Posts filed under 'Philippines'
Community Loans: Another Level of Microfinance
By Josh Weinstein, KF9 Philippines
I spent the last week with the research department touring the region, tagging along on a market research survey. On the last day, we were driving through a coastal town when the paved road turned to dirt. According to the driver and director of the research department at NWTF, when the road turns to dirt, you know you are headed in the right direction. Sure enough, within a few minutes we reached a squatter community bustling with people. (In the Philippines, the government protects squatters, and large communities spring up on other peoples’ lands.) The road was just wide enough to fit the van and lined with nipa huts and sari sari stores. We passed by two makeshift basketball courts before coming to the end of the road. We parked the van and split up to walk around and talk to the people. Unfortunately, the interviews are all in Illonggo, so I chose to follow the director down to the shore. He began talking to a group of women on the beach holding their infant children. He asked a few questions, one of which is particularly interesting. If they could have a loan to spend on anything in their community, what would it be? Their response: a storage tank for diesel fuel or an icemaker. I’ll explain why this is important, but first some background. (more…)
5 comments 24 January 2010
What is a Mass Journal?
By Ed Coambs, KF9 Philippines, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation
One Great Center
I wanted to share with you one of the many finished products that a Kiva Fellow creates. In this case it is a mass journal. Each Kiva Fellow is expected at some point during their fellowship to write a personal entry to all the lenders that have made a loan through a particular field partner. Part of the mass journal should also clear up the relationship of field partners to Kiva. So I figured that many of the blog readers could also benefit from a similar letter and so here is mine. I hope that you find it helpful.
Hello Kiva lenders my name is Ed Coambs and I am a Kiva Fellow that has spent the last three months working with the field partner Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF). What’s that you don’t know who or what NWTF is, well that is ok. By the end of this journal my hope is that you will understand the important partnership field partners have with Kiva.
Field partners are the backbone of microfinance. They support the (more…)
1 comment 20 January 2010
I have a dream…
By Ed Coambs, KF9 Philippines, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation
Have you ever had a dream. Sure you have. We all have.
I have created a short video in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and the women of Negros, Philippines to remind us all that it is important to dream and dream big.
Spending the last three months in the Philippines has been an amazing experience. I have traveled to meet many Kiva entrepreneurs all over the island of Negros, and no matter what I find a way to ask about their dreams. There is no doubt this has been the most inspirational part of my time here. I hope that you will take a few minutes to remember Martin Luther King Jr. and the women of Negros. They are both great dreamers.
1 comment 18 January 2010
A view of lending from the field
By Ed Coambs, KF9 Philippines, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation
A great entrepreneur!
By now you have probably had a chance to make a loan on Kiva.org and if not you are thinking about it. Either way you are probably thinking about how does the loan get made in the field. Well like you I wondered this until I became a Kiva Fellow. Now that I have spent 3 months in the field, I can honestly say I know how the lending process works.
Let me just say it is a lot hotter, and (more…)
3 comments 13 January 2010
Filipino Values Pt 1: Bahala Na
When I was in grade school, we would start every year of Pilipino class with a lesson on what the Filipino traits were. The ones I particularly remember are: bahala na, pakikisama, hiya, mañana habit, and utang na loob. These five values inform every Kiva Fellow’s experience in the Philippines but also explain why many of the micro-entrepreneurs I’ve spoken to become borrowers in the first place. Literally translated, these words sometimes seem pejorative in English yet without understanding them, one would be hard-pressed to understand how microfinance works in the Philippines. (more…)
8 comments 12 January 2010
From the Office of the President
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Philippines
After spending over three months in Manila working in the Center for Community Transformation Credit Cooperative’s (CCT) head office, I thought it would be interesting for the Kiva family to hear from CCT’s President and Founder Ruth Callanta and meet my coworkers. Ate Ruth, as she is called by her coworkers (Ate, pronounced “ah-TEH”, is a Tagalog term of respect meaning older sister), is very passionate about her work and respected and loved by the CCT community for her vision and dedication.
If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, here is a table of contents of the questions: (more…)
1 comment 11 January 2010
Candy, where’s my skirt?
Mary Riedel KF 9 Philippines
Last month I picked up my clothes from the Washeteria. I was psyched, walking home with that, “I have clean clothes to wear,” feeling (you know the one). I got home, opened the cube shaped bag, it smelled so nice, even my underwear were folded! “What can I wear tomorrow?”
I stumbled upon a long blue, polyester skirt. “Hmmm, this definitely doesn’t look like mine,” (although having worn uniforms for 12 years I did
feel a slight connection.)
Quickly I worried, “If I have someone else things I wonder if someone has anything of mine.” I looked, my black skirt was missing.
7 comments 10 January 2010
Who is Poor? Defining Poverty
by Josh Weinstein, KF9 Philippines
How do you define poverty? A basic needs index looks at whether (and to what extent) fundamental needs are fulfilled – food, water, shelter, clothing – and whether people have access to critical services – education, information (newspapers, etc.), sanitation facilities, healthcare, financial services. This is an absolute poverty calculation, which uses a standard threshold that can be compared across countries and continents. Another method is to use a national poverty line, usually a percentage of median income. For example, if the median income is $10,000 USD, and the poverty line is 60% of that, any family making below $6,000 is technically below the poverty line. This is a relative poverty calculation, because it is country-specific. Using this method, it doesn’t make sense to compare across countries, since the poverty line in wealthier countries with higher median incomes will allow for greater purchasing power than in much poorer countries. In microfinance (and development in general), you often hear about the percentage of the population that lives on less than $1/day – the definition of extreme poverty – or $2/day, or some other defining statistic of poverty.
Statistics are important for microfinance institutions (MFIs). When you know what you are dealing with, you can more effectively target the population with programs that are proven to work. It is important for an MFI to understand its clients and where they exist on the spectrum of poverty. This is actually more difficult to assess than you’d think. It is not feasible to ask clients how many dollars a day they spend, or even try to determine their income relative to the rest of the population. Instead, MFIs use social performance metrics – simple tools to help them to define exactly what they are as an organization and whom they are serving. They are basically proxies, which, when examined in aggregate, give the MFIs a profile of the poverty level of their clients.
7 comments 10 January 2010
Dancing like we just don’t care – Happy New Years from KF9
Mary Riedel, KF9, Philippines
It’s that day of the year when we look forward with hope as we let go of last year’s demons and angels; as they say, “let go or get dragged!” So we put on those funny hats, blow those horns, and dance like we just don’t care!
To inspire you this New Years I’ve collected some dance footage of Kiva Fellows bustin’ a move in the field at their respective Kiva Field Partners (Microfinance Institutes). Each fellow recalls feeling a little trepidatious at getting out on the dance floor, but all seem to recount the story with a smile. If the US Post Office unofficial motto pledges that “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Then the Kiva Fellow unofficial motto might be something like, “neither typhoon, nor malaria, nor diarrhea, nor subzero temperatures, nor mouthfuls of exhaust, nor embarrassing dance exhibitions stays these fellows from tenaciously completing their appointed deliverables.
So when your out celebrating tonight if you feel like you’ve got lead in your feet or you catch a glimpse of yourself dancing in a reflection just remember the following 5 clips and keep on movin! If the Kiva fellows can do it…so can you! (more…)
2 comments 31 December 2009
How to be a Not-Microfinance Borrower
Recently I attended a centre meeting with one of PMPC’s loan officers. I sat down beside a woman who smiled broadly but did not want to give me her name or have her picture taken since she hadn’t prepared for it, which, in the heat and humidity of the Philippines, I could certainly understand. I asked her if she was a borrower and she said no, she wasn’t. She was a member of the centre, which meant that she was a PMPC-client but only had a savings account. She re-paid her last business loan but decided not to take another one out. When I asked her why not, she told me, laughing “Pagod! Mag-pahinga muna ako!” (Tired! I’m going to rest first), very kindly answering me in Tagalog instead of Visaya sensing I was still more with my local dialect.
That got me thinking about microfinance and its critics. We Kiva Fellows have responded in depth and with much honesty about the criticisms of microfinance and whether or not it is an effective poverty alleviation tool. One of the charges leveled against it is that the poor don’t know how to run a business: they take out loans, don’t know what to do with the funds, get over-indebted and run themselves ragged trying to repay it. Ultimately, they turn against microfinance and never want to take out another loan again. It’s true, that does happen sometimes but sometimes it doesn’t.
In this woman’s case, it didn’t. What happened to her was that she’d taken out a loan, and run a successful enough business that she could now close it down. She had her children to take care of her, as is the custom here, and in addition to that, she’d saved enough over time and through her savings account at the MFI so she could now support herself during this break. Sometimes, meeting a microfinance borrower who has stopped being a microfinance borrower is proof enough that it is working.
After reading both the detractors and the devotees, I know I can be a little of both but meeting smart and savvy PMPC-clients gives the advocates an edge this time. This woman made an active decision rather than being caught hopelessly in a cycle out of her control and she was an active member of her community, putting together the holiday decorations and always attending meetings. The chance to rest gives her the chance to celebrate the holidays. Happy New Year everyone!
Squid Centre's Holiday Decoration- Made out of Softdrink Straws!
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4 comments 30 December 2009
