I know! We can’t believe it either! Our Kiva Fellowships, as the 16th class, have come to an end.  So what’s in store for us once we return to our homes? Or perhaps, stay in the field for another fellowship?  Read on for the next chapter in the lives of some of the 16th Class of Kiva Fellows Alumni.

I am returning to San Francisco after working around Latin America for the past year. Apparently,  it’s time to go home and get ‘a real job’. I will be looking for work  in social enterprise or impact investing. I will miss the ‘tranquilo’ pace of life here in Nicaragua. Its not often you get the privilege of calculating an operational cost analysis from the comfort of a hammock. I will also miss catching my coworkers at AFODENIC singing along to Spanish versions of classics like ‘Dust in the Wind’ and ‘Total Eclipse of The Heart’ on Radio Amor. I am really glad I participated in the Kiva Fellows program. It was a  real good time.

Kiva Fellows in East Africa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Philippines (by Jill Hall)

Rwanda (by Whitney Webb)

Sierra Leone (by Tejal Desai)

El Salvador (by Andrea Ramirez)

Georgia (by DJ Forza)

Kenya (by Lauren Barra)

Peru (by Kate Bennett)

Tajikistan (by Chris Paci)

Peru (by Kate Bennett)

Burkina Faso (by Allison Moomey)

Corporate logo changes are common.  It’s rare to find a company that has maintained their corporate logo since opening their business.  Corporate name changes, however, are more rare.  In 2011 CREDIT in Cambodia is in the process of changing both.

I promised myself that I would only show a couple examples of corporate logo changes, but these were too interesting to not share with our loyal Kiva blog subscribers.

Apple went from (1) a frontier Isaac Newton phase to (2) a “more gay rights for the bay area” phase to (3) a “our corporate logo should be the same color as all of Steve Jobs’ shirts” phase to finally (4) a slick, chromed-out futuristic astronaut phase.

History lesson:  In 1900, Shell engineers (there was no such thing as marketing back then) had a big brainstorming session to come up with an image that had the least amount of resemblance to an actual shell.

Note the removal of serifs from 1971 to 1987.  Huge move, Kodak.

It’s interesting how you can date yourself by recognizing some of these logos.

Pepsi must suffer from image-issues with all their logo changes.  To be honest, if you showed me their current logo down there, I would not have recognized it as Pepsi.  I would have guessed an airline.

Little known fact: Nokia led the market share for cell phones prior to the iPhone back in 1865.  Their mobile phones might not have had integrated digital cameras back then, but they did have a very capable flash enabled web-browser so those with a data plan could check cnn.com for streaming video on breaking Civil War updates.

Last one, I promise. Looks like Wal-Mart in 1964 was after the spur-wearing, saloon-frequenting frontiersman market segment.

Did I really just waste that much vertical space on corporate logo images?  Hopefully that was enlightening, but probably is was just entertaining.

So, let’s talk about CREDIT, who in 2011 is going through a large name and corporate logo change initiative.

I was able to have a long conversation with Mr. Huang Kim, the director of marketing at CREDIT where he informed me of the need for their change.  Since CREDIT has a large network of international partners, it was difficult to differentiate themselves with a name of CREDIT.  Their name, while an acronym (Cambodia Rural Economic Development Initiative Transformation), is also a generic banking term referring to lending practices.  Some of CREDIT’s borrowing clients also shared difficulties understanding their name.  And let’s be honest here, that acronym is out of control.  CREDIT considered completely different name changes, but landed on “Kredit Microfinance,” to retain name recognition but differentiate themselves, at least in writing.

CREDIT’s marketing consultants also suggested new logos.  Their previous logo was too complicated to replicate and contained many elements common among their Cambodian competition, like a map of the country, grain, and an emphasis on the color green.  All it was missing was a characteristic silhouette of Angkor Wat.

CREDIT's old logo

Kredit Microfinance’s new logo has great symbolism behind it.  Their corporate mission in 2011 is growth and their new slogan is “supporting you to grow.”  Their new logo captures these elements.  Kredit is represented as the bottom right 45-degree angled support which is both thick and strong.  As most of Kredit’s clients are agrarian, their clients are represented by plants which start out financially weak, but with the financial services of Kredit are able to flourish.

Kredit Microfinance's New Logo

Implementing all of these changes at CREDIT is a large endeavor and requires employees in all departments to take on additional tasks:

• CREDIT’s website needs to incorporate the change
• All their letterhead and e-mail signatures need to be modified
• Forms need to be submitted and approved to Cambodian authorities
• All of CREDIT’s partners and clients need to be made aware of the changes
• All of CREDIT’s current marketing on billboards, radio, leaflets, and tuk-tuks need to be changed
• All of CREDIT’s 40+ branches throughout Cambodia need updated signage, documentation, and forms

I’m happy to see CREDIT making these changes and agree they are for the better.  On the Kiva side, we will be starting to edit the content both on Kiva’s lender-facing website (the one you all see) and on their partner-facing website, Partner Administration v2 (PA2).  Wiki documents for the review teams and Kiva Fellows program also need to be updated.

Some day, your children will ask you, where were you when CREDIT changed their name and corporate logo?  Hopefully your answer will be, “Well, I was in the process of joining their lending team on Kiva.org.”

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Dave Weber is a 4th year PhD candidate in Information Systems at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His dissertation topic is on the impact of information and communication technologies on the microfinance industry. He and his wife worked at Woodstock School in the Himalayan foothills of India and have volunteered with NightLight in Bangkok aimed at assisting the victims of sex trafficking. When he is not reading, writing, and researching, Dave enjoys playing basketball and tennis, music, traveling, wreaking havoc on his Harley, and rooting for the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals.

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

*      *       *

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.

In addition to the financial services provided by CREDIT World Relief, a Kiva field partner in Cambodia, they also have a unique program called the Vulnerable Services Unit (VSU) program which gives gifts to their poorest clients.  I had the opportunity to attend the distribution of these gifts during my third week at CREDIT and it was a special experience.

CREDIT analyzes their loan portfolio and determines which of their clients have the greatest financial need.  These are clients that are borrowing as little as $12.50 on loans through CREDIT.  These clients are very poor, even by Cambodian standards.  This excerpt (from CREDIT’s field partner page) describes CREDIT’s VSU program:

The VSU program provides microfinance services to those who are otherwise not able to access financial services, as well as to families living with HIV/AIDS. The early success of this program has attracted the attention of numerous worldwide donors, including Erikjalpen, Tear Fund Netherlands and Tear Fund New Zealand, and CREDIT has plans for its expansion.

The gifts that CREDIT provides to them cost over $150 per gift and include:

• A bicycle with a basket, bell, and lock
• A 50kg bag of rice
• 2 batteries and a light for reading/working at night.  The batteries can be recharged from a generator for only $0.50.
• A bag filled with school supplies for the education of their children
• Dishes and silverware

These gifts make a large impact on Cambodian families, especially given the recent flooding in Cambodia resulting in lost crops and lack of work for hundreds of thousands of Cambodians.

CREDIT’s marketing department asked me to take photos and video for use in their marketing.  I pulled together some clips of the morning and recorded audio commentaries by Vichet Ouch, CREDIT’s VSU Coordinating Officer, in both Khmai and English.  Below is the completed English version well worth 2 minutes of the reader’s time to witness the joy and relief on the faces of the clients provided with these gifts.

Please take a look at the current CREDIT loans waiting for funding on Kiva.org and be a part of an entrepreneur’s story for as little as $25.  And with CREDIT’s seriously impressive repayment rate, there’s a 99.48% chance you’ll be repaid in full!

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Dave Weber is a 4th year PhD candidate in Information Systems at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His dissertation topic is on the impact of information and communication technologies on the microfinance industry. He and his wife worked at Woodstock School in the Himalayan foothills of India and have volunteered with NightLight in Bangkok aimed at assisting the victims of sex trafficking. When he is not reading, writing, and researching, Dave enjoys playing basketball and tennis, music, traveling, wreaking havoc on his Harley, and rooting for the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals, although he’s seriously considering switching his allegiance back to the Detroit Lions.

Six on a Motorbike in Cambodia (by Dave Weber)

This week on the Kiva fellows blog: Hop on a poda-poda or an okada to try out an adventurous way to get around Sierra Leone. Find out why loan use in Tajikistan is not as straightforward as you may think. Learn how the principle of “trust but verify” is applied in Georgia. Explore the clever efforts of an Ecuadorian Kiva partner to craft an agricultural loan product that is appropriate to farmers’ needs. Welcome Kiva’s new field partner, VisionFund Cambodia. Learn how village banking works in Ecuador. Finish off by getting the inside scoop of what Kiva fellows around the world thrive on, from alpaca fur to Ziploc bags.

Adventures Chasing Poda-Podas + Hitchhiking in Freetown
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: Tejal Desai (KF16)
Tejal tries some new modes of transportation as she travels in out outside of Freetown.

Loan Use: Not As Simple As You Might Think
Country: Tajikistan / Fellow: Chris Paci (KF16)
Chris explains why predicting what borrowers will do with their loans is more complicated than one might think.

Trust But Verify
Country: Georgia / Fellow: DJ Forza (KF16)
DJ realizes that Georgians “trust but verify”.

Tough Crowd; Pitfalls and Progress in Agriculture Loans
Country: Ecuador / Fellow: Marcus Berkowitz (KF16)
Marcus explores some of the reasons why farmers stand apart from other borrowers.

VisionFund Cambodia Struts onto the Kiva Catwalk with Class
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Dave Weber (KF16)
Dave celebrates with VisionFund Cambodia as they become an active Kiva field partner.

Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof
Country: Costa Rica / Fellow: Julie Kerr (KF16)
Julie explains how village banking works at Kiva’s field partner FUDECOSUR.

Stuff Kiva Fellows Like
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Jim Burke (KF16)
Jim compiles a list of stuff Kiva fellows like: from alpaca fur to Ziploc bags.

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Updates from the past month:
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
Loan Sharks, Snapshots + “the Country with a Smile”
Motorcycles, Ramadan + A Dollar a Day
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Plus more pictures from the past week:

Sierra Leone (by Tejal Desai)

Tajikistan (by Chris Paci)

Georgia (by DJ Forza)

Ecuador (by Marcus Berkowitz)

Cambodia (by Dave Weber)

Costa Rica (by Julie Kerr)

Indonesia (by Laurie Young)

On 22-September I had the opportunity to join Davuth Seat, whose responsibilities now include Kiva coordination at VisionFund Cambodia, on a trip to the Kandal Province south of Phnom Penh to collect data on their first 3 Kiva clients.

Davuth Seat, Kiva Coordinator at VisionFund Cambodia

We left VisionFund’s Phnom Penh headquarters at 7:30am in a pickup truck and drove 90 minutes south to a VisionFund branch in the Kandal Province.

VisionFund Cambodia Branch Office in the Kandal Province

The Kandal Province surrounds (but does not include) Phnom Penh and is known for rice fields and river fisheries.  At the branch, we picked up a local loan officer and headed out to meet our first 3 Kiva borrowers.  If you weren’t excited first, let me tell you that here’s where the fun begins.

We stopped on the way for pumpkin cakes wrapped in banana leaves.  Now most MFIs and Kiva Fellows would have just stopped with the pumpkin cakes and called it a day, but this is VisionFund Cambodia and we had serious work to do.

Purchasing Banana Cakes

We drove another 45 minutes and crossed a river by ferry (term used lightly – the operator had to pour river water on his engine throughout the trip to prevent overheating) to a village not accessible by a bridge.

Kandal Province River Ferry

Cambodia’s heavy rains made for muddy roads and the truck did not travel far before we had to exit the dry air conditioned comfort of the truck and walk the remainder of the way into the village to meet with the clients.  We try our best to look presentable, but the muddy shoes didn’t help.

The Muddy Path in the Village

We encountered our first borrower, Chreb, underneath the stilts of her home sheltered from the late morning Cambodian sun.  Davuth came prepared with a paper questionnaire form to collect information required to post the loan on Kiva.

VisionFund Cambodia Staff Interviewing Chreb in her Home

Paperwork Used to Collect Profile Information on Chreb

We found out that Chreb requested a loan to purchase more pigs and to feed pigs like this beauty in her back yard.  In Cambodia, no part of a pig goes to waste.  They eat all parts of these animals except the bones.  She also creates and sells rice wine on the side.

Chreb's Beautiful Pig

To “sign” the loan documents and client waivers, most borrowers use their thumbprint.  As she was the first VisionFund Kiva borrower, I requested a photo of her before she had a chance to clean the ink off her hand.  All the while, hoping that asking somebody to put their thumb up isn’t some kind of Cambodian social faux pas.

Chreb's Inked Thumb

A Scene from the Village as we Walked to Visit Our Next Borrower

Our second borrower, Ri, owns her own general goods store.  She sells items like cake, eggs, soap, and shampoo.

Ri, a Store Owner in the Kandal Province

Our final visit of the day was to Seur, a rice farmer who requested a loan to purchase fertilizer for her rice fields and spice plantation.  Anybody who thinks Seur doesn’t look good in purple is beyond mistaken.

Seur, a Rice Farmer in the Kandal Province

After collecting all 3 clients’ information, we took a break for lunch and I captured a rare “six-on-a-motorbike” sighting on camera.

Six on a Motorbike

After lunch, we dropped the loan officer back at the Kandal Branch and returned to VisionFund Cambodia’s Phnom Penh headquarters to enter all of our collected information and photos into Kiva Partner Administration ver.2 (PA2).

Davuth Posting Information on the first VisionFund Cambodia Kiva Loan

I’m happy to announce that all 3 loans (Chreb, Ri, and Seur) were fully funded very quickly!  Thank you to all the Kiva lenders who have engaged in a lending relationship with these borrowers.

Cissy Deluca, the Field Support Specialist for the EAP region wrote a separate blog post introducing VisionFund Cambodia.  Read her post here.

To learn more about VisionFund Cambodia, visit their website or their partner page on Kiva.  To make loans for as little as $25 to VisionFund Cambodia borrowers, click here.

Also, it would be great if you could assist me in showing our support to this newest field partner by joining their lending team.

Side note: Cambodia just recently celebrated their Pchum Ben holiday and many staff at Cambodian MFIs were on leave.  As a result, it will take a couple days for newly available Cambodian loans to ramp up on Kiva.

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Dave Weber is a 4th year PhD candidate in Information Systems at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His dissertation topic is on the impact of information and communication technologies on the microfinance industry. He and his wife worked at Woodstock School in the Himalayan foothills of India and have volunteered with NightLight in Bangkok aimed at assisting the victims of sex trafficking. When he is not reading, writing, and researching, Dave enjoys playing basketball and tennis, music, traveling, wreaking havoc on his Harley, and rooting for the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals.

Rwanda: Brand New Rice Paddies (by Adam Cohn)

It has been a busy week for bloggers. The 16th class of Kiva fellows (KF16) hits the ground running and invites you to share their first experiences in their host countries across the globe. Arrive in Georgia just in time for harvest season. Continue to Sierra Leone to watch a new Kiva field partner go from pilot to active. Jump out of a plane in Rwanda – but not without a few parachutes – and learn more about agricultural loans. Bump into a Kiva borrower in Ecuador. Travel to Burkina Faso – a poor country rich in culture. Study the effects of technology on social performance of microfinance institutions in Cambodia. And to top it all off, immerse yourself in the generosity and kindness of the people of Paraguay.

The Velvet Season
Country: Georgia / Fellow: DJ Forza (KF16)
DJ is lucky to arrive in Georgia during the harvest season.

Full Hearts, Engines Ready: Going Pilot to Active in Freetown
Country: Sierra Leone / Fellow: Tejal Desai (KF16)
Tejal can’t wait to be a part of the transition BRAC is undergoing to become an active Kiva field partner.

The Kiva Parachute: Landing in Rwanda
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Whitney Webb (KF16)
Whitney opens a few parachutes to soften her landing in Rwanda: people, humor and a little zen.

What are Chances of Meeting a Kiva Borrower in Guayaquil?
Country: Ecuador / Fellow: Emmanuel von Arx (KF16)
As Emmanuel gets into a taxi on his first day in Guayaquil, he also meets his first Kiva borrower.

The Cultural Complexities of Poverty Alleviation
Country: Burkina Faso / Fellow: Allison Moomey (KF16)
Allison experiences cultural complexities in Burkina Faso, a poor country rich in culture.

Can Technology Influence MFI Social Performance?
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Dave Weber (KF16)
Dave uncovers the empirical and anecdotal evidence for the influence of technology on the social performance of microfinance institutions.

Agriculture Loans: What Makes Them So Different?
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Adam Cohn (KF14)
Adam takes a look at the differences between agricultural loans and the other microloans on Kiva.

Navigating Asunción through an Amazing Network of Human Connections
Country: Paraguay / Fellow: Alba Castillo (KF16)
Alba wonders if the generosity and kindness she is experiencing in her host country will ever cease to amaze her.

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Updates from the past month:
Costs of Kiva, Donkey Shares + the Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
Loan Sharks, Snapshots + “the Country with a Smile”
Update from the Field: Motorcycles, Ramadan + A Dollar a Day
Working Animals, Green Microfinance + The Ends of the Earth
Poverty Assessments, Bush Taxis + Meeting “My” Borrower
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Plus more pictures from the past week:

Georgia (by DJ Forza)

Sierra Leone (by Tejal Desai)

Rwanda (by Whitney Webb)

Ecuador (by Emmanuel von Arx)

Burkina Faso (by Allison Moomey)

Rwanda (by Adam Cohn)

Paraguay (by Alba Castillo)

The microfinance industry has been slow to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) (Ivatury 2004, CGAP 2009).  Everett Rogers, in his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations, suggests that adoption of technology follows an s-shaped curve.  In other words, adoption starts slowly and picks up pace before slowing down.  He also suggested that adopters of technology (whether they be individuals, organizations, industries, or economies) can be segregated into one of 5 categories in a normal distribution as shown the chart below:

Let’s look at the example of mobile phones at the individual level of adoption.  Zach Morris from Saved by the Bell was an innovator.  He was in the first 2.5% of individuals to adopt a cell phone.  He discovered intelligent uses for his brick-sized phone like making prank calls to Mr. Belding, asking Screech to help him cheat on a test, or confronting Slater on asking Lisa to the prom when they both knew that Zach and she were going steady.  Here’s a photo I found on the Internet as proof:

My first mobile phone was acquired in 2002.  It was smaller than Zach’s, had a black and white screen, and had an ‘app’ where you could manually type in notes and durations to create your own ringtones.  I spent the good part of a semester coding in “Here Comes the Bride” as a surprise to my then fiancee, now wife.  Her 20 seconds of enjoyment was more than worth my effort.  Although that feature was innovative, I probably adopted my first mobile phone in the early or late majority.

Now moving on to my grandparents, who just acquired their first mobile phones in 2009.  They were interested in groundbreaking features like large buttons and large-font screens.  If we’re limiting the population to America, they would likely fit in the laggards category of individual cell phone adoption.

The microfinance industry as a whole could be grouped into the ‘late majority’ or ‘laggards’ category of technology adoption when compared with other banking industries.  There are many reasons for this:

• MFIs operate in the developing world where there are greater barriers to technology adoption
• MFIs operate in economies where labor is relatively cheap and goods are relatively expensive
• Technology relies on electricity, which is unreliable in many parts of the developing world
• A robust and interconnected management information system (MIS) relies on Internet bandwidth, which is slower in many parts of the developing world
• Many MFI clients are not technologically savvy and are uncomfortable with technological interfaces to MFIs beyond mobile phones

Therefore, many MFIs are in a state of transition, many still on paper-based systems or simple spreadsheet-based systems.  Information and communication technologies (ICTs) like mobile phones, relational databases, and client-server architectures are disruptive technologies that greatly impact the means by which MFIs operate.

We hope the change is for the better.  We know that ICTs lower costs associated with transaction and coordination.  As these costs decrease, MFIs should be able to lend to poorer borrowers while maintaining financial viability.  Also, ICTs decrease the costs of communicating and processing transactions over a distance.  Sending an e-mail one additional mile or making a phone call to someone one additional mile away is very low.  This phenomenon has been called the Death of Distance.

A theoretical connection that I seek to make in part of my dissertation research is that the technological capabilities of an MFI enable them to lend to more geographically distant and poorer borrowers.  With new technologies emerging in the microfinance industry such as mobile banking, borrowers do not need to make a trip into town to make a loan payment at their MFI branch and loan officers do not require as many trips to the field.  Payments can be made electronically by borrowers using their mobile phones.  It is estimated that only 25% of the world’s population have access to financial services, but 75% use a mobile phone.  The infrastructure (cell towers and mobile phones) are already in place in most of the developed world.  As MFIs adopt these technologies, they should be able to lend to borrowers that are increasingly rural and isolated while maintaining financial viability.

The term I use here to describe lending to poorer and more distant borrowers is ‘social performance.’  However, social performance is a much larger umbrella term that looks at the social impact that  that MFIs have on families and communities in aggregate.  It is a migration from the original MFI mantra of ‘do no harm’ to ‘do good.’  I applaud the industry’s recent emphasis on social performance alongside financial performance.

One would think that there is a tradeoff between social performance and financial performance, but research suggests this is not the case. While MFIs with outreach strategies do have greater operational costs, other benefits such as staff productivity and portfolio diversification outweigh these costs. Bedecarrats et al. (2009) state the reason for this is that MFIs with an outreach strategy have greater client participation and work in markets with lower levels of competition. MFIs with an outreach strategy also generate a greater social impact.

So what is Kiva’s role in all of this?  Kiva Fellows like myself are playing an active role in Kiva’s data collection with respect to the MIS capabilities and social performance of their field partner MFIs.  Kiva fellows enlist the help of MFI staff in various departments to collection information required on the MIS survey developed internally.  Read here to learn more about Lorena Gil’s (KF12) experience in administering this survey to her host MFI in Chile.  The social performance survey used by Kiva, CERISE, is a very comprehensive tool developed by a French organization.  Read here to learn more about Casey Unrain’s (KF12) thoughts on MFI social performance and his experiences in administering the survey.

Please join me in helping families improve their livelihoods by making a $25 loan to an entrepreneur on Kiva.

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Dave Weber is a 4th year PhD candidate in Information Systems at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His dissertation topic is on the impact of information and communication technologies on the microfinance industry. He and his wife worked at Woodstock School in the Himalayan foothills of India and have volunteered with NightLight in Bangkok aimed at assisting the victims of sex trafficking. When he is not reading, writing, and researching, Dave enjoys playing basketball and tennis, music, traveling, wreaking havoc on his Harley, and rooting for the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals.

At the Gambian Horse and Donkey Trust, Saloum runs the Donkey Project and cares passionately about both local development and his long-earred charges. By Tim Young

Over the course of their fellowship, each Kiva Fellows class gleans a better understanding of innerworkings of microfinance and how a microfinance institution (MFI) can tip the scales of success. We begin to glimpse behind the scenes costs of Kiva to our Field Partners and to comprehend the reasoning behind “high” interest rates across the entire field of microfinance. We’re let in on the secrets to success which keep an organization running and financially viable for five years, and we learn about innovative development of programs- be they microfinance or donkey-shares- in a niche market. Over the course of our fellowships, we obtain these invaluable and instructive lessons piecemeal, and together can contribute to the conversation on a whole. Thus, as one class of fellows departs and another begins, this week our fellows share our insights with you!

Isabukuru Nziza, ACB! A Kiva Field Partner in Rwanda Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
Country: Rwanda / Fellow: Kathrin Gerner, KF15 & KF16

As Kathrin begins her first week of work with Kiva Field Partner Amasezerano Community Bank (ACB), ACB is also celebrating their fifth year anniversary as an organization. Kathrin demonstrates that ACB’s name, meanning  promise, or, “more precisely, covenant” truly explicates their “commitment to serving and empowering Rwandan people.”

Of Chinese Proverbs and Gambian Donkeys
Country: Senegal / Fellow: Tim Young, KF15

Tim introduces us to the strange and unfamiliar world of donkey-shares at the Gambian Horse and Donkey Trust (GHDT). Tim discusses the innovative development of the project, its parallels to microfinance, and the strides these donkeys have made in the area.

Cost of Kiva
Country: Nicaragua/ Fellow: Casey Cline, KF15 & KF16

Most of us know that Kiva’s 137 Field Partners receive interest-free loans from you, the lenders. But these loans aren’t cost free to the field partner, and Casey explains just what the costs of a Kiva partnership are.

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: David Weber, KF16

As Dave gets to work in Cambodia, he gets down to brass tacks on the question of the seemingly high interest rates common in all of microfinance. Dave elucidates the issue by reminding us of one of the most basic rules of economics, and helps us to understand that: it’s really not that complicated after all!

*      *       *

Updates from the past month:

Loan Sharks, Snapshots + “the Country with a Smile”
Cooking Classes, Autarky + Social Performance
Motorcycles, Ramadan + A Dollar a Day
Working Animals, Green Microfinance + The Ends of the Earth
Poverty Assessments, Bush Taxis + Meeting “My” Borrower

*      *       *

Plus pictures from the past week:

Roger and Sandra: Keys to the Kiva Relationship. By Casey Cline, Nicaragua

Some ACB borrowers and one Kiva fellow in rural Rwanda. By Kathrin Gerner, Rwanda

Group photo Kiva style: The "group leader" is raising his hand. By Kathrin Gerner, Rwanda

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.

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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

Classic trip to the field moment: a loan officer chats with a borrower (Peru pictured)

It’s hard to believe but the current batch of Kiva Fellows has been in the field for over two months and most of us have only a few weeks left to go. We’re getting swept up in completing deliverables, making the most of our final month in country, and starting to plot our lives after Kiva. (Travel plans = fun. Applying for “real” jobs = less fun.) Fortunately, starting May 7, a brand new assortment of Fellows will be coming your way and a few KF14 veterans will be sticking around to show them the ropes. So stay tuned for more trips to the field, insights into local culture, contemplations about next steps, and stories of microfinance in action.

And if you’re sitting here thinking, “Hey! I want to be a part of the action, too!”, you have until April 23 to apply for Kiva Fellowships starting in August 2011. Check out the application wiki to learn more.

The New Poor
Country: Mexico / Fellow: John Farmer (KF14)
John explores what it means to be the “new poor” in Mexico by profiling a family that previously considered themselves middle class and sharing the lifestyle changes they’ve made in order to keep their heads above water.

A day in the life of a rural loan officer
Country: Peru / Fellow: Geeta Uhl (KF14)
Regular readers of this blog know that microfinance administration often requires very long days in the field. Geeta shadows a rural loan officer in Peru during a busy yet typical day, learning about making bricks, watching a domestic violence awareness training, and appreciating cute pigs along the way.

The Bare Necessities
Country: Cambodia / Fellow: Stephanie Sibal (KF14)
Stephanie reminds us that many Kiva loans are used directly or indirectly to improve the basic living situation of borrowers and their families, many of whom lack access to sanitation, electricity, health care, and secure housing.

~
Previous updates from the field:
April Fools, Terrible Coffee + Getting Attached
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:

Peru (by Geeta Uhl)

Mexico (by John Farmer)

Cambodia (by Stephanie Sibal)

Peru (by Geeta Uhl)

It oftentimes begins with the aspiration of achieving something bigger: many enterprising Kiva borrowers request loans to start new ventures or expand businesses. Some rely on a Kiva loan to remedy a setback.

However, not all borrowers take out loans with the intention of starting or growing a business. Coming from places where running water, electricity, and sometimes even a roof for their house are considered luxuries, countless borrowers request loans to improve the quality of their lives.

Three months and nearly a dozen trips into rural Cambodian provinces of Kampong Chhnang, Takeo, and Kandal have provided me with opportunities to chat intimately with borrowers who are grateful to lenders for allowing them what the developed world calls “the bare necessities.”

Vaccines

Visitors to Cambodia’s countryside know that they face a multitude of potential health risks that vaccinations can help to prevent, some of which include malaria, hepatitis A and B, and typhoid. While vaccines are relatively easy to obtain in the developed world, the lack of vaccine coverage in countries such as Cambodia are startling. According to a USAID survey, Cambodia’s full vaccination coverage is less than 40%. Indeed, it is an eye-opening experience when a borrower says that what they would like most in the world is proper health.

A remote Takeo village occupied by predominantly ethnic Vietnamese-Cambodians is also home to Pha:  Kiva borrower, pig breeder, and rice wine maker.

Borrower in Takeo province, Cambodia

Pha’s husband is a teacher at the local school. They raised four children, one of whom is now a school teacher like his father. Pha did not request a Kiva loan to start a business—rather, she used her loan to pay for vaccinations for her family.

“My business is well. I know that [vaccinations] are important, and I need to care for my family.”

Toilets

Rural Cambodians see no humor in the word “toilet.” More than a Western luxury, the commode is a life-changing addition that paves the way for proper sanitation and prevention of infectious diseases. Yet so many in Cambodia and around the world do not have access to one.

In fact, more people in the world have cell phones than access to a toilet, according to Water.org. In Kampong Chhnang, Sum used his loan to install a toilet for his family’s use. It comes as no surprise that oftentimes, rural provinces are a germophobe’s biggest nightmare, with pollutants and infectants abound.

A rural Cambodian borrower and his children

With his loan from Kiva, Sum can improve his family’s health and well-being, and potentially prevent some of the many diseases that his village and communities around the world are prone to.

Stephanie Sibal is a Kiva Fellow based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia working with MAXIMA Mikroheranhvatho Co. Ltd, a Kiva Field Partner.

Make a loan to entrepreneurs like these on Kiva, or join MAXIMA’s lending team to lend to MAXIMA borrowers.

Stephanie’s Previous Posts:

Special Update from the Field: Beaches, Safaris + Cambodian Glamour Shots

Piece by Piece: The Garment Worker’s Loan

Celebrating Women Around the World!

Microfinance Marketing 101: The Loan Officer

Mangoes and Motos: Visits to the Field in Cambodia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plus more pictures from this past week:

Ghana (by Mei-ing Cheok)

Bolivia (by Clara Vreeken)

Peru (by Noreen Giga)

Peru (by Geeta Uhl)

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

Colombia (by Nick Hamilton)

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Uganda (by Nila Uthayakumar)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Where Kiva Fellows actually spend their time (Indonesia pictured)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And an epic update from Lisa in West Timor:

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

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

Plus more pictures from “the field”:

Indonesia (by Lisa Skowron)

Mexico (by John Farmer)

Cambodia (by Stephanie Sibal)

Sierra Leone (by David McNeill)

Ghana (by Mei-ing Cheok)

Uganda (by Nila Uthayakumar)

Swaziland (by Alexis Ditkowsky)

Colombia (by John Gwillim)

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Bolivia (by Clara Vreeken)

Armenia (by Caree Edson)

Rwanda (by Adam Cohn)

Peru (by Sherrise Pond)

Benin (by Gareth Davies)

Peru (by Geeta Uhl and Noreen Giga)

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)

Gritty streets, massive white buildings, heavily-guarded gates. These are a part the outside view, the experience of someone blindly walking by a garment factory in Cambodia. About 20 kilometers out of Phnom Penh are Ta Khmao and Kandal Sleung, regions well-known for the numerous garment and apparel production factories there.

Of course, there is more to garment production than the fashionable pieces that exit the factory for commercial sale; there is the story of the garment factory worker who works tirelessly to produce them.

Is it possible to support a family on factory wages?

Garment production is a profitable industry for Cambodia, third only to tourism and agriculture. As such, it is a stable source of income that makes much sense to young, female Cambodians, who make up 90 percent of the workforce in this industry. (The preceding information is from Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen of AsiaLife Cambodia’s insightful and compelling feature on the lives of factory girls.)

Sok’s Story
I had the chance to interview Sok*, a 22-year-old borrower and garment worker in this district, to get a proper sense of what her life at the garment factory was like—and why she needed a Kiva loan. She met with me on a Friday afternoon, a time she used graciously to stay at home and meet with me rather than go into work. Traveling to her took longer than usual—a trip to her home involved a drive in a car, followed by a ride on a moto, and ended with a quarter-mile walk on a dirt road.

Sok works six days a week, with Sundays serving as her sole day off. Her days are nine to ten hours long. Her income is dependent upon the number of pieces she is able to produce, but she earns an average of $3.50 USD per day. This puts Sok at close to AsiaLife Cambodia’s estimate of an $85 USD per month salary for the country’s garment workers.

Sok’s husband, also a garment factory worker, earns similar wages. Along with two children, both toddlers, the family spends $35 per month on food and $5 on electricity. With no bicycles or motos, they spend $30 each month on public transportation. The rest of the money goes to various expenses, but a bulk of it is sent to family members strapped for cash even farther away.

This rural Cambodian house is miles away from the National Road, or any road, for that matter

Pairing the tough work schedule she and her husband are faced with (a friend watches her children while the two are away) with her various expenses, the money that Sok actually gets to keep is very little.

Her Kiva Loan
Despite the long hours, at the moment, Sok is relatively satisfied with her life. She took a Kiva loan to purchase a cow for breeding, hoping that it will help her to make ends meet. She’s more inclined to side businesses rather than leaving garment factory work altogether.

If she weren’t a garment worker, she would be “outside, growing vegetables,” a back-breaking, heatstroke-inducing task, not to mention a slightly less reliable source of income. “It depends on what and how much people will buy from you at the market,” she explained.

“I want my sons to go to university someday, not like me,” she told me. She’s hopeful that this additional source of income will improve her family’s well-being.

A new source of income

*Borrower’s name has been changed.

Stephanie Sibal is a Kiva Fellow working with MAXIMA Mikeranhvatho Co. Ltd in Cambodia. Her favorite off-duty activity in Cambodia (so far) is shopping for gorgeous, handmade Cambodian silk.

Lend to an entrepreneur on Kiva today!

Stephanie’s previous posts:

Celebrating Women around the World!
Microfinance Marketing 101: The Loan Officer
Mangoes and Motos: Visits to the Field in Cambodia

It turns out that one thing Kiva Fellows seem to have in common is a love for data. With that, Kiva Fellows David and Adam polled the current fellows in the field on the costs of various necessities and niceties in their current placements. The numbers, which we humbly title the Kiva Fellows Index, give some good insight into the conditions in the far-flung places we now live and work.

Far from home

View Larger Map

Kiva Fellows are in it for the long haul. On average, we’re 5,745 miles away from home, as the crow flies. The fellows who have trucked the farthest, at least by line of sight, are: Adam Cohn, who crossed 8,892 miles from Seattle, WA to Kigali, Rwanda; Caitlin Ross, who also went to Kigali from her home in Burlingame, CA, for a total of 9,417 miles; and the longest haul goes to Lisa Skowron, who flew 9,519 miles from her home in Chicago, IL to Kupang, Indonesia!

Internet
The first prize for the slowest Internet speed goes to Carlos Cruz in Liberia, with a close second and third for Claudine Emeott in Nepal and David McNeill in Sierra Leone. They experience speeds 10-100 times slower than in the US, making them thankful to the Kiva engineers who make Kiva.org one of the quicker websites to load. At these speeds video chatting is impossible, voice is dodgy if possible at all, and emails aren’t even guaranteed to work. Forget about watching videos on YouTube or listening to Internet radio. Having Internet access is quickly becoming almost as important as having electricity or indoor plumbing.

Weather
Many of us are serving in hot parts of the world without the blessing of air conditioning. The unlucky winners in this category are neighbors in West Africa – Carlos Cruz in Liberia and David McNeill in Sierra Leone. They survive high temperatures in the low 90’s (F) and lows that only get down to the upper 70’s or low 80’s (F). Carlos, we hope you’ve got a fan and electricity to run it like David does (most of the time).

On the other side of the spectrum, Amber Barger is struggling to keep warm in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where it dips down to -9 (F) at night. David would be happy to trade one of his hot sunny beaches for some of Amber’s ice!

Amber trying to stay warm on her unheated camel ride in Mongolia

Housing
Carlos Cruz got the sweetest deal on rent, with free housing courtesy of his host microfinance institution in Liberia. The runner up is Gustavo Visalli in Totonicapan, Guatemala. He pays only $100/month, and that includes electricity, a flush toilet, and all the black beans and eggs he can eat!

Gustavo cooking up his all-you-can eat buffet in his sweet house in Guatemala

Transportation
There are some definite advantages to working in developing countries. Most of us spend less than $1 getting to work each day riding buses, motorcycles, or other modes of public transportation. For David in Sierra Leone, a ride in the back of a car taxi to a town 2.5 hours away only costs $3.50 (there are four people squished in a seat made for three, though). Stephanie Sibal has the sweetest deal on transportation – her host organization in Phnom Penh, Cambodia provides her a car and driver to bring her in to work in the morning.

With the cost of oil on the rise, we did a quick poll of gas prices where we are serving. The highest price is in South Africa at $5/gallon. If you want the cheapest price, you’ll have to drive to Indonesia ($2.15/gallon) or Kyrgyzstan ($2.73/gallon).

Refreshment
For refreshment, Stephanie Sibal is a definite winner – she only has to pay 15 cents for a Coke served in a plastic baggie! The following people have a four-way tie for the cheapest beer at only $1 a bottle: Stephanie Sibal again (Phnom Penh, Cambodia), John Gwillim (Barranquilla, Colombia), Geeta Uhl (Ayacucho, Peru), and John Farmer (Mexico City, Mexico). For coffee, some people like John Farmer have the luxury of a nearby Starbucks in Mexico City, Adam Cohn can drink 100% local coffee at multiple Bourbon locations in Rwanda, while poor Noreen Giga is still searching for a good cup in Lima, Peru.

Stephanie enjoying her Bag-o-Coke in Cambodia

As you can see, some of life’s necessities are more accessible, while others are prohibitive, for those who relocate to the other side of the globe. If you’d like to look at our full spreadsheet of stats, you can see it here.
Have you found places where a Coke is incredibly expensive, or internet is mind-blowingly slow? Let us know in the comments!

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.

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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)

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Previous updates from the field:
“Christmas”, Trekking, Adversity + Good Company
~

Plus more pictures from this past week:

Nicaragua (by Karen Gray)

Guatemala (by Gustavo Visalli)

Kenya (by Tara Capsuto)

Bolivia (by Julie Shea)

Mongolia (by Amber Barger)

Nepal (by Claudine Emeott)

In the last few weeks, while hopped up on caffeine from too many cups of instant coffee, when I was approached and asked to create a marketing plan for MAXIMA, the microfinance institution (MFI) hosting my Kiva Fellowship in Cambodia, I overeagerly agreed.

Prior to my fellowship, I spent some time working in public relations, so the task of creating a marketing plan wasn’t completely new to me. In order to get started, I needed to figure out how MAXIMA markets to its borrowers in the first place. I knew the first place to start was the ever-important loan officer.

“Today, we’re advertising.”
Loan officers have an unbelievably difficult and labor-intensive job. They have a long list of responsibilities: traveling long distances to meet with new or existing clients, disbursing a microloan, and collecting repayments. (Previous Kiva Fellows have written about the jobs of loan officers, in Vietnam and Ecuador)

Last week, I asked to tag along to with Vanna, one of MAXIMA’s loan officers, and found out exactly how crucial loan officers like him are to MAXIMA’s marketing program.

In short, he and other loan officers like him ARE the marketing program.

Vanna the loan officer, visiting a borrower and her grandchildren

By nature of his job, Vanna is the main point of communication between lenders and borrowers. He explained to me that when he finishes visiting with clients, his next main task is to “advertise” and seek out new clients. This means, of course, asking current clients if they know of anyone who is interested in starting a business and in need of a loan, or meeting with neighbors of a client.

We leave the office bright and early at 7:30 a.m., grab some baguettes for lunch on the way. The rest of the day was spent meeting almost a dozen different people. I watched him as he explained the terms and processes associated with taking out a small loan, and also let borrowers know about new products—a new type of loan, or the availability of a savings account. In essence, loan officers are a microfinance organization’s PR people.

Because of this, an MFI’s human resources department (if one exists) is tasked with hiring the right people—hopefully natural communicators, and candidates who know their territory. MAXIMA in particular, has a number of loan officers who hail from the very provinces they are serving, which makes it easier to create and build relationships with borrowers.

Listening and growing with the needs of borrowers
Once a borrower is finished repaying their loan, it’s important to listen to client feedback in order to move forward and continue the level of service that an MFI promises. In MAXIMA’s case, it’s through listening to client feedback that they developed a new type of loan.

The new loan product includes a different loan term and amount than MAXIMA’s other loan products, all requested by MAXIMA’s borrowers. It’s now one of their most popular loans to date. Kimseng, MAXIMA’s executive director, explained to me that much of this is affected by the changing purchase power parity in the country.

Loan officers such as Vanna now have an additional task of gauging borrower response to their satisfaction with their loans, and must know the right questions to ask in order for MFIs like his to create or change their products to truly serve their customers.
“The relationships we have with our borrowers are what make us so different,” said Kimseng. “It’s why we are here to work.”

Keep microfinance in motion. Lend to an entrepreneur on Kiva today!

Stephanie Sibal is a part of Kiva’s KF 14 Class working with MAXIMA Mikheranhvatho Co. Ltd. In Cambodia. Her least favorite phrase in marketing/business jargon is “low-hanging fruit.”

Want to be a Kiva Fellow? Learn more about the Kiva Fellows Program.

My first couple of weeks serving as a Kiva Fellow in Cambodia were in many ways, a true shock to my system. The country’s capital, Phnom Penh, is a dizzy blur of lights, motorbikes, colonial-inspired architecture, and savory street food aromas that take some getting used to. However, nothing snaps a Kiva Fellow out of homesickness faster than a visit (or two) to the field. While working with CREDIT, one of Kiva’s oldest partners in Cambodia, I had the pleasure of leaving the busy city life two visit two borrowers in rural provinces.

Kandal

Cambodia’s Kandal province completely surrounds Phnom Penh and is an area known for its garment production. Varying sizes of pagodas (or wat as they are commonly referred to in Cambodia) are scattered throughout the National Road. The borrower we set out to visit lived roughly 30 minutes from central Phnom Penh. The smooth, paved city streets gave way to dusty, slightly-tread dirt roads quickly.

Road to a borrower's house

Lun’s main business? Mangoes, one of the most revered fruit in Southeast Asia.

Borrower with her newly planted mango saplings

Working with a couple of trees on her family’s lot, Lun picks mangoes and travels to the market several times a week to sell mangoes, earning roughly $3 per day. Lun’s loan allowed her to purchase more mango tree saplings. However, she will have to wait nearly a year until they are fully grown and ready to produce fruit.

Freshly picked

Not lacking in entrepreneurial vision, Lun has also set up a small shop selling meatballs, which she and her daughter run. They sell their meatballs in front of a small store.

Lun's meatball shop, now open for business

Siem Reap

I also had the good fortune of accompanying CREDIT on a visit to a borrower in Siem Reap, world-renowned for Angkor Wat and a host of ancient temples with intricate Buddhist stone sculptures. Starting out at CREDIT’s Siem Reap branch, we used the pre-Google Maps method to reach the borrower’s house.

How to find a house when the roads have no names

Trailing a loan officer

A house in rural Siem Reap

Em is the wife of a moto driver, a huge smile accompanies her endearing hospitality. She quickly arranged chairs for us to sit on. When I asked her how old she was, she laughed and said “I’m getting older and more forgetful. Maybe 55?”

Having used her loan for spare parts to keep the family’s transportation business running, she also focused on her children’s education. She delights in telling me that her loan is paid off in full nearly a month before her final payment is due, and one of her children now attends medical school in the capital. I could see why she was beaming.

All smiles

The long trips and the lingering dust in my eyes felt worthwhile to get these intimate views of the impact of a microloan.

Stephanie Sibal is a Kiva Fellow working with MAXIMA Mikheranhvatho Co Ltd and CREDIT (A World Relief Partner) in Cambodia. Want to be a part of the Kiva Fellows program? Learn more and apply to be a Kiva Fellow.

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Cambodians have some of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. During my visits to Kiva borrowers in August and September of 2010, I was given a glimpse of life in rural Cambodia. Below I present some of the challenges of taking photos in the field and also some of my favorite photographs from the borrower visits.

Challenge #1: Extremely bright background

Most of the visits I made to borrowers were between 10am and 3pm, when the sun was overhead and shining at its strongest. This often made it difficult to take outdoor shots.

Challenge #2 - Tricky backlighting

I met with some borrowers on the ground level of their home. The open area had bright sunshine peeking through from all directions. Note the big smiles!

Challenge #3 - clouds rolling in late in the day...

There were times when we had to wait for Kiva borrowers to return home so we could meet with them. It was dark when I took this shot so I had to use the flash, which caused some overexposure of the objects in the foreground. I think it’s neat how there’s a cow walking on the road in the background.

Favorite #1: A couple of big smiles!

After a while I realized that the best lighting could be found inside the borrowers’ homes, with sunlight peeking in from one opening.

Favorite #2: Another beautiful Khmer smile!

The pink cloth draped in the background provided a nice contrast. The strong sunlight peeking in from the one opening in the house was just right.

Favorite #3: A face that's full of character

When I visited this Sin San, there was something about him that was really interesting to photograph. The blue cloth in the background adds an interesting touch.

Favorite #3.1: Family portrait

Edwin Au-Yeung served as a roaming Kiva Fellow in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from August to November 2010. He is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow at Tanaoba Lais Manekat in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia. Edwin is a casual photographer with no photography training at all, and although he doesn’t like to brag about it, he once won a monthly photography contest at his previous place of employment. Want to support the provision of microfinance services around the world? Make a loan on Kiva today!

Cambodia has a long and rich history in silk production and weaving dating back more than a thousand years. Women across southern Cambodia have looms in their homes, and they practice the art passed down from their mothers and grandmothers. But now the ancient craft is slowly dying as the cost of imported raw silk continues to climb while the price of finished silk textiles drops.

Silk weaving has been part of Cambodia culture for centuries. At Angkor Wat, the ancient temple complex built in the early 12th century, images of women wearing traditional silk garments that are still worn today are carved in bas-relief. Zhou Daguan, a Chinese diplomat who visited Cambodia in the 13th century wrote, in one of the only first-hand accounts of the Angkor empire, about immigrants from Siam raising mulberry trees and silkworms to feed the thriving silk trade. Raw silk was one of Cambodia’s main exports to China during this period.

Now, however, the Cambodian silk industry relies on China and Vietnam for most of its raw silk. The Khmer Rouge era decimated the mulberry tree population which are the exclusive foodstuffs of silkworms. Before the Khmer Rouge took power, Cambodia was producing an estimated 150,000 kilograms of silk per year. That number dropped to just 800 kilograms after years of political and civil unrest.

At MAXIMA Mikroheranhvatho, we have given nearly 900 Kiva loans to weavers, most of them working in the silk industry. But many of them are now abandoning the craft. The price of imported raw silk has been rising steadily–prices have gone up 60% in the last year. At the same time weavers are paid less than ever; the prices for finished products have fallen 56%. Silk weavers are now working extremely close to the margins–or even at a loss–and many of the 20,000 estimated weavers in the country are trying to find other work.

During my fellowship I met with many weavers, and saw even more abandon their trade in favor of working in garment factories. There are a couple of islands in the Mekong outside of Phnom Penh where most of the women living there are weavers. I visited the most famous of these islands, Koh Dach, and at house after house saw abandoned looms being used to hang laundry.

55 year old Ny told me that the women of her family have been weaving for generations, since “ancient times.” She taught her five children to weave, including her three sons. But when I asked why her loom was dismantled and now being used to prop up a bicycle she explained that it just wasn’t lucrative enough anymore, and that she had switched to farming vegetables. She’s kept the loom rather than selling it in the hopes that she will be able to start weaving again in the future.

Most weavers in Cambodia are women–the craft is passed down from mother to daughter. They usually start weaving when they are in their early teens and continue until their eyes give out. Many of them are subsistence farmers during the rice season, and most have one or two looms set up in houses that lack running water.

I met a young woman, Sinet, who at 20 had been weaving for 6 years like her mother before her. However, because her income has dropped precipitously, she was reluctantly considering abandoning weaving and looking for decidedly less-skilled work at a garment factory, one of the only sources of reliable income for young rural women. Although the garment factories provide a steady paycheck, they are also known for forced overtime, low pay and sweatshop-like conditions.

The Cambodian government is aware of the challenges that the silk industry is now facing, and in response recently suspended all import taxes and value-added tax for silk imports to help keep down the spiraling cost of silk. In addition to lowering the costs of silk imports, the government also recognizes the importance of making locally cultivated silk available to weavers and has tried to encourage farmers to begin growing mulberry trees, the main source of food for silkworms.

The process is a slow one, however. Propagating mulberry trees is not difficult, but many Cambodian farmers prefer to go with more secure crops such as cassava. Last year the United Nations financed a project to help create a silkworm production center here but Cambodia still only produces only 2% of the thread used by its weavers, who continue to rely on silk imports.

Despite declining profits and overwhelming obstacles, many weavers say they cannot imagine leaving a profession that they have worked at for so long. Khon Phum (pictured above) has been weaving since she was a teenager, and now, at 62, her beautifully detailed work attests to her expertise at the craft. She said that weaving has been her livelihood and her identity for nearly fifty years.

We talked about the difficulties the industry is currently facing and I asked her if she had considered doing anything else. Phum seemed to find the idea of finding another type of work absurd and said that despite the challenges she faces, she, like many other weavers in Cambodia, will continue weaving.

Lina Goldberg recently finished her Kiva Fellowship at MAXIMA Mikroheranhvatho Co. Ltd. in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She plans to stay in Cambodia working on other projects and just generally being Lina Goldberg.

A moto driver carrying bananas in Phnom Penh

Busy intersection in Phnom Penh

Road to a village outside of Phnom Penh

Cows on dirt roads

Cows on paved roads

A Kiva borrower’s house

A beautiful sunny afternoon in rural Cambodia

Credit officer riding skillfully over soft dirt

A Kiva Fellow bravely crossing over a ditch to get to a rice field

Absolutely amazing rice fields on the side of the road

Edwin Au-Yeung is a Kiva Fellow (KF12) currently based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He is glad to have visited villages in rural Cambodia and seen things he otherwise would not have seen had he just been traveling through Cambodia. Want to volunteer with the Kiva Fellows Program?  Learn more here and apply to be a Fellow!

It’s one of those places you won’t find unless you go looking for it – the slums of Chak Angre Leo.  Located in the outer khan (district) of Meanchey in Cambodia’s capital city, the slums are a stark contrast from the familiar communities and gated residences in central Phnom Penh.

I accompanied Tida, an AMK credit officer, to assess some of these urban poor settlements in Chak Angre Leo.  As we drove down the main road, we took an unexpected turn into a narrow alleyway. The walls of the entrance were thick and tall; feeling claustrophobic was an understatement.  We drove slowly and stopped frequently in our motorcycle as the path was only wide enough for two motorcycles to squeeze by. Finally, as we approached the end of the walled alley to a seemingly dead end, we took a sharp right turn followed by an immediate sharp left. The turns that followed were so sudden that I immediately lost sense of all direction, not being able to distinguish north from south and east from west. We were surrounded by stilt houses that were positioned on top of landfills and sewage; the stench reeked in the hot humid air as we drove past. We finally came to a stop where the narrowness of the streets finally opened up, and my eyes readjusted to the unfamiliar environment – the slums. I didn’t feel like I was in Phnom Penh anymore.

Phnom Penh has seen incredible economic growth recently, but it hasn’t always trickled down to many of the urban poor. There are more than 40,000 families living in over 400 urban poor settlements in Phnom Penh. To make matters worse, even though many of the families have legitimate claims to their homes, the land is often untitled and they always face the imminent risk of eviction. Without proper collateral and sufficient income, borrowers lack credit, and struggle to access loans. Because the poor have traditionally lived in rural areas in Cambodia, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have overlooked urban poor clients. But as the poor communities in Phnom Penh continue to grow, MFIs are beginning to shift their focus to this underserved population.

We reached the urban poor settlements that were stationed along the Tonle Sap River, less than five driving minutes off the main road. We spoke to several of the families along the riverside to learn more about the community. In one slum area, we found stilt houses surrounding a small crop field. Many of the inhabitants here helped out with the farming, and thus, were able to share in some of the profits that came during the harvest season. Other slum areas were less fortunate. One woman told us her main source of income was strictly dependent on her teenage child’s work at a local garment factory; she earned $45 a month.

At AMK, we are currently piloting a loan product specifically for the urban poor. Client officers visit unmapped territories to assess these communities and their need for loan products. AMK seeks to target all segments of this population, including ethnic minority communities such as the Vietnamese and Cham, and other specific vulnerable groups such as sex workers, people with disabilities, and single parent households.

From the distance you can see tall buildings in the city center, a constant reminder of Cambodia’s wide social economic gap between the urban rich and the urban poor.

Shirley is currently serving her Kiva fellowship at Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK) in Cambodia. Her daily commute involves zipping through the busy streets of Phnom Penh on the back of a motorcycle – she wouldn’t have it any other way.

With the aid of my Kiva Coordinator we traveled by bus to distant branch offices in Cambodia. Then, guided by a local credit officer, we motorcycled on the dirt roads through villages, a spectacular way to see the rural landscape. The verdant and luscious green rice fields contrasted stunningly with the blue cloudy sky. Throughout the natural scenery, majestic Buddhist temples and modest homes of wood and thatch hugged the sides of the roads, and children and families looked on as we passed by. Several villagers waved and greeted the credit officer, familiar with their banker.

As we sped along the dirt roads between borrowers’ homes, the monsoon season was certainly upon us. The ominous threat of rain loomed over us as the sky darkened and a cool breeze replaced the heat. When it began to rain we forged ahead, maneuvering through the slippery mud, which unavoidably splattered onto our wet shoes and pants. When we finally arrived at the homes of borrowers, we slipped along the small paths to reach them and their warm greetings. My Kiva Coordinator laughed at my scared attempt not to fall and assured me it will only get worse. Soon the rain will affect the roads so much that we will have to walk long distances in the treacherous mud to reach the borrowers.

But meeting the borrowers was worth it. At each home, borrowers and their families offered a glimpse into their lives. As we sat and talked in their homes, many continued to work and relatives would take turns offering information as their children and grandchildren played nearby.

Many borrowers used their loans for motorcycles, a common vehicle for transportation in Cambodia. Some were motor-taxi drivers, others needed a way to commute to their institutional jobs, and others needed to transport products and produce to markets. Motorcycles were often purchased with a cart or carriage to move people, fish, vegetables, clothes, grain husks, rice sheets and recyclables. Borrower Chhorvoin’s cart, named “Long Beach Meat Balls,” housed imported meat balls fried with vegetables for hungry customers.

For others, the loans provided a means to expand or start new services, whether it was a grocery store stacked with daily use items, a motorcycle and bicycle repair store, or a food stand. As I spoke with Sokha, a borrower that expanded her roadside restaurant, a neighbor and her young child arrived and began drinking tea and eating her delicious food.

Despite the different needs and uses of the loans, each borrower mirrored the others. Every borrower expressed an inspiring entrepreneurial spirit with hopes for growing their business, albeit cautiously and carefully. Looking ahead, many borrowers expressed their hopes for their children. Hourt wanted to help her son by providing him tools to match his furniture-making skills and Sothy hoped to help his older daughters start their own sugarcane juice business. Neang used her loan to pay for her sons to attend a local university, explaining that a proper education is her first priority because it will allow her children to get good jobs and avoid their current hardships.

Again and again, their stories reflected their hard work ethic and determination to make a better life for themselves and their families. It wasn’t all good cheer and there were struggles, including difficulty with repayments. However, the loans were always valued as important for raising their family’s standard of living.

Microfinance is known to provide an empowering and dignified approach to alleviate poverty, but Kiva offers more than microfinance. As lenders we are able to connect, not only financially, but through the life stories of others around the world.

To read updated stories of Kiva borrowers click here!

Lenders: Look for a new tool Kiva is piloting where lenders can ask and direct questions to borrowers!

Click to view slideshow.

By Anjali Fleury, Kiva Fellow. Anjali is serving her fellowship with CREDIT, a partner of World Relief, in Cambodia. She enjoys spending time with and learning from the borrowers and the friendly staff at her microfinance institution.