungry.  In Bolivia 2,1 millions out of 9,2 millions of inhabitants are undernourished.

According to the ‘Fundación Ecológica Universal’ the number of inhabitants in Latin America and the Caribbean will increase with 588 million to 657,7 millions. The global production of food will not be sufficient to meet the demand.

So how should the problem of climate change and a lack of sufficient food for more people in Bolivia be solved?

Clara Vreeken is a Kiva Fellow in Bolivia, where she works for IMPRO, Pro Mujer and Emprender. Last week mud torrents destroyed 400 homes in the capital La Paz. Climate change in Bolivia leads to less food production, hunger and protests in the streets.

Carnival in Ayacucho, Peru

Geeta Uhl, KF14, Peru

Carnaval is probably the second most popular holiday in Ayacucho, after Semana Santa, and you can certainly tell by the crowds of people that flock to the city. Peru’s National Cultural Institute even declared the Ayacuchan Carnival as an event of national heritage.

However, it is nothing like what goes on during Mardi Gras in New Orleans or what everyone thinks of the typical Carnival celebrations in Brazil. Carnival in Ayacucho is much more traditional, though it still brings lots of activity, color, music, costumes, dancing, and musicians to the town’s center, and parties go on in the streets well into the night. The main celebrations last for 4 days and just ended last night (well, some finished their partying this morning). The locals even say that many birthdays in Ayacucho are in October, exactly nine months after Carnival…

Carnival celebrations in Ayacucho. All dancing groups end up in the Plaza de Armas

Usually the locals from Ayacucho and the surrounding area dance with their neighborhood, office, school, or other social group. Each group dresses up in traditional costume, and then parades around town, eventually ending up in the main Plaza de Armas, where crowds greet them. The women dance and sing in the front and the men follow in the back, providing the music on guitars, flutes, accordions, drums, and other instruments.

FINCA Peru staff and borrowers get ready to parade through Ayacucho

I had the opportunity to dance (in costume) with my MFI, FINCA Peru. Many of the songs are sung in Quechua so it was a little challenging to learn the words. Most groups have similar songs, dances, and costumes but then add their own personal humor or irony to the lyrics, many times including social and political commentary- unfortunately most of it was a little too subtle for my foreign ear to pick up.

FINCA Peru's Kiva Coordinator dances in the Carnival parade

FINCA Peru staff at Carnival in Ayacucho

FINCA Peru "socias" or borrowers, really get into the celebrations

FINCA Peru staff plays music throughout the streets of Ayacucho

I am trying to fit in amongst the locals...

Carnival in Cajamarca, Peru

Noreen Giga, KF14, made the 17 hour bus ride from Lima to Cajamarca where she met with Kiva Fellow Sherrise Pond, KF14, who traveled six hours from Chiclayo. Cajamarca, dubbed the Capital of Carnival in Peru, sits 2750 meters above sea level and is surrounded by an expansive vision of beautiful, mist-covered mountains. Noreen and Sherrise also met with former Kiva Fellow, Casey Unrein, KF13, who traveled from Trujillo to join in the festivities.

Sherrise, Casey and Noreen in Cajamarca

Sherrise Pond, KF14, Chiclayo, Peru

Carnival events in Cajamarca actually began in mid-February, but the high point kicked off last weekend from March 4^th through 8^th.  The first thing I noticed about Cajarmarcans is that they were ready to party…anywhere! Large crowds gathered in the streets singing traditional Peruvian songs, while playing (some more talented than others) specially-made carnival drums also known as “tumba” and the pinkullo, a wooden flute native to Peru. People formed tons of small circles while their friends jumped into the middle and danced to the music. Since Cajamarca is in the mountains it tended to rain off and on throughout the weekend. But that didn´t stop us from enjoying the music, dancing in front of the stage and making new friends.

Friday night was also the crowning of the Carnaval Queen of Cajamarca 2011. Fifteen young women from different barrios in Cajamarca competed for the title in a pageant similar to Miss America. The women showed off their beauty and brains through various question and answer sessions and catwalks where they modeled elaborate evening gowns and swimwear. The stadium was packed with Cajamarcans who clearly loved their neighborhood and supported their potential Queen.

Noreen Giga, KF 14, Lima, Peru

As soon as I stepped off the bus in Cajamarca, Peru for Carnival I was in the middle of Water/Paint Fest 2011. Kids throwing water balloons at cars, kids and adults. Adults dumping buckets of water and paint from their balconies on unsuspecting pedestrians. Bands of kids covered in paint roamed the street with buckets of paint and water guns looking for their next victim. Unarmed and wearing the only pair of jeans I brought with me to Peru, I quickly sought refuge in a convenience store. Not more than 15 minutes later I saw fellow Kiva Fellow Sherrise Pond walking down the street. Quite calmly I might add, as if she was not terrified of getting doused with paint at any moment. She planned to stay on the part of town where paint fighting was not allowed, while my friends and I had other plans…An hour later I left my hostel armed with a water gun and became an insta-target. I didn’t get very far from my hostel when I saw three six year olds huddled together on the corner of the next block, dipping their hands into a full bucket of blue paint. They saw me. I’m pretty sure they could smell my fear. I’ve never been so terrified of little kids before. I had a lame water gun that was more like a spray bottle than the super soaker I wished I had. I looked at the kids, I looked at my friends, and on the count of three we charged. The kids won. It wasn’t a fair fight. I didn’t last long in the water/paint fest and about 30 minutes in we ducked into a restaurant.

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Water and paint fights in Cajamarca

Defeated with paint in Cajamarca

During the 4 hour parade of elaborate costumes ranging from typical Peruvian dishes to astrological signs, to marching bands, massive water fights would break out. I stood behind two brave soldiers who tried to take on a group of girls across the street. Everyone was wet by the end of parade and dancing in the streets. I had never been to a parade where everyone interacted with each other. People from the streets just walked up to whoever they wanted and got their pictures taken,  danced with the performers, or started a water fight. I felt like I was a part of the Cajamarcan community. Everyone was so welcoming and proud of what I really do believe is the best Carnival celebration in Peru!

Kids preparing to strut their stuff in Cajamarca

Parade of Astrological Signs

Carnival in Oruro, Bolivia

Clara Visser, KF 14, Bolivia, is serving as a Kiva Fellow at IMPRO Bolivia. Here are her photos from the Carnival celebrations there:

Don’t forget to check out photos from the Carnival celebrations in Baranquilla from Kiva Fellow John Gwillim here

Solidarity - A group of Ghanaian women after their weekly meeting with their loan officer

The beauty of microfinance is that it gives people at the wrong end of the income spectrum opportunities to step out of the poverty trap. It also provides women the confidence and security that comes from earning their own income, leading to greater gender equality.

Financially and economically empowering women, studies have shown, has a greater ‘trickle-down’ effect, as they tend to spend more of their earnings on the household expenses such as school fees and healthcare. Thus, it benefits not only themselves, but also their families and even their communities.

This International Women’s Day, Kiva Fellows celebrate individuals and organisations around the world who have contributed to the advancement of women in their communities. We salute you.

Cambodia: From Housewife to Entrepreneur

By Stephanie Sibal

Norn, entrepreneur from Cambodia

Norn, a petite 28-year-old former housewife with two young children, used to rely solely on her husband’s US$5 per day income as a blacksmith. With her loan, Norn braved her first ever trip outside her tiny neighborhood to buy groceries and opened up a store in front of her home. She can now make up to US$15 in gross income per day. While the ins and outs of running her own business are an ongoing learning process, Norn is thankful. She now has regular customers who have also become her friends. 

Ghana:  Freedom from Hunger

By Mei-ing Cheok

The Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN) provides thousands of micro loans to women in rural and semi-urban areas through its Freedom from Hunger programme. George Tokpo, Director of Operations, says, “When we empower women, they are able to provide their families. We acknowledge that women are more responsible when it comes to the upbringing of their children.” Mr Tokpo added that women make better clients, “Women are able to find jobs much more easily than men. They’re a lot more adaptable. If one business fails, they will pick something else up very quickly. This lowers the likelihood of defaults.” (read more about how microfinance is empowering women in Ghana here)

CRAN team: Gifty (in charge of borrower profiles), George (Director of Operations) and Cecilia (journal updates)

Rwanda: Francoise’s Fabulous Story

By Adam Cohn

In the video blog, meet Francoise, who started selling bananas with her first loan and today, owns a provision shop, land and is on her way to starting a farm. This goal-driven woman is providing for her family of eight and doing a great job of it.

Armenia: A tale of two women

By Caree Edson

Hripsik in her hair salon

Women’s Day is also celebrated in Armenia and because the holiday falls on a Tuesday this year, the government has declared Monday a holiday as well ensuring a nice long weekend for everyone.  While inquiring about women borrowers who stand out in SEF’s history of lending, I was immediately directed to Hripsik Movsisyan and Raya Martirosyan. These women lead vastly different lives -one owns a salon in the city, while the other works on her family’s farm in the countryside- but both represent the warmth and strength that I have come to appreciate in the Armenian people.

Hripsik is a hardworking widow with two children. She opened a salon in 2009 and applied for a loan from SEF for an air-conditioner to make her salon more comfortable during the hot summer months in Yerevan. This was a great move for the business and Hripsik was able to pay off the loan years before it was due in full.

Raya with her family and their cattle

Raya Martirosyan has been teaching math in a school in a tiny town named Agarak for the past 30 years. Unfortunately, her family cannot survive on her low wages and her farm is necessary for additional income and stability. She applied for a loan to buy cattle and has been paying her loan back consistently since September.

These women represent the struggles that many Armenian families face and the risks and hard work involved in making ends meet.  This coming women’s day should be a celebration of all the women making sacrifices everyday to better the quality of life for themselves and their families.

Bolivia: Guadalupe Cárdenas, a Remarkable Woman

By Klaartje Vreeken

Guadalupe (in blue) and women from Comité Cívico Popular de la Ciudad de El Alto

Guadalupe Cárdenas was beaten up by a policeman and lost her child in 2002. Three years ago, she started a new institution called Comité Cívico Popular de la Ciudad de El Alto, which fights for women’s and their children’s rights in El Alto, the city above La Paz where many poor Bolivians live.

The first campaign Guadalupe started was helping poor mothers to baptize their babies and to get their legal papers. Her institution provides the dresses for the babies and has so far, baptized around 10,000 babies.

In 2010 Guadalupe also campaigned against cervical cancer. Using an ambulance, they screened around 3,500 women for cervical cancer For 400 women, the cancer had already reached an advanced stage. However, Guadalupe’s group also managed to detect early stages of cancer in around 1,000 women.

Mexico: Champion for the People

By John Farmer

Pily, she's no zombie

CrediComun’s Kiva Coordinator, Pily, is a strong young woman who took part in the UNAM (the largest university in Mexico) student demonstrations in 1999, when the university announced that tuition would rise from practically nothing to around $150 per semester.  “We were a generation that protested, that mobilized; we risked our lives for something more than selfish interests, and we refused to play the role of a zombie.”

Her resume further illustrates her activism: working with street children in Chiapas, building houses for (and with) the poor on the outskirts of Mexico City, and working in the organic food industry. She has served as Kiva Coordinator for six months, and is moving to a new position within the company — she’ll be developing the social projects that CrediComun undertakes.

Kyrgyzstan: Man’s Day

And finally, we do have a tribute to men. Check out Charlie Wood’s recent blog on how to be a manly man.

Happy International Women’s Day!

The contributors to this blog are part of KF 14 (the 14th class of Kiva Fellows) scattered around the world.

Find out how you can lend to a Kiva Entrepreneur or become a Kiva Fellow.

Supporters of microfinance seem to agree on two things about the film The Micro Debt:

(1) The discussion surrounding microfinance and its perceived and real impact, including the occurrence of irresponsible lending and over indebting clients, is an important one and should be given a prominent role;

(2) The documentary regrettably provides an extremely one-sided portrayal of international microfinance, largely ignoring how it actually works and the problems currently facing the industry, in favor of a more sensational and dramatic story.

Rather than responding point-by-point to the claims made by Heinemann, as a number of experts have already done (see below), I will discuss the work of one of Kiva’s field partners, in the hope that an example of responsible lending will provide a more varied and complete picture of the worldwide reality of microfinance.

Presenting a Kiva Field Partner, CIDRE

CIDRE provides funding for small business owners working in both services and production, but the majority of the loans they distribute are within the farming and livestock sector. They offer a wide variety of products tailored to their clients’ needs in an effort to fulfill their mission statement, which is to contribute to the sustainable development of small agricultural producers and micro-and small businesses in rural and peri-urban areas.

Because CIDRE’s work is heavily focused on the area of dairy production, they have acquired a knowledge and understanding of the sector that allows them to effectively serve dairy farmers that have historically been excluded from financial services. The institution knows, for example, what a head of cattle costs, and they are easily able to assess how much milk their individual clients can produce, based on how many heads of cattle they have, the quality of machinery, etc. For this reason, they can confidently and responsibly lend to a dairy farmer using only the client’s cows as collateral, whereas rivaling financial institutions might require a house or automobile as collateral.

The area outside of Cochabamba, where CIDRE does most of its lending to dairy farmers.

CIDRE’s loan officers have observed that farmers are able to more efficiently produce better quality milk subsequent to taking out a loan. CIDRE witnesses its clients working harder and become more responsible because they take their debt very seriously and want to pay it off on time. People are also empowered by the fact that they are now worthy of credit and that there is someone looking out for their interests.

After visiting with the Kiva client, loan officer Veronica Aponte decided to stop by another client's home to say "hello", since we were in the area.

In even more remote areas of the department of Cochabamba, CIDRE works hard to bring financial services to a number of small villages through their regional offices. One of their 11 regional offices is located in Colomi, where clients’ main activity is growing and selling crops such as potatoes and beans. Since 2002, two of CIDRE’s loan officers have been based in the Colomi office and spend their days traveling great distances to visit with borrowers in the region, saving the clients the time and expense involved with traveling far to make payments on their loan.

The Discourse – Is all Criticism Productive?

I agree with the microfinance critics that relying only on anecdotal success stories perpetuated within the international development community give a false impression of microfinance, its challenges and its limitations. However, I also question the constructiveness of a movie that combines a montage of heart wrenching stories of failure (presumably caused by microfinance) with a personal attack on Grameen Bank founder Mohammed Yunus.

Tom Heinemann’s provides an extreme picture of the dangers of microfinance, leaving us to believe that most, if not all, MFI’s operate in the exact same way, and that they are completely unconcerned about the welfare of their clients. My experience in the field, particularly the time spent in CIDRE’s office, leaves me with a different impression entirely. CIDRE, by knowing and understanding its clients and the details of their business activities, is consistently (and responsibly) able to provide poor dairy farmers in the region surrounding Cochabamba with financial services, something that has been in demand for years, as evidenced by a high rate of application and a consistently high rate of repayment.

The hype that promotes microfinance as a silver bullet of international development is dangerous, but equally dangerous is the backlash to the hype – the documentary that attempts to tear down years of work towards building strong, sustainable financial institutions for the world’s poor. Improvements and advancements within the field of microfinance will happen as a result of an increasingly complete understanding of the realities in the field, and most importantly, the realities facing clients. So while I can appreciate the conversation initiated by Tom Heinemann, I hope anyone interested in gaining a more accurate understanding of microfinance will dig deeper for a more complete picture.

The Professionals Respond to Tom Heinemann

Read David Roodman’s responses to the documentary here and here.

Read Kathleen Odell’s reply, posted on the Grameen Foundation’s Blog here.

To search for currently fundraising CIDRE loans on Kiva, click here.

Julie Shea has just finished a 7-month fellowship with Kiva and while she acknowledges that microfinance is not a panacea for poverty alleviation, she remains a strong believer in the importance of building effective financial institutions for people historically excluded from them.

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

The central office of IMPRO in La Paz, Bolivia

IMPRO has 2147 clients of whom 45% are women. IMPRO serves clients in rural areas (11%) and in the cities La Paz (65%) and El Alto (24%) in Bolivia. 43% of IMPRO’s clients live from 1 dollar or less per day. 34% of its clients live in houses made of clay, 42% of the clients live in houses made of bricks and 24% live in houses that have been finished.

Let’s meet IMPRO’s Bolivian borrowers!

Pascuala and Santos: buying a good-quality dairy cow
Pascuala is a milk producer and on market days she sells tracksuits that her husband Santos makes. She will use her loan money to increase her dairy herd, buying a good-quality dairy cow.

Pascuela and Santos requesting a loan at the office of IMPRO

Pascuala and Santos live with the father and sister of Santos and with their daughter of 8 years. Santos has studied for teacher. He would like to become a teacher, while Pascuala watches the animals at the farm. With the earned money from the extra dairy cow they will be able to pay for extra food that does not grow at their farm (such as fruits and vegetables), irregular costs (such as medicines) and for the education of their daughter. In the future they would like to buy their own house and live there with their daughter. Santos’ dream is to study more, for example medicines.

For the video of Santos showing the farm, click here.

Maria: selling food and renting small accomodations
Maria sells food in Bolivia. She also has small accommodations for field workers who travel from the rural area. Maria is expanding the accommodations. The construction is going well and with an extra loan from the field partner IMPRO she can finish the construction. Fortunately, her husband is having a good job with Coca Cola now. When Maria took the Kiva loan he was unemployed. With the two loans Maria received from IMPRO she could increment her income and was even able to travel to Argentina! Her dream is to go to Europe one day…

For the video of Maria selling food and demonstrating the construction of the accommodations, click here.

Loan officer Herland from IMPRO is interviewing Maria at her home.

Juan Carlos and Mery: buying new sewing machines
Juan Carlos works together with his wife Mery as a tailor, making sports clothes. He sends his products to be sold on the Brazilian border. This loan will be used to buy a regular sewing machine and an overlock machine to increase his production and sales. Juan Carlos lives with his wife in his in-laws’ house in the city of El Alto, Bolivia. They have a 5 years-old child.

Juan Carlos and Mery.

Maria: constructing rooms
Mery’s mother Maria used a loan for the purchase of construction material in order to construct a room for their eldest daughter. She does not have to share a room with her parents and little brothers anymore. Maria is happy that she and her husband could build this room together with two other rooms, although not completely finished yet.

Mery’s mother Maria in front of the room they built for her eldest daughter.

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(Note: the following replies have been translated and paraphrased based on an interview with Ruth Apaza, Supervisor of Nurses, El Alto region)

Ruth Apaza, supervisor of nurses in the El Alto region (right), and two of the nurses from the neighborhood center Juan Pablo II

The nurses of Juan Pablo II working hard.

Why does ProMujer offer healthcare services to its clients?

ProMujer’s mission is to serve women with limited resources and one of the things these women need most is access healthcare. Many of them simply aren’t able to pay the fee for regular doctor’s visits, so ProMujer has decided to offer them certain healthcare services for a reduced price.

Why is healthcare an important part of ProMujer’s model? What other options do women have?

The healthcare services provided by ProMujer have proven to be extremely important particularly with regards to the detection of cancer. One of the main services they offer is a pap smear for all their clients, and in a number of cases, women were found to have tumors that were subsequently treated. ProMujer also, through their insurance program, assist the women in paying for any treatment they may need.

What does ProMujer focus on in the workshops they offer during Communal Banks’ monthly meetings?

They focus on prevention of diseases such as diarrhea, general information about nutrition, and education about the importance of vaccinations. In addition, ProMujer, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, offers free vaccines for all children of ProMujer’s clients.

Posters such as this one decorate the walls of each of ProMujer's 12 neighborhood centers. They explain how the organization strives to help clients take care of their families through a variety of trainings and services.

What are the greatest challenges with offering healthcare and how is ProMujer addressing them?

The greatest challenge faced by the healthcare professionals is getting the majority of women to take advantage of the services offered. Many of the clients come to the neighborhood centers to pay off their loans, but because of busy schedules are not able to stay longer. The healthcare staff is currently working closely with ProMujer’s Loan Officers to create a strategy for increasing participation.

They have also launched a program called “Promoters of Well-Being” through which one member of each Communal Bank (typically, the president) participates in a mandatory training in basic health and is subsequently responsible for the health of the other members of the bank. If, for example, a group member is suffering from a minor health complication, the Promoter of Well-Being can assist her; if she suffers from something more major, she can advise her on where to seek help. The idea behind this participatory approach is that the individual women are more likely to come to one of their fellow bank members with their health concerns, and thus ProMujer is able to reach more of its clients.

Although I still have my doubts that healthcare and microfinance should go hand-in-hand in the long term, my time with ProMujer has convinced me of the importance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) addressing issues beyond the financial needs of the poor people they aim to serve. ProMujer is a not-for-profit organization with a social mission and distinguishes itself from for-profit financial institutions by prioritizing the social needs of its clients. Ideally, as clients graduate from the services offered by MFIs to more traditional banking options, they will simultaneously find themselves in a situation where they can afford doctor’s visits and medication for their families. But until that goal is reached, ProMujer provides an invaluable service to its clients, based on an observed need in the communities it operates.

Julie Shea is a Kiva Fellow in Bolivia working with three of Kiva’s field partners: ProMujer, CIDRE, and Emprender.