Posts filed under ‘Dominican Republic’
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 3)
This is the final installment of a three-part article on ‘The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field.’ The first concentrated on the pros of microfinance and the second on the cons. This third part will describe what I deem to be the optimum conditions for successful microfinance.
The cons described in Part 2 of this article may come across as quite negative, but at Interactuar (in Antioquia, Colombia – my second Kiva Fellowship) I saw many being countered and microfinance working particularly effectively.
Continue Reading 25 May 2011 at 07:06 nickhamiltonkiva 4 comments
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 2)
This is the second of a three-part article on ‘The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field’. The first part concentrated on the pros. The second will focus on the cons.
Most of the cons described below demonstrate one thing; microfinance assists on a micro level but is unable to affect macro-level influences. The latter are the main reason that people are impoverished in the first place.
Continue Reading 24 May 2011 at 06:27 nickhamiltonkiva 3 comments
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 1)
The article will be published in 3 parts. The first will concentrate on the pros of microfinance, the second on the cons, and the third on what I perceive to be the best conditions for successful microfinance.
Continue Reading 23 May 2011 at 07:29 nickhamiltonkiva 5 comments
Update from the Field: Videos, Epic Commutes + Going Beyond Microfinance
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa
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.
Continue Reading 28 February 2011 at 00:38 Alexis Ditkowsky 10 comments
Kiva Fellows: Kicking off 2011 Around the World
By Kiva Fellows, Various corners of the globe
Around the world, Kiva Fellows are kicking off 2011 in all sorts of different ways. Here’s what a handful of KF13-ers are doing to ring in the New Year. Enjoy and Happy 2011!
The Making Of A Kiva Christmas Song
A couple of weeks ago I found myself without internet for three days. Determined not to let this beat me (internet is often pretty essential for a Kiva Fellow) I tried to think of ways to stay productive. Naturally, the first idea that came into my head was to write a Kiva Christmas song.
Continue Reading 19 December 2010 at 11:31 nickhamiltonkiva 3 comments
Loan Officers – Kiva’s Unsung Heroes
Before beginning my placement as a Kiva Fellow, I tended to view the Kiva model simply in terms of members lending to borrowers and borrowers paying back. It was hard to envisage the intricacies of an MFI’s operations and what goes into facilitating a loan. In my eyes the MFI was the middle man; an amorphous mass that made things happen. Of course, the simple fact is that without MFIs Kiva would not exist.Of course, the simple fact is that without MFIs Kiva would not exist. They share an equal responsibility with the lenders and the borrowers in ensuring that Kiva’s mission – ‘to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty’ – is achieved.
Continue Reading 13 December 2010 at 09:16 nickhamiltonkiva Leave a comment
Great Expectations, Unexpected Revelations
When Kiva asked whether I’d consider a Fellowship in the Dominican Republic, my first instinct was to head to Google. I’d never been to the Caribbean and knew very little about this small country. After my initial search, Google asked whether I’d like to view some images of the DR and lured me in with 4 or 5 thumbnails. Each contained something that doesn’t exist in my country (the UK): the sun. I don’t think I got past the first page of pictures. I sat there mesmerized by contiguous images of palm trees, white sand and idyllic emerald sea and sent my response to Kiva: “Yes!”
Okay, it wasn’t quite that simple…
By Nick Hamilton, KF13. Nick is serving as a Kiva Fellow with Esperanza International in the Dominican Republic and Haiti
Continue Reading 15 November 2010 at 16:17 nickhamiltonkiva 6 comments
How much does it cost to reach the poorest?
by Thomas Gold, KF9, Dominican Republic
One of the aspects of microfinance that is often overlooked when arguing about the interest rates charged to borrowers, or sustainability of microfinance institutions, is the actual cost of giving a financial service to the most isolated communities. I thought I would tell about my latest visit to a group of borrowers, so you would be able to picture it. (more…)
So, what is discussed in these repayment meetings?
By Thomas Gold, KF9, Dominican Republic
I am quite a picky person when it comes about writing. I really make it a point to write as properly as possible, even in a non-native language. Therefore, when I am writing an entry for the Kivafellows blog, I use to plan it, prepare a draft, then write it in French (my native language), spend a lot of time trying to translate it in English, and then I hand it to Gemma, another Kiva Fellow, who corrects my English text and make it look like if it had been written by a native speaker. However, this time I felt like I would try to write in English directly, without taking too many looks at dictionaries and losing some spontaneity in the writing and translating process (I hope it won’t hurt the language purists in my kind!). I must say that I was also incited to do so as I read the articles of Kanae, Kiva Fellow alumni, who wasn’t a native English speaker either and wrote excellent blogs.
For the last four days, I couldn’t help but thinking that the group meeting I had attended last Friday was a perfect example of all that I have learned about microfinance, since I started my fellowship with the MFI Esperanza, and thus I would have to share it. Here is a short video shot during this meeting and sent as a journal update.
Zooming in and out on microfinance
By Thomas Gold, KF9 Dominican Republic
For English version, click on “(more…)”, then scroll down.
Après un mois passé dans la succursale de Samanà de mon institution de microfinance Esperanza, me voici, de retour à la capitale Santo Domingo, après une journée entière de voyage. Samanà ne se trouve qu’à un peu moins de 250km de la capitale, mais le manque d’infrastructures routières et le fait qu’une seule compagnie œuvre dans le transport de voyageurs, rendent un voyage des plus banals dans le monde occidental en une épopée d’une journée en République Dominicaine.
Pas facile de se remettre dans le bain du travail de gestion et d’administration, réalisé ici au siège d’Esperanza après avoir en quelque sorte tiré le rideau et été au cœur de l’action, littéralement les manches retroussées et mains dans la boue (la saison des pluies commence à s’annoncer dans les Caraïbes).
Les bijoux en toc au service du développement économique ?
By Thomas Gold, KF9 Dominican Republic
For English version, click on “(more…)”, then scroll down.
Après quelques jours dans la province de Samanà, une péninsule qui se situe au Nord-est du pays, je n’ai pu m’empêcher de m’interroger sur l’utilité réelle et les bénéfices concrets du travail réalisé par mon institution hôte et surtout par la microfinance en général.
En effet, après avoir passé ces premières journées à faire de longs trajets, dans des conditions difficiles sur les quelques routes bosselées et mal entretenues de la péninsule pour assister aux réunions bimensuelles de remboursement des prêts, j’ai constaté que la majorité des commerces tenus par les clients d’Esperanza, sont en tout points identiques : il s’agit de femmes qui vendent de manière ambulante des vêtements, chaussures et bijoux fantaisie (en toc), et dont la situation n’évolue pas vraiment, même après plusieurs cycles de prêts.
Different ways to get from one borrowers meeting to another
Premières impressions à Santo Domingo
By Thomas Gold, KF9 Dominican Republic
For English version, click on “read the rest of this entry”, then scroll down.
« La République Dominicaine est un pays aux couleurs vives, musiques et danses irrésistiblement entraînantes et climat tropical».Voici la seule image que j’étais capable de me figurer, en attendant mon avion à l’aéroport de San Francisco, du lieu où j’allais passer les prochains mois de ma vie.
Une semaine après mon arrivée dans le pays, cette vague représentation s’est précisée et matérialisée, en fonction des premières impressions que j’ai pu ressentir, et dont voici quelques exemples.
68 is never too old to learn to read.
One Dominican farmer I met had even unknowingly signed over the title of his land because he was unable to read the document he was signing.
Continue Reading 2 May 2009 at 13:52 ashleyolivia 5 comments
How Dominican Republic Loans Help Haitians
Kiva Haiti loans are on their way, but until then you can…
Continue Reading 23 March 2009 at 14:34 ashleyolivia 8 comments
Beans, rice and a lot of Esperanza (Hope)
After approximately a year of waiting I finally made it to my destination: the micro finance institute (MFI) Esperanza/Hope International located in balmy, beautiful Santo Domingo! Kalie Gold (another Kiva Fellow) and Analin (Kiva Coordinator) have been gracious enough to show me the ropes, and there is plenty to do. Right now we are currently working on designing a short training course for getting better profile pictures, more journal updates, getting documents sent on a timely manner, etc.
I was really excited to learn that Esperanza/Hope International are getting ready to launch Kiva loans from Haiti! I am really, really excited that I will be part of this amazing opportunity. As many of you know Haiti, the least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, has been experiencing severe economic recession. This has resulted in the majority of its residents to live in extreme poverty. To give you an idea of the situation the current gross national income (GNI) is currently only $560 (USD). Haiti is also severely deforested, with estimates of approximately only 2% of the country forested. The economic and environmental conditions make Haiti a destination of UN Peacekeepers, and development organizations.
We will be traveling to Trou du Nord, Haiti to interview Kiva borrowers. I am unsure of how many loans will be posted. But I am confident that Kiva members will snap them up quickly so keep your eye out for the Haiti loans! I hope you will participate in the important challenge of alleviating poverty one micro loan at a time!
Esperanza/Hope International Central Office in Santo Domingo
This afternoon I had the pleasure to see a group of 5 women receive their loan money. I have to say when I saw the women get their money and talked to them about what they planned to do with their loan I got a bit emotional. One woman planned to sell men’s shoes, another a fruit stand, and another clothing. It is such an amazing thing to see these women get a chance at something more. One of the women told the loan officer that in two years she was going to have a bought a car by then and was going to stop by and pick him up! Now that’s confidence.
Analin, Kalie and I
Loan officer dispersing the loan money.
Sweet December
Sweet December
My Dominican co-workers wore sweaters to work when temperature fell below 70 degrees in December. “Winter is cold here,” friends and employees told me. While I stuck to my t-shirts in the day, I did cut short my nightly unheated showers.
Mujeres Necesitades outside the Hato Mayor office: these bank members finished a loan in December and took out another, expecting that December would be a better month for sales. Numerous community banks reported throughout October and November that they had seen an economic downturn in their areas. Many credit the worldwide economic crisis. Most expected improvements as the new year approached.
At Esperanza International, offices in El Seibo and Hato Mayor recently worked through a large number of loan cycle renewals. Many community banks successfully wrapped up their six-month payment plans in early December, and promptly transitioned to another round, taking advantage of the annual rise in consumer demand around Chritsmastime and New Years. Not only was it gift-giving season, December also marks the start of the zafra, the sugarcane cutting season. Notoriously brutal, sugarcane has a legacy and a reality that falls somewhere on the “excessively exploitative” industry spectrum. One colleague calls the trade “a 19th century system that has just stuck around.” Undocumented Haitian migrant workers both survive by and suffer under the sugarcane economy. Sugarcane plantation communities, bateys, are strikingly isolated, resource-poor, and under-served. Bateys are also home to many of Esperanza’s community banks.
During a December interview, Cloreta, a Kiva-funded entrepreneur explained her situation simply, “this loan lets me keep food on the table.” While most of my Kiva interviews touch on hopes to pay school fees, open full-service stores, or repair individual homes, this conversation centered on a battle for subsistence. Many of the challenges facing Cloreta relate to living on a batey.
The Caribe Tours bus stop in Santo Domingo. Getting around the Dominican isn't too hard. These 60-some person buses go to all major cities. Smaller 25 person vans, taxis, motos, and other vehicles make up a wide array of transport options. Any combination of these methods gets you almost anywhere.
Away from the plantations, it is easy to gather an optimistic impression of economic development in the Dominican. Bus companies, motos*, guaguas*, carros publicos* and decent road infrastructure allow access to many nooks and crannies of cities and countryside. Motorcycle and scooter businesses fill streets with thundering packs of personal transport. There are innumerable dance clubs. Free trade zones in several cities employ thousands of workers, and the government seems to enforce some basic employment rights. Semi-rural towns have restaurants and motels. A significant number of young adults attend a battery of urban universities; degrees in medicine, computer engineering, accounting, and tourism studies are popular. Cable television, DSL internet, and Playstations regularly
Cheap, easy, and crowded city transport: the carro publico. Cram in six perhaps seven passengers. About 50 cents a ride.
Example of starting small: a bag's worth of clothes to sell. This entrepreneur hopes to expand over time.
appear in middle-income homes. Entrepreneurs are able to access large inventory vendors to buy in bulk. Entrepreneurs in rural and semi-rural areas can access main roads, and streams (although sometimes small) of clients who both live and pass through their communities. A good number of Esperanza bank members from all of these areas show convincing progress over time: a small food stand advances into a variety-goods colmado, a clothing seller goes from selling out of a backpack to setting up her own home-side storefront. These same entrepreneurs also talk of changing their tactics and strategies and adjusting their inventories and in order to fit into the best local economic niche. There is both flexibility and possibility.
Entering a batey is a distinct experience. Generally, long tire-pounding dirt roads wind their way from main thoroughfares into seas of cane– tall, stiff, and green. Austere cookie-cutter housing (built by the government or
private companies), sits secluded on cleared-out land somewhere amidst the green. Plumbing is rare. Some bateys have schoolhouses, others have no sanitary water. Some cane companies have abandoned the bateys themselves, but the crop still grows and locals harvest and sell it on their own. Bateys still under commercial control may have company stores, chunks of wages paid in “store credit” rather than cash, and rules forbidding locals to vend similar goods in the batey. Much like undocumented immigrants in the United States, Haitians cross the Dominican border in great need of work, and form the backbone of the most physically demanding and poorly paid workforce in the country. Human rights groups narrate a story of slave-like conscription and labor conditions, (local Dominicans may agree or disagree with that characterization). Migrant workers’ vulnerability, however, goes undisputed. The communities generally speak any mix of Kreyol and Spanish. If families have come “illegally” from Haiti**, they lack legal status, along with their children.
Sea of cane (Credit: Kayla Villnow)
Children of Haitians born in the Dominican stand in a citizenship void: unrecognized by either government. Dominican officials periodically round up illegal Haitains for mass deportations– another reason to remain isolated in the cane. Dominican radio talk show hosts may engage the topic of the “Haitian problem” from time to time. Rosy is not the word for the Haitian-Dominican relationship. The roster of issues is long.
UN peacekeeping in Haiti (credit: www.pbase.com) See postscript.
Cloreta lives on a company-owned batey. She is a Haitian immigrant, as are the majority of her neighbors. She sells modest foodstuffs—crackers, sugar, and coffee, oil and flour. She explained that she’d like to sell more diverse products, but this would conflict with the rules of the company-owned store. At the time (early December) she pointed out that the first wages of the
Some bateys have basic community infrastructure, such as school houses.
season would arrive in about a week. When cane cutters get paid, the batey economy gains liquidity, and Cloreta can take in cash. As she said, right now her income really only allows her to subsist and pay back her loan. The Esperanza payments, however, include mandatory savings, so at the end of her loan she will end up with an additional cushion.
The cane season will continue until the summer. Perhaps the six-month period will allow Cloreta to add to her savings, and allow her to reach beyond the “food on the table” goal. Cloreta plans on continuing with her microloans, she sees this opportunity as completely worthwhile. Other community members clearly have taken notice: the bank was training at least ten new members that day. During our interview, one of Cloreta’s colleagues was busy at work translating the loan officer’s information into Kreyol, since several knew no Spanish.
Fruits of much labor: a Kiva-funded bank gathered in a colleague's convenience store. A good example of successful growth over time.
I can’t decide if it’s fair to say that the cane season makes December and entirely “sweeter” month than others. Regardless, the batey clients certainly are skilled “lemonade” chefs, given all of the “lemons” they get.
Hasta la proxima,
Kalie, Kiva Fellow-Dominican Republic
(written from Los Alcarrizos)
*guaga: a van or truck, usually smaller than a 60 person bus. May also refer to buses. Motos: motorcycle taxi. Usually $1 or $2 a ride. Carros publicos: run down recycled cars that run designated routes in cities. About 50 cens a ride.
** Postcript on Haiti: Haiti today is considered a “failed state.” In the fall of 2008, hurricanes killed hundreds of Haitians, and completely destroyed entire communities. The latest of a series of UN peacekeeping forces has been stationed in the country since 2004 (UN-Haiti missions date back to 1993), in response to continued political violence between the Haitian government and other forces vyying for power. Many Haitians who attempt to leave the country cross over to the Dominican Republic (a rather pourous border). As undocumented workers, much like in the United States, they become the cheap-labor source for cane-cutting.
The racial and cultural divides between Dominicans and Haitians is palpable. A textbook might narrate the complexities of Haitian history from its birth via the famous country-wide slave uprising (Haiti is the world’s oldest black republic) to years of occupation, dictatorship, violent political instability, and today’s profound poverty. Meanwhile, day to day life in the Dominican reveals deeply seated ideas of race—the common phrase“black as a Haitian” is one way to call someone unattractive. As a Catholic-dominated country, many Dominicans also come up with wild stories of Haitian Voodoo practice: from baby-eating to witch-curses. Concurrently, many Dominicans emphatically reject the idea that racism partly defines Dominican-Haitian relationship.
The Lights Went out (for a walk?)
Santiago, DR
Romance languages are famous for invoking visual imagery, symbolism, and subtlety in phrasings and word choice. In the Spanish-speaking world, the language maps out like a watershed: tributaries flowing from Spain to the Caribbean, from California to South America, and everywhere in between. The bedrock of European Spanish has long since been covered and mixed with “New World” sediments; verbal gems from New York City, Santo Domingo, Boston, San Juan, Miami, Havana, and Los Angeles streets have nestled themselves into daily Latin American lives. A casual “hello” today in Mexico may be meaningless (or perhaps offensive!) in Honduras. The art of cussing would make a fabulous encyclopedia series.
A Santiago Monument-I wonder if these lights are always on!
Learning Dominican Spanish means developing an ear for its accelerated tempo, truncated invocations, vague generalities, and regular references to God’s will. Need directions? Forget landmarks and right-left-north-south. It is hard to get beyond “back there,” “up there,” “nearby” “sort of nearby” and “ up there, far.” Similarly, many things happen “soon” but when, exactly, remains unknown.
When the lights go out here at the Esperanza-Santiago office (almost every single day)—we all chime in with “se fue la luz” the light left (went out). While in English we also employ “the power is out,” “se fue la luz” uses the same phrasing as to say that a person has departed. This always leaves me with the sense that the light left on its own accord—you know, it decided to take a break. It wasn’t “shut off,” or lost. It just, left.
The reality is that power problems are chronic in the DR. The power plants and other infrastructure is insufficient. To keep the Santiago office running (or a similar enterprise), it is necessary to buy a set of back-up rechargeable batteries (inverters) to make up for power deficiency. Of course, the back-ups will fail too. The Esperanza office manager and I are often up to our ears in delayed data-entry and email tasks.
The streetlight lets us know if we have power...if not...protestors might burn a tire or two
Almost everyone here in Santiago is vulnerable to power outages, whether you pay your bills or not. In a few neighborhoods, local tigres “street guys” will occasionally light afire a tire or two in frustrated protest. They and the police will also sometimes exchange gunfire, on particularly caliente days.
For Esperanza clients, electricity—lack of it—is part of the status quo. Microfinance businesses are adapted to the circumstances—I have yet to meet a client who needs regular electricity to do business. Entrepreneurs sidestep the risk of relying on the unreliable—and its monthly cost. Women who sew clothes do it by hand or with non-electric machines, women with colmados (small food stores) do not invest in fridge-needy inventory. Beauty product peddlers, shoe sellers, and the women with home hair washing salons—they don’t require electricity either.*
While the micro-businesses mostly keep electric problems at arm’s
A home based nail salon--no electricity required!
length—it also becomes clear that electricity is like a “limiting nutrient.” How far can a personal colmado grow before it needs to sell cold beverages? Or a food vendor needs to buy refrigerated goods? Ice? Of course, Esperanza and other microfinance organizations prove very effective at these critical points—poised to provide the extra $500-$1000 for the backup batteries, freezers, and refrigerators via the microloan process.
office inverters, aka backup batteries. Pricey.
Having a business that does require a significant power supply—is quite a statement. Having more than backup inverters, and consistent funds to pay the electric company. The only places that seem to operate with 100% reliable electricity are places such as commercial banks, large supermarkets, and Santiago’s fully-loaded mall. For everyone else, improved infrastructure and power plants are also somewhere in the government agenda— perhaps something will improve “soon.” Until things get sorted out, the light leaves when it pleases.
That’s all for now!
Questions? Comments? Post ‘em!
Up Next: Stories from San Pedro de Macoris!
Cuidanse, take care,
Kalie Gold
Kiva Fellow, KF6 Dominican Republic
To fund Esperanza International Loans on Kiva.org please go to:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=44&status=fundRaising&sortBy=New+to+Old
* Postscript: Much more than electricity costs are out of reach for other Esperanza clients. In La Chichigua (the Kite) I met a brand new Esperanza village bank—who have named themselves Fey y Amor (Faith and Love). The community is planted in a verdant Santiago hillside—and is neighbored by a few luxurious suburban mansions. But La Chichigua remains outside of government oversight, the electric grid, and the city water pipes. According to a loan officer, this is one way to live cheap. La Chichigua residents risk mudslides and flash floods in order to live on squatted land, with a free hillside stream, and the “security” that they will be left alone.
Ingrid’s House cont’d: Video clip
For anyone who wanted more visuals, I edited some short video clips from last week’s project…enjoy!
“For a Woman, this Floor is Everything”
Thursday, Oct 16th
Ingrid's House
Santo Domingo
At 2:30pm yesterday I watched the Caribbean ocean rush past the airplane windows as we descended towards the Santo Domingo tarmac. After a quick bustle through customs, an exchange of US dollars for pesos (oh and no lost bags!) I was quickly collected by two Esperanza International employees. Tricia, (Esperanza intern coordinator), had housing, dinner, and a stop a the supermarket already planned out for me. She and I went off and ate burritos, talked about college experiences in the DR and US, and compared notes on what we are thinking of for grad school (Tricia, by the way, speaks English rather flawlessly, has an undergraduate law degree, and plans for further studies of international trade).
Tricia drove me around part of Santo Domingo (SD), accurately noting that the city offers pretty much the similar amenities you’d find in a US city: KFC, TGI Fridays, Kia/Honda/Mitzubishi dealerships, gyms, overpriced gas, supermarkets, an Apple-affiliate store, an upscale mall, and very nice housing for $550/month. Unsurprisingly, SD has wealthy , poor, and middle-income neighborhoods throughout.
To my Boston and New York friends, and even those who have seen Italians drive; Dominicans in Santo Domingo are in a whole other league of… well…let’s call it, “traffic navigation techniques.” 1) Flashing headlights means “you better know that I am NOT stopping for you, under any circumstances” 2) Merge now, look later 3) use your horn like your voice box (they are cheery sounding for the most part), 4) the police at traffic lights might as well be on their lunch break. 5) Using your brakes is very wimpy. Anyway, as far as driving goes, I give WORST or maybe MOST TALENTED award to the Dominicans. I am not sure which to call it…
Flash forward to 6:00am today, Thursday. I get together some outdoor work clothes–jeans, sneakers, t-shirt. Tricia has arranged for me to go out of the city and see an Esperanza project in action. Co-worker Pablo (an Argentinian, previously with Habitat for Humanity) picks me and Mark (volunteer from Seattle) up by 7:00am, and we head out for a day of floor-building.
We drove about an hour outside of the city, to a small underdeveloped community where we met Ingrid: an Esperanza microfinance client (but not specifically a Kiva.org borrower). Esperanza has just started to explore housing loan products within their micro credit operations. Mark, who has been here for about two months already, explained that Esperanza’s most creditworthy clients (those who have regularly paid back different loans over several years) are now able to request housing-improvement loans. These loans can be more risky for clients, since they do not add to small business profits. However, these improvements are vital to family well being and health.
It is important to understand the state of housing in poor communities, such as Ingrid’s. First, the “best” accommodations, (and she described this to me) what one would aspire to, is made of concrete blocks, solid roofing, a cement floor and a small cement patio in the front. Forget multiple stories, doors between rooms, indoor plumbing, or glass windows. A good house is shelter, in this context, a shelter that will last and that can be cleaned at will. No cement flooring means a dirt floor-for bedrooms, kitchen, and the infant who wants to crawl around. Cement, by contrast can be readily scrubbed, swept, and cleared of bugs and chicken poop. As for concrete blocks, these are much more durable than the cheap alternatives: tin siding or wooden board siding. Both tin and wood slats do not endure over time. I recall how on my first trip to the DR, my host mother and daughter cleaned the floor eight to ten times a day–it was an amenity not at all taken for granted. That family also had over time upgraded from tin siding to half-concrete block (bottom) and half wooden slats (top). The roof, as I recall, was tin, and any rain that fell echoed like cascading gravel over our heads.
Ingrid explained that she feels cautious about the housing improvement loans–her past success with micro loans has meant quite hard and dedicated work. She cooks and sells local fast food. For her to now cover both her current business loan and a housing loan will mean a constant and careful consideration of her finances, and of course, lots more hard work. She explained her vision as “paso a paso” or step by step–doing what she can as her means allow, and being careful. Eventually, she hopes she can improve all aspects of the house, but for now, the floor takes priority.
Making the cement
Anyway, the floor construction began very quickly after our arrival. A local mason, Ingrid, her husband, and between three and four of Ingrid’s fellow community bank members (all women) came to lend a hand and provide moral support. Then three more Esperanza volunteers arrived (American) with two more Esperanza employees. Esperanza volunteers worked in front of the house mixing sand, concrete dust, and water together for the there rooms inside–where Ingrid’s husband and the mason dumped and smoothed the mixture. All the commotion in front of Ingrid’s house made for a constant stream of neighborhood visitors–most notably the local children who alleviated our down-time with dancing lessons and clapping games.
Smoothing the Concrete
At one point, an older grandmotherly woman also stopped by, and offered me her story with microfinance. Unlike Ingrid, this woman had not been able to continue beyond one micro loan (with a different organization) because her sister (and business partner) had fallen too ill to work, and soon after she herself had suffered thrombosis in her left arm–which now hangs useless at her side. She told me that there was no way for her to ever return to a microfinance program, because it is impossible for her to work. This woman watched the floor construction for a while longer, and then told me that with all her difficulties, she prays quite a lot. Prayer, she said, is her lasting comfort.
What a view!
The floor work was done by 3:15, we had started at 9:00am. As we said goodbye, Ingrid took the time to thank all of the Esperanza volunteers and employees. She asserted, “It is just a floor, but for me, for a woman, this makes all the difference.” I believe her words reflected an important observation in the microfinance communities around the world–women will work for the whole family, for meaningful and long term visions.
In all Ingrid’s project took only a few days to complete: Mark and Pablo had discussed the loan with her on Tuesday. She had received the loan, moved her furnishings to a temporary location; the work was started and completed three days later. Tonight, she and her family will let the concrete dry, and they will move back in tomorrow. Imagine if remodeling your own kitchen only took three days and less than $500.…I guess you just have to say “context is everything.”
As for me, I head out tomorrow (Friday the 17th) for Santiago. I’ll be staying there and initiating my Kiva work at the Esperanza-Santiago office!
More to come soon!
Cuidanse, que vayan bien
Kalie
Meet Two Dominican Entrepreneurs…
Below is a video from Esperanza International (from YouTube), the MFI (microfinance institution) that I will be working with in the Dominican Republic. Enjoy!
Time until departure: ONE MORE WEEK!
Take care,
Kalie
…It’s DR Time!
Hello from Providence, RI! I can report that the New England autumn is rolling in right on cue. It is a time of year that I will be a little sad to miss; it’s crisp, completely refreshing, goes deliciously with hot coffee and your most treasured sweatshirt. The season, the city, my former college campus (as of this past May) will each receive their own “goodbye for now” before I drive back home to Washington DC and then fly to the Dominican Republic (departure: Oct 15th).
As many Kiva Fellows have reported—last week’s training was a standout experience. Our time was well-stocked with key agenda items—from learning specific Kiva internet technologies to understanding the Kiva vision, experience, challenges, and goals. I came out of the training with more respect for Kiva’s model than any other service or non-profit model I have worked with previously—Kiva is a place for innovation, creativity, humility, self-critique, patience, and very, very hard work.
What I Do Know…
It remains to be seen how everything in this Fellowship will work “on the ground.”
I did volunteer work in the DR in 2002, and got a summer worth of nonstop Dominican Spanish, food, dancing, sights, and sounds. In this way, I am fortunate, since I am not going to a completely unknown place. That first trip was something I could not have done without: complete with little to no electricity, no English, no plumbing, and nothing urban. I pretty much culture-shocked myself silly back then, at 17. Fast-forward through four college years of liberal arts studies, wanting to change the world, theories of globalization, a dash of economics, international politics, and studies of sustainable development (oh, and not to be left out: playing rugby, lots of it). Pause. Now a 23 year-old college grad, sick and tired of all that theory and macro-level data (and eternally grateful for the rugby) who’d just like and everything to be as hands-on as possible. Time to DO, not sit, time to work face-to-face, rather than read. Well, thank goodness for the Kiva Fellows program! In this light, the upcoming “unknowns” are very much welcome.
In specific terms, I know that I will be spending a good deal of time at Kiva’s partner institution, Esperanza. This organization has several social interests and activities, including microfinance. Esperanza is also a religiously rooted organization, which I have never before experienced. I’ll wait and see how those dynamics play out—and of course, I’ll write about it. The main headquarters are in the capital, Santo Domingo, and branch offices are spread out elsewhere. I expect that I will spend times in all of these locations, if not more. Below is the start of my DR map (I’ll keep working on it), with some of the areas where Esperanza/Kiva entrepreneurs are–(make sure to zoom!)
There will certainly be a good deal of traveling to do! Perfect. More to come soon.
For the partner info about Esperanza please go here: http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=44
For the independent Esperanza site please go to: http://esperanza.org/us
Take care!
Kalie Gold
Kiva Fellow (KF6)
Dominican Republic
Noel
Since arriving in Santo Domingo last month, I’ve been immersed in an array of sights and sounds, faces and families, handshakes and hugs, cooking and cadence, and countless other alliterative elements of Dominican culture. It’s been a whirlwind so far, and for about a three-minute moment everyday – the most time I ever seem to have to reflect – I can’t help but think that my familiar life in the states is being lived by some alternate version of me, and that eventually, he’ll bring me up to speed on the events of the last few months and I’ll tell him he missed out on the chance to bring all of his ideas and ideals out of the ivory tower and into the world. Maybe we’ll have a beer or play bocce ball. Who knows? Clearly, I digress.
Of all the incredible and wonderful facets of Dominican culture that I have had the chance to take in so far, one that I am reminded of everyday really stands out…. everyone starts decorating for Christmas very early here. Like really early. Like right around Halloween early.
It was a horrifying coincidence when Tropical Storm Noel made landfall during the first week of November, just as the first Christmas trees and candy canes were visible in shop windows. Noel came with virtually no advanced notice, and even if their had been a better warning I’m note sure what measures could have been taken. Granted, Noel pales in comparison with what has happened since in Bangladesh. But the victims here would take issue, just as they should, with anyone who told them that their loss is somewhere near the bottom on a phantom list of priorities that the world’s aid agencies have to look at.
I have not been able to speak with members of the affected communities first-hand, largely because Fundacion San Miguel Arcángel has asked me to work mostly in other communities. But I have seen some of the damage while traveling near the Manoguayabo River in Santo Domingo near San Cristobal. The river swelled twenty feet over its average height and literally swallowed the earth beneath thousands of people’s homes. Debris from homes remains scattered across the riverbanks, and where many people had lived on an incline that gradually rolled down to the water’s edge, half their homes are now precariously suspended off a cliff – a complete vertical drop, twenty-five feet above the river.
In some of these communities, school has only restarted this past week. The recovery of physical debris and the job of rebuilding homes and businesses are daunting tasks unto themselves. Confronting the sickness and disease afflicting many of those who have already lost so much is likely to be even more challenging. Local food stocks were rendered mostly unusable, water supplies are barely potable, and all kinds of pests and pathogens fill what remains of homes. Anecdotally, some of FSMA’s clients have been falling very ill. All of FSMA’s clients are women and most are mothers, as well.
With a presidential election just over six months away here, the incumbent’s government has recently revised the latest measurements of Dominican GDP, announcing a rise in the country’s income per capita. I don’t plan on using this space to casually opine on a political situation about which I am almost entirely ignorant, but that announcement struck me as one with potentially serious consequences for Noel victims awaiting international support. The president asked multilateral development agencies for aid after the storm, but many of these agencies have strict GDP per capita limits they adhere to when making aid decisions. It remains to be seen what effect, if any, the announced rise in income will have on the flow of aid. Also, the government has promised the construction of public housing in the most devastated areas. While a good long-term idea, that does not sound like a solution to the immediate issues facing those communities. In both cases, we’ll see.
These photos were taken by the FSMA staff, they show some of the damage near “Control de La Pared de Haina” and “Palavé” on the Manoguayabo River.
FSMA is a relatively new Kiva partner and from what I know right now, none of those people who suffered devastating blows to their families and livelihoods, including death and complete loss of home, are Kiva clients…yet. Now seems like a good opportunity to diversify Kiva’s client list within FSMA to include more of the areas affected by the storm. I hope to be meeting these women soon, and giving Kiva lenders the opportunity to help them restart their businesses.
