Posts filed under ‘Honduras’
60 Tips from Kiva Fellows
Compiled by Kate Bennett, KF16 Peru
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!
Continue Reading 30 December 2011 at 04:00 Kate Bennett 4 comments
Updates from the Field: Autonomy, Sierra Leone and the 2011 Kiva Love Tour
Compiled by Kate Bennett, KF16, Peru
This week’s updates come at a time of change for Fellows around the world. As the holidays near, Fellows prepare to phase out of their current placements, move on to the next ones, and tie up loose ends with their Kiva Field Partners. But this doesn’t interfere with Fellows’ primary mission: to ensure that Kiva’s work and the work of our Field Partners is, too, sparking change as the new year approaches.
Continue Reading 5 December 2011 at 04:00 Kate Bennett 2 comments
Kiva Love Tour: Honduras 2011
By Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras
The Kiva Love Tour wrapped up about a month ago here in Honduras. I headlined the 3-week tour which was co-sponsored by Kiva and ODEF Financiera. Each of the 26 venues (read: branches) were sold out and I dazzled (yes, I dazzled) concert-goers. I’m relieved to write that the reviews were mostly positive. Keep reading for the full recap.
Continue Reading 30 November 2011 at 14:46 pinayprestamos 3 comments
Stuff Kiva Fellows Like #10-17
Compiled by Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua
We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From 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. (more…)
Updates from the Field: Green Loans, Dark Alleys + On-the-Ground Footage of it All
Compiled by Kate Bennett, KF16, Peru
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!
Continue Reading 24 October 2011 at 02:00 Kate Bennett 2 comments
Video Blog: ODEF’s First Kiva Borrower
By Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras
For the past six weeks I have been working in San Pedro Sula with Kiva’s newest Honduran Field Partner, ODEF Financiera, S.A. During the on-boarding process, I get to witness many of the organization’s “Kiva firsts.” First Kiva presentation to staff, first training sessions with loan officers, first Kiva Borrower profile, first month of repayment reporting – you get the idea.
About a week ago, ODEF posted it’s first borrower profile on Kiva.org. Doña María owns a pulpería in Naco-Santa Barbara where she sells soda, snacks, and dairy products. Her $550 loan was fully funded in 2 days, 22 hours and 9 minutes.
Ever wonder what it takes to get a borrower profile onto Kiva? Check out the footage below to see how ODEF tackled its first one.
Continue Reading 19 October 2011 at 10:24 pinayprestamos 4 comments
Stuff Kiva Fellows Like
Compiled by Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua
We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From alpaca fur to FSSs to ziplock bags, these are the things we like and thrive on.
#1 Being the first foreign person that somebody has ever seen in their life
Dave Weber, KF16, Cambodia
Few life experiences will measure up to the one where a Kiva Fellow is told that he or she is ‘the first foreigner that somebody has ever seen in their life’ (TFFPTSHESITL). This experience often comes with having ones hair and skin touched, which people in our home countries don’t find nearly as interesting. KFs know that their image will forever be bored into the mind of the Latino/African/Asian/MidEastern borrower since we assume they ‘never forget their first one.’
A Kiva Fellow will react to being TFFPTSHESITL in several ways. They will utilize social media to get the word out to 500 people in their friend list and possibly even engage the Stories from the Field blog to get the message out to potentially hundreds of thousands. It will also be the first story they tell supporters and people back home. Kiva Fellows will also often use the phrase, “I’m pretty sure I was the first foreign person to ever go there” when referring to locations, even if they’re talking about Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat or the running of the bulls or the Washington Monument.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend my holiday evening at a Cambodian air conditioned movie theater which I’m certain no foreign person has been to before and I will be TFFPTSHESITL to at least half of the moviegoers there to engage in the revelry entitled Cowboys vs. Aliens. (more…)
Update from the Field: Starting Capital, Development Levels + Adventurous Borrower Visits
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
This week on the Kiva fellows blog, start your journey in Indonesia and read about some early lessons of a Kiva fellow. Then continue on to the Americas to take part in El Salvador’s independence day celebrations, find out how to start a business with 26 cents in Honduras, learn about the different levels of development of Bolivia and Sierra Leone, and finally go on an adventurous borrower visit in Nicaragua.
Continue Reading 26 September 2011 at 05:01 Kathrin Gerner 6 comments
WWYD with 5 Lempiras?
By Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras.
What would you do with 5 lempiras (26 cents)? Toss it it in your coin jar? Tip your barista? What if I told you that with 5 lempiras, a bit of business savvy and determination, you could start your own business. Skeptical? Of course you are. I was too, until I met Ever.
Ever is from Teocinte, a small community of 30 families located in the municipality of San Rafael. It took six hours to reach Teocinte from ODEF Financiera’s main office in San Pedro Sula. Three hours from S.P.S to Gracias and then another 3 hours from Gracias to Teocinte. The second leg was filled with rain, mud, steep inclines, ditches and rocks, lots of them. It was one of the most intense and nerve-wracking rides I have ever taken, but Ever was well worth the journey!
Continue Reading 21 September 2011 at 10:05 pinayprestamos 10 comments
Lessons from a Cowboy Town: the Importance of Good Institutions
Betsy McCormick, KF12
There is a saying here in the cowboy state of Olancho: “Come if you want, get out if you can.” The phrase, I believe, originates from two primary facts: 1. Olancho is quite removed from anywhere else in Honduras, and 2. Olancho has, unfortunately, become known in the last few years as a place for violent family feuds and deadly drug crimes.
For me, however, the saying (thankfully!) has garnered a different meaning all together.
Continue Reading 3 November 2010 at 10:00 betsywmccormick Leave a comment
Partner Politics, Or, How to Motivate a Loan Officer
Betsy McCormick, KF12, Honduras
When most of us think Kiva, we picture the website and hard-working entrepreneurs standing in their corner stores or out in their fields. Kiva is, after all, a direct connection between lenders and borrowers. Well…sorta kinda. You are probably aware that Kiva works through field partners—the “middlemen” who find loan clients, approve loans, and submit borrower profiles for the Kiva Community to fund. But after nearly three months working with one of those field partners, I have come to the tough realization that this process can be a clunky one. What happens when loan officers can’t or simply don’t want to post a Kiva loan? It begs the question of who exactly is benefiting from Kiva. In this vein, I attempt to elucidate the push and pull between entrepreneur, institution, loan officer and last but not least, the Kiva Fellow caught in the middle.
Continue Reading 17 October 2010 at 10:00 betsywmccormick 5 comments
Innovation in Microcredit: Women, Children and Second Chances
Betsy McCormick, KF12, Honduras
Here at FAMA in Honduras, the organization is always striving to go above and beyond to find ways to better serve clients, and to reach out to marginalized populations. Through a bit of foresight, an increasing tolerance for risk and a deep commitment to the community, FAMA has come up with three products that deserve special attention.
Continue Reading 27 September 2010 at 10:00 betsywmccormick 4 comments
From Piñatas to Flower Arranging: Kiva Loans and Community Development
Betsy McCormick, KF12, Honduras
Some lenders may be unaware that Kiva loans have the potential to benefit a wider clientele than the selected entrepreneurs. As a member of the Kiva community, you know that lenders don’t receive any interest that the client pays back on the loan. So, you may ask, what becomes of it? In some cases, the Microfinance Institution (MFI) that administered the loan may use it to increase their operational self-sufficiency. But, in other cases, the interest that the client pays to the MFI empowers that organization to invest in social programs that it may not otherwise be able to afford. A brief history of a Honduran MFI, FAMA, and description of my new favorite holiday may help to illuminate this connection.
Continue Reading 12 September 2010 at 10:00 betsywmccormick 1 comment
Quantifying Feelings: the Role of Social Performance in Microfinance
Betsy McCormick, KF12, Honduras
We lend to Kiva entrepreneurs because we feel that our loans are making a difference in the lives of those individuals. But how do we know? Beyond anecdotal evidence of improved livelihoods, is there any way to create and evaluate a quantitative link between microcredit and the type of long-run social impact we hope for? The short answer is…not yet. The longer and more interesting answer is…enter CERISE.
Continue Reading 27 August 2010 at 14:00 betsywmccormick 18 comments
A New Sense of Professionalism
Betsy McCormick, KF 12, Honduras
After one week working with FAMA ODP´F in Honduras, I learned that their operations are in many ways far more professional than I had ever imagined. However, it wasn´t until a threatened hitchhiking adventure that I realized some of the nuances of what professionalism looks like in Honduras.
Continue Reading 13 August 2010 at 14:00 betsywmccormick 1 comment
It’s the Little Things that Count
Matt Raimond, KF11
Life as a Kiva Fellow has been a huge change of pace from the rest of my life, a chance to slow down and reflect on all the changes in my life while experiencing to a tremendous learning opportunity. It has been an eye opening experience and I have been amazed at how many things I take for granted in my life. Through my reflections I’ve come to realize that it’s the little things that count. And so for my final post as a Kiva Fellow I present you with the top 11 things (yes, 11) that I am thankful for from my Kiva Fellowship in Honduras (in no particular order).
Multiple Loan Cycles – A Never Ending Cycle?
Many MFIs depend heavily on repeat customers to achieve financial stability, resulting in multiple loan cycles for clients. Is this a good thing? Click on the post to read the thoughts of one Kiva Fellow in Honduras.
Continue Reading 20 July 2010 at 15:34 mraimondi 11 comments
Recognizing Hard Working Clients – FAMA Premiaciones (Award Ceremonies)
It’s not often that clients of an MFI get recognized for their successes and for being loyal clients. However, recently FAMA, a partner in Honduras, began holding premiaciones (award ceremonies) for their clients. The first premiacion was held a few weeks ago at FAMA’s headquarters in Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras. In typical Honduran fashion, I was not told about the event until the day of when everyone was running around frantically setting up for the event. Thankfully as a rule of thumb, Kiva Fellows always have a camera on hand.
Click here to read the full story…
FAMA OPDF – Kiva’s Newest Field Partner in Honduras
Matt Raimondi, KF11
Familia y Medio Ambiente (FAMA OPDF) is Kiva’s newest Field Partner in Honduras. FAMA was started in the village of San Nicolás in 1990 with the first loans being for 50 Lempiras (Approx. $25USD in 1990). FAMA has grown significantly from its humble beginnings and is now headquartered in Juticalpa, Olancho and operates 12 additional branches throughout Honduras, serving over 12,500 clients. Click here to read more about FAMA and making loans to FAMA’s clients!
Natural Disasters in Developing Countries – Tropical Storm Agatha
By Matt Raimondi, KF11, Honduras
Tropical Storm Agatha is the first tropical storm of the 2010 Hurricane season and while relatively weak, it is a disturbing reminder of how catastrophic even the weak storms can be for a developing country.
A Change of Perspective
By Matt Raimondi, KF11, Honduras
I recently arrived in Juticalpa, Honduras to begin my Kiva Fellowship at FAMA OPD’F, a brand new Kiva partner. (FAMA has yet to post any loans but will be posting their first loans in the upcoming weeks. Be on the lookout for a blog post announcing their first loans!)
A longtime Kiva supporter, I began lending over three years ago and became a Volunteer Spanish Translator for Kiva a year and a half ago. I was always looking for ways to get more involved with Kiva and longed to be able to work on the ground and make a difference in the field. When I came upon the Kiva Fellows Program I knew it was meant to be.
What if God Was One of Us?
Kiva, micro-loans, and spiritual self-awareness
Continue Reading 11 March 2010 at 06:50 Kati Mayfield 20 comments
Leaving Honduras
Yesterday all the loan officers and agency coordinators from all over Honduras gathered in the small conference room in Prisma’s main office summarize, discuss and clarify the way Kiva would be implemented in the coming year. This was the final day and our final hurrah. I was so honored that they considered my assistance and their partnership with Kiva worth the administrative cost of bringing everyone together for a day- effectively halting all normal activity. The loan officers from San Lorenzo and Choluteca were up at 3 in the morning to catch the bus to the capital and surely didn’t arrive back in their homes until nearly midnight.
Sierra and most of Kiva's Staff
I entered the office before anyone to go over the copies one more time, to wipe down the table, to center myself. The worries. “What if it turns out to be a big waste?”, “What if it becomes obvious that still, no one really understands Kiva?”, “I am hoping for a big discussion, but what if my questions fall flat and they respond with deafening silence” By the time I get the projector hooked up and water laid out on the table I’m starting to sweat. And by the time everyone trickles in, and begins reviewing their carefully prepared folders including the day’s agenda, a pencil for everyone, places for notes, and summaries, I’m starting to shake. And by the time Prisma’s director, operations manager and credit manager adjust their glasses in the back I’ve nearly forgotten all my Spanish.
We start and to my surprise the somewhat distant faces open up into big smiles and everyone takes part. People emphatically describe the kinds of journals they want to write and want to make sure that they have the right idea. Orbelina, Prisma’s Director, emphasizes her confidence in her employees, encouraging them to be creative. She reminds them how important Kiva is to their goals as an organization. After nearly 4 hours of pounding out the process, reading examples of profiles and journals and discussing the operational difficulties facing every office we were all relieved to enjoy a big lunch.
Manual and Octavio Enjoying Lunch
In typical Honduran style, the Thank Yous began. Each person took the time to express their gratitude and friendship to me. We spent about 20 minutes reminiscing about the occasional disastrous moto ride. Side trips to visit the grandparents of the loan officers who lived “just beyond that little hill”. Adventurous lunches in the local markets. Funny language mix ups. Memorable clients.
Sierra and Elia
I realized that though I know that Honduras is an environmentally rich country, filled with incredible species of birds, rainforest and arid highlands. I hardly made my way out to these places. Instead, my experience has been colored with the rich culture and individual connection I’ve had with so many people. The family I live with is a true blessing. I’ve witnessed a marital fight. 3 birthday parties. A huge baptism. The daily ins and outs of raising grandchildren, making ends meet. I have been so welcomed into their home and comfortably pass the time with both Doña Elia and Don Carlos. Carlos listens to the radio. A big clunker he carries around the house all day. He watches TV and recounts the plot to me almost as if it were non-fiction. “Then the shark attacked the scuba divers and they thought that it was safe to swim but it wasn’t. He ate all but one. She made it to the island and became a savage. She didn’t even believe in God”. Elia is in a constant state of preparing food for the endless stream of neighbors, God children, sisters, grandchildren, children and strangers that pass through her dining room daily. She turned 60 last night and joking put only 6 candles on the cake. “I’m still a child at heart,” she said. The salsa dancing began a few minutes later.
Salsa Feet
Prisma’s clients have contrasted this incredible affluence. They are honorable and interesting people. Each person has their own incredibly varied background, but their dreams for the future are almost always the same. They want a well-constructed house, healthy nutritious food, and the ability someday to stop worrying. I love the way that Kiva funded clients pat my arm on the way out of their homes saying “Nos vemos”, or loosely, “see you soon”. I feel that I really could come back any time and visit with them, or see them on the street and stop for a quick chat.
The country is a mix. Many feel incredible shame and anger at the corrupt system everyone agrees is the problem and which no one knows how to change. They have a curious love-hate relationship with the US. Everyone wants to go there, anything in English is way cooler, and clothes or lotions or food or machinery from the US is assumed to be higher quality. Still, people seem to be searching for the reasons they can be proud to be Honduran. Many have found it, some still yearn to leave. I’ve been asked for help getting a visa so many times I have lost count. Still, each person loves to brag about the parts of their country they love most. Nothing makes them happier than to hear how much I like the food, how beautiful their beaches are, how incredibly open their homes are, how I love the dancing and the visiting and the coffee and the weather and the clean air. “I’m happy you are comfortable”, everyone says.
Honduras is a country that often suffers. Mitch nearly destroyed it in 1998, and they’re constantly battered by rains, draught, disease. They’ve been undermined by economic exploitation by other counties for the past 400 years. Now they have a president that recently raised the minimum wage, in an appeal to the large population living below or near the poverty line. Unfortunately, the majority of small business simply couldn’t pay and the larger ones often refused resulting in a massive lay-off that combined with the drastically reduced remittances from the US has crushed the economy. Worried faces. Small businesses fighting yet another battle. Another complication Prisma has to navigate. But they have a wealth of potential. Honduras has incredible natural resources, a fighting spirit and a country filled with incredible kindness.
Waiting for Change
I’m not sure exactly how microfinance fits into the picture here, but it could not be clearer that Prisma is passing hope to its clients, who pass it to their neighbors, who enact it in their churches and local governments and schools, who continue to struggle to make this a better place. It has been an honor.
Speaking about Poverty
Day in and day out I swerve through Honduran shanty towns, isolated hovels, over exquisite landscapes and into ditches. I can’t open my eyes wide enough, and at the end of everyday I have more questions than the day before. The questions are complex and every one leads me down a rabbit hole. Its starts like this: To begin with, how do we really measure poverty here in Honduras? And once I identify the poor, I wonder, does Prisma reach the poorest of the poor? If not, is it enough that they reach the middle poor, and by virtue of growing small business opportunity, they grow opportunities for employment of the poorest of the poor? Given the global economic crisis, is encouraging debt responsible? Is it more important for the borrower to just feel less poor? Or is that just an enormously arrogant view? And once we move into the realm of feelings, we lose all measurements. But lets say we wanted to measure feeling poor, is that something we should do? And how? My head is swimming.
All my questions really crystallize as I write journal updates. Let me stop asking and begin.
Sometimes I meet people whose situation is dire. They live in garbage. As we drive up, dirty children come to greet us. Big, haunting stares. As we talk I find it hard to focus for the sheer quantity of flies in their open homes. This was the case of Doña Reina Marina Fernandez. She lives in a tiny isolated village. To get there I rode on the back of a motocycle for over two hours of dirt road. We stopped twice to push it through rivers and sludge. We arrive to find the majority of her property totally destroyed by the recent flooding that has decimated the southern region of Honduras. The flooding has changed the shape of her land and her oven is about to fall off a cliff. She is trying to figure out how to move it since she makes her business baking bread and other sweets.
Flooded Property
Her smiling son of about 15 comes to greet us. I give him a hearty greeting just to find that he is mute. Like an idiot I say, “hello, how are you?” in sign language. First, signing in Spanish is as different as speaking in Spanish. Second, of course he didn’t go to sign language school. This person has no communicative ability, because he was never taught to talk. He smiles and gestures and Manuel, the saint of a loan officer that has been taking me around, understands him. Or pretends to. For several months this year, the flooding isolated this town. Most of the crops of every person, including Doña Reina, were destroyed and there is little to eat. They take the bus in now to Danli to buy basic goods, and try to sell them in an economy, that for all appearances, is hardly functioning. It should be stated clearly that she is open about her circumstance and is honest about her difficulties but she was honorable and resolute. She has a quick wit, and asked me interesting questions about the US. She wonders how many people are farmers. I could only tell her that my family was a family farming and my dad still works in agriculture.
Surely, this is “the poor”. Right? But who are the children I see out of the corner of my eye as we whiz through pueblo after pueblo, and in the shadows of Tegucigalpa? They raise their heads out of giant dumpsters as we pass by, faces covered in flies. Are they being reached by microfinance? If not, can they be?
And in my journal updates how can I represent the poverty here. Telling one person’s story is satisfying, and its my job, but really its not about one person. Its about a system. I write the details of one person but on re-reading every update they seem flat and one-dimensional. I find myself wanting to highlight poverty for Kiva lenders. Then they can feel like their loan meant something. They can feel they are helping. I feel horrible when on my visits find myself looking for the saddest part of their story. Preserving their dignity is important to me, and I try to stop myself. I do, but its hard. I so badly want to see an extreme transformation that I have to make sure I’m not fabricating it. Progress is so incremental, often non-existent.
Sometimes I have a totally different problem representing the borrowers. Sometimes the borrowers don’t seem nearly as poor. They definitely needed it, accordingly the loan was helpful, but in no way life altering in the Muhammad Yunus sense. This was very true on a recent visit.
I meet many people like Victor, who really make me question the system and the goal of microfinance. He is a former professional football player in Honduras. He played 10 years in the professional soccer leagues of this country and for many teams. I’m told that 10 years ago soccer players didn’t make the money that they do now. Still- this seems to indicate a level of opportunity Doña Reina can only dream of. He now operates his own taxi business. We talk on his outdoor patio while workers finish painting his two-story house a nice new shade of vibrant yellow. His lovely, stylish wife passes through on her way to visit friends, high-heels clicking past my filthy, dusty tennis shoes. He owns his taxi, and his personal car, and needed a loan to fix a broken transmission. This sounds like the kind of debt I have. He supports two children who live in Tegucigalpa while the attend University. As an unpaid Kiva Fellow, with little to no plan about how I’m going to finance my life in the U.S when I return in 5 months, saddled with student loans, I wonder if Victor is actually richer than me. Surely not. Right?
Victor
Though this doesn’t feel like the microfinance of my imagination, the Victors of Honduras are a crucial cog in the microfinance machine. In order to reach the poorest (assuming that they do) Prisma needs him. Before they are a development organization, they are a bank. Their technical abilities, and sound internal policies make the humanitarian arm of their business more effective. Obviously this is a simple concept, but will Kiva lenders feel emotionally fulfilled when they learn the true details of his life? Is this a breakdown in the system? I want to accurately describe what I see here, really shedding light on the whole system, and thereby foster true understanding. But something about Victor’s loan doesn’t feel like microfinance. Still, it was a small loan, so that counts. Right?
Understanding what poverty looks like here, how microfinance fits, and whether it’s addressing the real causes of poverty, where cultural differences begin and end, how to speak to truth, and where I am in the whole system is hard. I’ll admit freely: right now, I am lost.
Christmas in Honduras
Christmas in Honduras sunny and delicious. Christmas parties are everywhere, and come with very royally dressed women and scantily dressed girls. Office beauty pageants. The days are a warm 80 degrees, toasty not humid. I’m eating Tres Leches cake like my heart is made of iron, not soft, susceptible tissue.
I can’t get enough of the Christmas trees. Like everything here, color is supreme.
Christmas Tree in Prisma's Office
Don’t forget that they don’t grow pine trees here, and that these are all fake.
Always Popular Ribbon
The center of town is grungy as ever, but filled with bustling shoppers wiping sweat, not snow from their brow. The main Christmas tree of Honduras is clearly adored.
Downtown Tegucigalpa
I have seen one living tree- in the home of a Kiva borrower. It is my personal favorite.
Iris and her Children
Christmas to me smells like sharp pine mixed with musty paper as we unwrap the ornaments. I love to decorate the tree. Each ornament bought in a different year. Many older than me. In Honduras, trees are new every year. New ornaments. New beginnings. I helped build the tree in my home here.
Sierra Lends a Hand
Giant metallic globes compete with gold garlands and plastic bunches of grapes. Each sparkling piece is attached to the wire branch and polyester needles. I adore it.
Home
Merry Christmas!
MFI Prisma wins a prize!
On December 4th, I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany Prisma employees to the Premio Impulso Microempresarial 2008.
This was an event put on by a Honduran Magazine called Micro Empresas & Finanzas that seeks to unify and inform the microfinance sector here in Honduras. Prisma was a recipient of the Premio Impuslo Microempresarial, which recognizes their contributions to the microfinance sector.
Orbelina Valeriano, Prisma Director, Holds Award
There were a variety of speakers that addressed changes in the country, and gave inspirational words to those in the audience, encouraging them to continue to have faith despite worsening global economics and recent flooding which hit some communities in Honduras.
By the time we got to the last speaker, I was struggling to keep my head up, and look as though the concept, “We want to thank you and thank God for the successes micro-enterprises has had this year”, was exceedingly interesting the 6th or 12th time around. However listening to the final speaker, Emilio Santamaria, the conference magistrate, re-ignited some of the idealistic vigor I brought with me when I came here. He gave a long powerpoint presentation that began with a story:
“There was a man that walked to the local pulperia to get some mantequilla and there was a dog sitting out front crying. Not barking, not whining, but truly crying. The man went into the store, saw a friend and ended up chit-chatting for a while. Nearly half an hour later, he left to store to find the dog still crying and crying away.
The man asked the dog’s apparent owner, ‘why is the dog crying?’ and the owner said, ‘he’s crying because he’s sitting on a nail’. ‘I don’t understand’, said the man. To which the owner replied ‘the nail hurts him but still, he does not move.”
This story caused murmurs throughout the crowd. Magistrate Santamaria then went on the eloquently explain that Honduras shouldn’t be like the dog, crying over its pain, but should instead move itself. And move itself forward. “Technology is the wave of the future! And we Honduras must take hold of it! Harness it! It used to be a crime not to teach your children to read, and now it is a crime not to teach them to use a computer!”
“YES YES YES!!” I wanted to stand up exclaim.
By the time we left the event, everyone from various microfinance organizations were comparing how they use their computers. Everyone seemed to have a pretty good system for data management and bookkeeping, but I was surprised by how few viewed the Internet as a crucial resource. Not even all of Prisma’s field offices have Internet, which creates an added challenge for them as they implement Kiva.
Nevertheless, I think Prisma feels proud to be ahead of the curve, and I’m proud to work with them. Its wonderful to work in an environment and in a country that isn’t crying, but is moving itself.
Prisma Staff
I am a Kiva Fellow, Class of KF6, serving three months in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and three more in La Paz, Boliva. Please check out my current MFI, PRISMA, and see all of their fundraising loans here!
The Internet People
I’m floored by the magical connections we can make through technology. Some people say technology is flattening the world, shrinking the space, and homogenizing our cultures. I appreciate the argument, and do see that the internet is a democratic space, which in a sense, flattens our difference. And yes, technology can shrink space. But the idea for me, that technology robs us of our diversity is ludicrous. Rather, technology, and the Internet above all, bring voices to parts of the world that have never had a voice, technology paints our differences in bright, beautiful colors.
On Friday I had the wonderful opportunity to hear some unique voices. I traveled to Prisma’s field offices in Choluteca and San Lorenzo to deliver a presentation about Kiva to new loan officers. I met some Prisma clients who where trying to gather in the Prisma San Lorenzo office to get their picture taken for the profile on the Kiva website.
This is a group of five women who are trying to get a group loan to improve their respective businesses. I had the fortune to meet three. Maria and Carolina, sell shrimp that they buy from local fisherman. They sell each shrimp for 3 Lempira (about 16 cents). Sarah, sells jewelry ranging from 100 Lempira to 140 Lempira ($5.25- $7.50). They take their wares on the road. These women travel to different pueblos in Southern Honduras bringing their items to small communities who can’t bear the cost, or choose not to travel to the fisherman, or to Tegucigalpa where imitation gold earrings are readily available.
“Show her the earings”
These women were AMAZED to hear that people around the world would see the picture they were about to take. Unfortunately, not all five members of the group could show up, so after three hours of waiting, they left. They will try to meet again next week so they have their picture taken, and be eligible for a Kiva funded loan.
As they left, the asked to take a picture of me with their cell phone. They said, “they would send it to the internet people.”
***I am a Kiva Fellow, Class of KF6, serving three months in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and three more in La Paz, Boliva. Please check out my current MFI, Prisma Hoduras, SA , and see all of their fundraising loans here!***
Microfinance Adventures: Training
I’m nearly a full fledged fellow, simply waiting a few more intense sessions and a final knighting. Once all that formality is over, it will be a whirlwind two months while I sell everything I own, say goodbye to friends, family and co-workers, stuff myself full of vaccinations and purchase the ticket to begin my new life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras as a Kiva Fellow!
Training highlights have been really inspiring conversations with Matt and Premal (and yes, I do have a crush on him now). Its wonderful to be a part of this great organization! Please tune in…
Coming to America
There are two themes to this: First, I´m coming home. And second, there are a lot of people who want to come with me!
I travel quite a lot, but it’s been a while since I’ve stayed in a foreign country for an extended period of time. All of a sudden, I’ve come to feel intensely proud and lucky to be an American. I was born into a country that gave me an opportunity to become anything that I’ve ever dreamed of. Sure, there are barriers, and it’s harder for some than for others, but I live in a country where most people have clean drinking in their home, where you don’t see children begging on the streets, and where if you try hard enough, you can find some sort of job that will allow you to put a decent roof over your head and feed you. I’m even lucky that I’m allowed to visit almost any country I please.
I’m amazed at the number of people who have jokingly asked me if I could take them home with me when I return. I have had more than a few offers to find me a good Honduran man to “import” back home. I’ve also met many people who have tried to cross the border by foot (often more than once), only to be caught and deported. I think the statistic here is that 1 in 4 families have a family member in the US. Many of the borrowers I interviewed have husbands, sons, and daughters who have immigrated, illegally or legally, to the US. One of the big education campaigns in Honduras is to encourage people to stay in their country, and help make it a better place. The belief here is that if one could only make it to the US, they would find this utopian society where all their problems would disappear and they would have a better life. For many people, their life does improve, but for others who are working illegally, it’s still a hard life in the US. I even know people here who don’t want to move, they just want to travel to the US on vacation, and they can’t get the visa.
Immigration is a controversial subject in the US, and I don’t know what the answer is. I only wish everyone else could have the economic opportunities that I have been given. There are a lot of countries that offer natural resources, rich cultures, and scenic beauty that just need a chance. Despite the downsides to Honduras, there’s another side to it that is equally impressive as the United States. So you can get a feel for just how beautiful and varied this country is, I’ve attached a few photos. It is abundant in natural resources – coffee, tropical fruits, shrimp, cocoa; tourism opportunities abound – the Bay Islands with its coral reefs, numerous national parks abundant with wildlife, the Mayan ruins of Copan; and most importantly – incredibly friendly and hospitable people who have welcomed me with open arms. I can’t say enough how much I am going to miss all the people I have met along the way that have been open and honest and willing to tell me their stories. Hopefully the next time I come to Honduras (and I will someday!) I will hear stories of change and progress.
A day in the life…
Some of you out there may be wondering what a typical day is like “in the field.” Yesterday was one of those days. I spent the morning driving around with Mario Cruz, one of Prisma´s loan officers.
We zig zag around town, dodging traffic in a 1982 Toyota Corolla disguised as a taxi. Esau, the husband of one of the loan officers, is driving us around town as he usually does. I’m more than happy to take the front seat today, as like most cars here, there are no seat belts in the back. (Although I’m not sure how much a seat belt would help in an accident given that most of the cars I’ve been in here feel as safe as a tin can on wheels!)
Our first stop is to meet Luz Arel Castillo. She runs an auto repair shop. We pull into the shop and I see Luz, the lone female among her four male employees and those at the used car lot next door. I’m sure I look a little surprised to see a woman running an auto repair shop. I asked her how she learned the business. It´s a typical story. Her husband passed away two years ago and she had to take over the business to feed her family. After asking her a few more questions, I finish my interview, and we hop in the car to visit the three other women who are in her lending group.
About 30 minutes later, we arrive in the “Santa Isabel” neighborhood of Tegucigalpa. The last 10 minutes consist of driving on bumpy dirt roads, dodging potholes and rocks at a whopping speed of about 5 miles/hour. Glenda Yamith Duron and Hortencia Diaz Castejon are cousins who share a small house with their respective families. Glenda is married with three children. Hortencia is a single mother also with three children. Each family shares one bedroom amongst the four or five of them. As we sit in the living room, I peer back into the rest of the house. I see a dark room with a dirt floor. It is meant to be the kitchen, but like many families here, they “pay as they go” to build their home, and haven’t been able to afford the kitchen yet. Next door is Thelma Elizabeth Giron. She is also a single mother who lives with her two children. Her “house” consists of one room with two beds, a dresser, a small TV, a sink, and a hot plate. Two of these three women are the sole breadwinners for their family. They make a living by selling products from their home – shampoo, lotion, used clothing, etc. It’s quite incredible to believe that with a $275 loan, these women are able to feed three to four people each. Their income varies week by week depending on how much they can sell. My guess is that on average, they each net no more than $15 a week. Sometimes this job can be depressing. But at the same time, it can be inspiring to see so many people who won’t give up. In one form or another, so many people I meet face hardships and they continue to move forward.
Finally, it’s on to the “Honduras” neighborhood to visit Maria Isabel Obando. I’m pretty impressed to see paved streets and sidewalks, and rows of neatly constructed homes. Maria eagerly invites us in. She starts talking a mile a minute in Spanish, and I’m trying to keep up with all that she is saying, politely nodding my head as if I understand it all! She tells me how much she enjoys working with Prisma because the loan officers give her such personalized attention. (This is something I hear a lot from Prisma clients). As our conversation continues, Maria invites us to stay for lunch. Mario and I look at each other – hmmm….free food? Actually, one of the perks of my job is that most of the clients are so grateful for their loans, that if you try to buy something from them, they usually want to give it to you for free! Some of the foods I’ve tasted made by Kiva borrowers include coconut cookies, corn on the cob, tortillas, and homemade bread. Hey, it’s due diligence, right?
As we finish up our lunch, Maria tells us her neighbor is interested in a loan and she directs us to her business. We head down to the corner and find the potential client in her restaurant where she sells chicken and other local specialties. She wants a loan because she doesn’t have the capital to grow her business. Judging by all the customers she has, we can see that her meals are in demand. Mario walks her through the requirements for obtaining a loan, and promises to return in a few days. Finally, it’s back to the office. But we get stopped again. Another one of Mario’s clients waves us down as we drive by. She has a cousin who wants to apply for a loan for her piñata business. Hmmm…we might see some new Kiva clients soon!
