Posts filed under 'CEPRODEL'
El Mercado Central: A Day Visiting Kiva Clients
By Meg Gray, KF9 Nicaragua
How to describe one of the markets in Nicaragua? It’s hard and there really isn’t anything like them in the States to compare to. When I visited the Mercado Central in Chinandega, a small city that serves as a supply hub for the farms surrounding it, the heat was stifling. A few aisles are well lit with a sprinkling of fluorescent bulbs, while others are dark and cave-like. At the same time, the whole building is bursting with colors, smells, and noises. Every aisle is packed with people and very few aisles are wide enough for more than two people to walk side by side. And did I mention it’s hot. Chinandega has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the hottest places in Nicaragua. My guidebook accurately describes it as feeling like a rotisserie chicken the moment you leave the AC behind. In the end I decided, it was too hard to describe my day visiting clients in the Mercado Central. I decided it would be more fun and easier to try to figure out my video editing software and give you guys a taste of what my day was like. So here goes my first attempt at making a video…
Meg Gray is currently a Kiva Fellow in Nicaragua, where she is working with Kiva’s field partner CEPRODEL. Support a loan to a CEPRODEL entrepreneur or introduce a friend to Kiva with a gift certificate.
6 comments 17 November 2009
US Embassy Alerts a.k.a. Things to Worry About
By Meg Gray, KF9 Nicaragua
It rained all weekend in Managua. It rained because of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Ida, which hit Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast on Thursday. You may have heard about Ida because your saw it on the news or read about it in the paper. Or maybe, like me, you learned about it via an alert from the US Embassy in Nicaragua. In my mind, Embassy Alerts are code for “things to start worrying about if you aren’t already.” Written in a calm, informative tone, the alerts are as alarming as they are pertinent. In my five weeks in Nicaragua, I have received alerts on three topics:
1. Tropical Storm (soon-to-be Hurricane) Ida
2. Mobs Attacking the US Embassy
3. Dengue Fever Outbreak
(more…)
8 comments 9 November 2009
Businesses Look Different Here
By Meg Gray, KF9, Nicaragua
"Rent a telephone here"
Walking around my neighborhood in Managua, Nicaragua made me realize that businesses look very different here. Every couple of houses there is asign in the window- “We sell nacatamales” or “We offer haircuts” or “Rent a Nintendo here”. Usually the sign is hand written, but occasionally it has been neatly typed. I only have to walk a block or two from house to find tortillas, chocolate-covered bananas, a pedicure, reading lessons, and all sorts of other things. It seems like everyone is selling something, but there is also hardly a storefront in sight.
When I moved to Managua, I was prepared to say goodbye to big box stores (more…)
10 comments 27 October 2009
Bienvenidos a Nicaragua!
By Meg Gray, KF9, Nicaragua
Last Thursday night, while eating a farewell dinner of Chinese take-out, I drew the perfect fortune cookie: “Traveling to the south will bring you unexpected happiness.” Since I was leaving for Nicaragua the next day as a member of KF9, I was happy to have this auspicious omen on my side.
Turns out it was also exactly the reassurance I needed as I arrived in Managua, Nicaragua during a torrential rainstorm on Saturday night. Moments after a very turbulent (and somewhat terrifying) landing, the power went out in the airport and we had to wait for it to come back before we could deplane. Needless to say, waiting in the plane, I had a few doubts and remembering my fortune cookie brought a smile back to my face.
Here is CEPRODEL's main office. They have 16 other branches throughout Western Nicaragua.
Now that feels so long ago. I successfully made it through Day One at CEPRODEL, one of Kiva’s field partners in Nicaragua. CEPRODEL has been a Kiva partner for almost two years and has facilitated loans to over 2,100 Kiva entrepreneurs! Everyone I met was extremely friendly and helpful. I’m still struggling to remember most of their names, but they have welcomed me back for Day Two nevertheless.
Before I dive too far into journal entries and borrower profiles, I briefly wanted to say hello. I look forward to your comments and to giving you more information about CEPRODEL, Nicaragua, and my experiences as a Kiva Fellow.
Learn more about CEPRODEL on their field partner page or loan to a CEPRODEL entrepreneur now! Or if you’re feeling brave and want to practice your Spanish, check out CEPRODEL’s website.
5 comments 6 October 2009
Breastfeeding and Social Responsibility in Microfinance
What if Kiva were to encourage its microfinance partners to include breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in their social performance and responsibility assessments?
Continue Reading 5 comments 4 August 2009
As the Microfinance Mundo Turns: The Money Tree & the Family Tree
Doña Cony’s daughter works as a home health aide and nanny in Spain and sends money so that Doña Cony can have an annual mammogram. Doña Cony’s mother died of breast cancer, and Doña Cony has had five benign cysts removed from her own breast. In Managua, a mammogram costs 650 cordobas (USD $32.50).
Continue Reading 2 comments 14 July 2009
As the Microfinance Mundo Turns: The Best Nicaraguan Ice Cream
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Doña Cony’s ice cream.
Continue Reading 3 comments 29 June 2009
Kiva Novela — “As the Microfinance Mundo Turns ” Episodio 2: Who is Doña Cony?
“As the Microfinance Mundo Turns” — Episode 2 — Purveyor of Nicaragua´s Best Ice Cream
Continue Reading 2 comments 27 June 2009
Tune in to “As the Microfinance Mundo Turns”
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of “As the Microfinance Mundo Turns.”
Continue Reading 6 comments 20 June 2009
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