Although you will find many familiar fast food restaurants in Turkey, I have never understood why they are popular.  Turkish food is just too darn good. When I first started living in Turkey in 1998, there was very little western fast food, very little packaged junk food, and very little prepared foods (i.e. bottled sauces, frozen vegetable, mixes and other packaged foods).  I used to bring back lots of food items when I visited my family once a year.  Now I only bring back chili powder for when I occasionally make tacos (don’t have to bring tortillas back anymore, Turkey now grows avocados, and I substitute fresh yogurt for sour cream).

Gigantic Lay's billboard

Fast food glore

The Turkish kitchen is based on neighborhood produce markets.  Every district in Istanbul has a weekly market.  Think local, fresh and in season.  I live in Besiktaş and ours is on Saturday and is even named the Cumartesi Pazaari (Saturday Market). Of course these weekly markets have more than just produce.  You can find olives, nuts, dried fruit, cheese, eggs, hot or sweet red pepper paste and tomato paste, clothes, shoes, kitchen wares, pretty much whatever you might need.

Shoes

Produce

Anchovies

Dried fruit

If you are not familiar with Ottoman classic dishes, rest assured they are delicious. They were developed to please the palate of the Sultans.  One dish is even named Sultan’s Delight.  At the height of the Ottoman Empire, it is said there were 1,300 kitchen staff housed in Topkapi Palace.  Hundreds of chefs cooked up 10,000 meals a day, plus meals that were sent out as royal favors to important palace officials.  The chefs specialized in different categories of dishes such as soups, pilafs, kebabs, vegetables, fish, fowl, breads, pastries, candy and helva, syrups and jams, and beverages.  Now if you are cooking 10,000 + meals a day, you need the proper equipment!

The zırh, a must have kıtchen tool!

For the last two winters I have substituted for a friend that has a small restaurant and cooking school in Sultan Ahmet.  My friend trained me on the menus and I facilitate the two and a half hour cooking class.  The chef has limited English but is amazing.  I tease him about being a kitchen magician because none of the students have never burned or otherwise ruined the meal we were preparing.  After our lesson, we sit down to eat our impressive five course meal masterpiece.  Much of what we prepare are Ottoman classics.  Some of my favorites are Imam Bayildi, Karniyarik, Sekerpare, Sultan Delight and Etli Yaprak Dolmasi.  See this post for some unusually named Turkish dishes.

Ezogelın Çorbası / Red Lentil and Bulgar Soup with Mint and Red Pepper

Imam Bayildi (The Iman Fainted) / Eggplant Braised in Olive Oil with Onions, Garlic and Herbs

Kabak Mücveri / Zucchini Pancakes with White Cheese and Herbs, served with Garlic Yogurt

Etli Yaprak Dolmasi / Vine leaves stuffed with Minced Meat, Rice, and Herbs with tomatoes

Şekerpare / Syrupy Sponge Cakes with Hazelnuts

And of course no meal is complete with out Çay (tea) or Turkish Coffee.

Gather the Ingredients

Stir, Stir and Stir!

Don't let the coffee boil over

Ready!

Once in a while I get a craving for liver so recently I tried a little restaurant in my neighborhood called Can Ciger.  It is one of the few in Istanbul that serves up Edirne style liver. Edirne, the second Ottoman Capital (first was Bursa and third was Istanbul), is famous for its style of liver and I heard that many Turks have been known to take a road trip to Edirne just for this dish. The secret to good liver is simple but requires very fresh cow liver that is sliced very thin in about bit size pieces and then coated with flour and deep-fried until crispy.  The temperature of the oil is important to the success of the dish so the fry-master (Edirne-born of course) pays a lot of attention to the flame when he is frying up a customer’s order.  The nuggets are served with raw onion and a few slices of tomato and a hot pepper that has also been deep-fried.  The thinly sliced fried liver does not resemble any of my childhood memories that are associated with livery tasting liver.  Turks really know how to prepare liver as I also once in a while seek out other places to eat small pieces of liver cooked on skewers and Albanian-style liver.

Edirne style liver and ayran

Çay

Edirne Fry-Master

In the time I have lived here, I have discovered that Turkish people do not suffer bad food lightly and a restaurant that does not serve good food only lasts in the tourists areas.  Eating out with family and friends, like in many other cultures, is important and meals can last for hours.  There is good food to be found in Istanbul and all over Turkey on just about any budget.  And no event (trips, picnics, etc.) is ever a total disaster if the food was good.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Maya has several entrepreneurs with food related businesses.  Hayriye has a cafeteria and work has been going so well that she has just recently paid of her loan early.  See Hayriye’s loan updates tab on her profile page; Sevinc is making custom cakes and cookies and delighting her customers with her artistic flair; Gulcan is catering lunch to her husband’s textile workers and wants to expand to other workshops in the area; Lutfiye took some cooking classes and now has a breakfast restaurant, is expanding her menu and looking for a bigger location; and Ozlem recently paid off her loan that enabled her to finishing her master chef’s course.  She wants to open her own bakery in the future but was delighted when her children started taking their lessons more seriously and started studying harder after they saw the time she spent on her own lessons.

I am happy to say that I will be extending to the next Kiva Fellows Class 17, continuing with Maya in Turkey,  and I am again substituting for my friend at her restaurant and cooking school this winter.  If you have not tried that Turkish restaurant around the corner or across town, I highly recommend you give it a try.  Afyet Olsun!

Visit these blog posts for more on Maya and Turkey:

Home to a New Adventure: Hoş Geldiniz Maya!

If It Is Thursday, It Must Be Sakarya + What is Bohça?

If it is Tuesday it must be Izmit +more of my favorite borrowers + buyurun agabey

Stuff Kiva Fellows Like #10-17

55 Tips from Kiva Fellows

Kimberly Strathearn is a KF 16 serving in Istanbul with Maya. Kiva’s new Field Partner in Turkey. To learn more about Maya and their clients, please visit their Partner Page, join our newly created Friends of Maya Lending Team, or make a loan to one of their amazing clients.  Looking for that prefect Forget Me Not gift?  Send your loved ones some Kiva Love with a  Kiva Card.

Enter BRAC. Four years ago, BRAC Uganda began to address some of these problems by implementing what they call the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescence Program (ELA Program). The program is designed specifically “to improve the quality of the life of vulnerable adolescents by organizing them, creating spaces of their own and helping them develop a set of skills so that they can live and grow as confident, empowered and self reliant individuals contributing to change in their own families and communities.”

Because it is set up to achieve so many ambitious goals, the ELA program can seem fairly complex at first glance. In this blog post, I want to outline how the program is organized and talk a little bit about some of the social components of the ELA clubs. And in the next blog post, I’ll talk more about the finance components of the ELA program and about the impact of the program overall.

General Organization of ELA

Meet Barbara. She works extremely hard to train ELA staff and to develop materials for the program. She has also been with the ELA program from the beginning and has an excellent grasp on how the program functions and on how far it has come. In the video below, I asked her about what she’s currently working on and about some of the major changes she has seen in the program over the years. Check it out:

As Barbara said in the video, the ELA program has expanded significantly in the past few years and as a result, has become much more decentralized. A colleague at BRAC once joked with me: “anyone who says they understand everything that’s going on with the organization is crazy.” Yet somehow, the program functions with uncanny efficiency.

ELA Management

Each ELA girl is a member of a local club, which is organized and managed by a mentor. There are currently a total 785 clubs, which are located all across Uganda. In general, clusters of about 10-15 clubs are linked to Branch Offices based on proximity. Each branch office has a Project Assistant who is responsible for supervising all of the clubs associated with the branch and for helping the clubs to strengthen their relationships with surrounding communities. The Project Assistants report directly to the Area Coordinators, who are responsible for overseeing a handful of Branch Offices in a specific district. Area Coordinators report to Regional Coordinators, who then report to the Uganda Program Manager. The program manager is responsible for overseeing all big-picture aspects of the program and is stationed mainly at the BRAC Country Office in Kampala.

Microfinance Staff

The ELA microfinance, which is recent addition to the ELA program, requires some additional staff members. At the branch level, there are Credit Officers, who are tasked with overseeing all the financial components of the program. ELA microfinance also has its own set of Area Coordinators, who are responsible for managing microfinance at multiple branches and must be present at all loan disbursements. The microfinance Area Coordinators also report to the Regional Managers and to the Program Manager. Every month, all of the Area Coordinators meet with the Program Manager at the Country Office to review the performance of their clubs and to discuss how to improve the program.

Club Houses  

The space used for the program consists mainly of extensions of community member’s houses, or of  public buildings rented by BRAC from local governments. This is the main space where club members and mentors meet six afternoons per week. The clubs also use community sports fields for certain athletic activities.

How to Join

The requirements to join a club aren’t strict at all. Any girl between 13 and 21 years old, who is a permanent citizen of Uganda and who can pay the 2,000 UGX (~$0.80) admission fee can join. All she really has to do is approach the local club’s mentor and ask.

The Social Components of ELA Clubs

Community Participation

One thing that is emphasized over and over again when discussing the ELA program with BRAC management is community involvement. From what I was able to gather, this happens in mainly two ways. The first way is called a mothers forum. Once, every two weeks or so, the Project Assistant from the branch will get together with the mothers of club members to discuss the club programs and things that the mothers can do to help empower their daughters. Another way that the community is involved with ELA clubs is through community leaders’ workshops. These are events where prominent female figures from the community visit a club to talk to the girls about sexual health, life challenges or a host of other topics.

Life Skills Based Education

The ELA program also provides girls with resources to learn more about life challenges and how to overcome them. The clubs focus on a wide range of topics including reproductive health, menstruation, familial and community responsibility, leadership, bride price, early pregnancy, STIs, family planning and rape. Mentors will normally focus on one aspect of one of these topics every day, and occasionally guest speakers will come to the clubs to give presentations to the girls. BRAC has also published books on each of these topics consisting of general advice and collections of stories from the lives of ELA girls.

Just below is a kind of introductory story from BRAC’s book on family planning. It’s called “Tough Times,” and is mainly about a young, 20-year-old woman named Stella and her struggle through her second pregnancy. It emphasizes the importance of leaving time between births.

Last year, in 2009, I got married to Mike, a bicycle cyclist.   I’m now five months pregnant. I was forced into marriage because my parents never wanted to stay with a pregnant woman. I had long stopped studying due to lack of finances at home.   

Mike stayed in a remote village. Once in a while, when a vehicle passed, every one waited in anticipation of their relative.  City people are claimed to be rich since they always carry with them so many gifts. In the village the main source of livelihood is agriculture and most of the farming done is for consumption. 

As it was my first pregnancy, I lacked knowledge on how to care for myself. Friends, however, encouraged me to visit the health centre for checkups.  

Throughout the pregnancy, I visited the health centre only once.  The long distance discouraged me form frequenting the place. I also lacked the money to receive the medical attention I needed. As a result, a traditional birth attendant helped me to give birth to my first child. She was easily available and cheap. 

Much as Mike tried so hard to meet every need of the family, the poor man failed. To make matters worse, I conceived again after ten months. This also affected our daughter so much. She was ever sick and crying. I also stopped breast feeding her since e I was down with morning sicknesses and the general discomfort that comes with pregnancy.  Eating also became a problem since we could only afford one meal a day. 

When it reached birth, Mike was able to gather some money to transport me to the health centre. I delivered with the help of the nurse, but I faced severe complications. I almost bled to death. I was weak and anemic. My baby looked so sick that I doubted his survival.  My daughter was stunted. Having two children in a couple of years was too much for me and it also strained my husband a lot.

The nurse advised me to go back for postnatal care, with my husband. She later explained that child birth was the most risky incidence and a threat to the woman’s health and that of her baby. She emphasized the need for birth spacing if we were to take good care of our children’s health and needs.

When the nurse had finished talking, it surprised me that I was so ignorant about family planning methods and birth spacing. Use of contraceptives would give me enough time to properly heal and properly take care of myself and the children before getting unexpected pregnancy. 

Since then, I have learned to use contraceptives.  I plan on waiting for my two children to properly grow before I conceive again. It is also important that I get a job so that I can supplement on Mike’s income. This will help us to properly take care of our family and keep it happy.  

Club Activities

To me, the club activities are in a big way the heart of the ELA program. They afford the ELA girls a daily opportunity to take a break from adversity, to talk about their experiences and to learn from one another.

Towards the end of my fellowship, I was lucky enough to visit the Kanyanya Club in the Zanna district in Kampala. Just before lunch one day, I hop on the back of a boda boda and speed just a few kilometers up the road to the main traffic hub in Zanna. I pick up two oily, floury pancakes called chapattis for lunch, then march off of the main road, back into the Zanna “slums” to find the Branch Office. I get a little lost on the winding backroads, but am only a few minutes late – Uganda style.

Once at the office, I am greeted warmly by the Project Assistant and an Area Manager I’ve met before. The three of us travel up about two kilometers of steep, dusty roads in the hot afternoon sun. It would have been much easier to take a boda boda, but the project assistant had recently been in an accident and really didn’t want to take any more chances. Just as I think I am running out of steam, we reach the top of a huge incline, descend down a short lane with lots of tree shade, and finally arrive at the club house.

It’s around two o’clock, and more and more girls filter in over the next hour. Many of the members aren’t around because they’ve gone to visit family in the villages for the holiday, and many of the girls that show up are also a bit drained from the intense heat of the sun. We still have a great time playing board games and dancing. Fortunately, I have my Flipcam and am able to grab some great footage of the club house and of the girls. Enjoy!

Andrew Huelsenbeck is a Kiva Fellow who worked in Kampala with BRAC Uganda. To learn more about BRAC, please visit their Kiva Partner Page. If you are interested in helping to empower one or more of BRAC’s many wonderful entrepreneurs, you can join the Friends of BRAC Uganda lending team or check out new BRAC Uganda loans on Kiva.org. Happy lending!

“To Connect People Through Lending to Entrepreneurs Across the Globe” is one of Kiva’s best tag lines. Indeed, “Connecting” is key to Kiva, to microfinance loans and to repayment, especially in this high tech world of Twitter, Facebook, Groupon and the Worldwide Web. All of the Kiva borrowers in New Orleans are online, from the youngest in her twenties to the oldsters in their 60s. A lot have smart phones to check their email and Facebook pages. Unlike the Kiva borrowers in developing nations, there is no need to explain “the internet.” When I meet with a prospective client I walk them through the Kiva website. I go to Kiva.org and explain “crowd sourcing,” i.e. that their loan will actually be funded by around 250 people from different parts the world who want to loan and connect with them after reading their Kiva profile. The response is always positive and many of the borrowers want to make a connection to the lenders. One borrower, Renee, specifically asked me to write all of her lenders a thank you note and a progress report on her loan. The Kiva site is built so that the borrowers cannot directly write to the lenders. This is what I wrote on Renee’s behalf:

Feb 1, 2012

Renee says Thanks to all of her Kiva Lenders.
Dear Lenders,
Thanks for helping me take my construction company, Dorsey Bryant, to the next level. Things have been going really well. I have a contract to install 2,500 mini blinds in Section 3 government housing that is being constructed here in New Orleans. I have hired three Section 3 employees to assist me, and I have moved my home based office to a commercial space. Thank you Kiva.
This picture was taken today at Good Work Network, where I met the founder and CEO of Kiva, Matt Flannery.
Sincerely,
Renee
If you would like to contact me my email is renee@dorseybryant.com. I would love to hear from you.

Renee specifically asked me to write in her email address so that the lenders can directly reach her. Renee is proud to be a Kiva Borrower and is very thankful for her loan.

Another Kiva NOLA borrower, Michelle, who paints murals and paints fine art, wanted to connect with her lenders. In her borrower’s profile she asked if I could insert a link to her website mondomurals.com. I could not put in a clickable link (attention Kiva product engineers), but I was able to post the following:

Michelle has been an artist her entire life. She studied art at the University of New Orleans and New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. She has done set dressing for major motion pictures, has been a stylist for Mattel Toys, has done music video styling and has been a scenic artist for all of New Orleans local theaters.

In 2008, Michelle started Mondo Murals & Design, LLC. She’s been painting specialty murals in businesses and private homes. She also has many fine art paintings for sale in several galleries in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Michelle is now branching out and printing her art on home decor and gift ware items. With her Kiva loan, Michelle will be able to reproduce her art on mugs, aprons, matted prints, coasters, trivets and other items. To view some of Michelle’s work go to www.mondomurals.com.

On Mardi Gras day, Michelle can be found winding her way from Uptown to the French Quarter with “Mondo Kayo Social & Marching Club,” a New Orleans salute to Carnival across the tropics. Revelers in colorful handmade costumes dance to Caribbean, Latin and African beats blaring from tiki floats. Michelle enjoys Mondo Kayo so much that she named her business Mondo Murals & Design after it. Mondo means “world,” and Michelle’s goal is to paint her murals all over the world.

Because of the mention of Mondomurals.com, several lenders found Michelle on Facebook and have become Michelle’s Facebook friends. One person was so impressed with what she saw on Mondomurals.com that she commissioned a painting by Michelle. This is the painting that inspired the Kiva borrower to commission a similar painting by Michelle:

When Michelle was raising funds on Kiva, I sent her the link so she could watch as new lenders from around the world were making her $25.00 loans. She wanted to connect with each of them to say, “Thanks,” but realized that she couldn’t. To remedy this, Michelle will be sent a Kiva gift card, so that she can also be a Kiva lender. Based on this, I think every Kiva borrower in New Orleans (or wherever the borrower has good internet access) should be one of their own lenders, so that they can access the lender pages and see exactly what their lenders see. Then the borrower will be able to access their repayment page, the journal entries and be able to make contact with their Kiva lenders. After all, connection is what it’s all about!

A bigger idea is to create even more connections with a KivaNOLA marketplace, so that all of the goods and services by the Kiva NOLA entrepreneurs can be offered online with the click of a few buttons. You want to buy a dress from Ampelonartist L3C or Sidity Fashion Boutique? Click here. You need an electrician in New Orleans? Try Spark Electric, Troy Rollins or RCP III. Click here. You want great food at your party? Click here: for wings from Avenue Quick Stop; African food from Golden Feather; pastries and cookies from One Smart Cookie. Instead of supporting borrowers by just lending, lenders can also support by patronizing. For the borrowers, instead of Kiva being a place to have access to capital, it will also be a place to market and stay connected to the entire Kiva community of lenders and to cross-market to each other and to the world.

Charlotte Makoff
Kiva Fellow | New Orleans

Charlotte is a Kiva Fellow in KF-16, the 16th Kiva Fellows Class, with ASI Federal Credit Union and is now living in New Orleans. Charlotte has lived in India, Japan, and has built houses with Habitat For Humanity in Ethiopia, Zambia and India.

For more information about Kiva, click here. To read about ASI Federal Credit Union, click here. You can also follow Kiva New Orleans on facebook, join the Kiva New Orleans lending team.

Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of pastry dough (brioche to be exact) with a small amount of colored sugar as decoration. Inside the original King Cakes was a tiny porcelain or gold baby, representing Jesus. If a person received a piece of cake with the baby they were declared King for the day. Over time, people were choking or breaking teeth on the baby, so the baby has become a little larger and plastic, and instead of being baked inside, the baby is is inserted into the cake after baking. The top of the cake is then covered with sugar icing in traditional Mardi Gras colors: Green, purple and gold. In recent years, bakeries have been improvising and making different cream cheese flavors and fruit filled King Cakes. There’s one bakery in New Orleans, Antoine’s, that makes up to 3,500 cakes per day running their bakery 24 hours and hiring additional employees, during what they term as King Cake season. .

If you go to a King Cake party and get the piece of cake with the baby, beware! You are not just the King for the day, you are now required to bring the next King Cake to the next party. Because of this tradition, some offices and schools have King Cakes every day until Mardi Gras season ends. I first heard about King Cakes at an office meeting at Kiva’s Community partner, Good Work Network. Since I first heard I have been carefully watching the bakery section at Rouse’s and Winn Dixie. I have also been eyeing the cases at the local bakeries. I couldn’t wait until after Christmas to buy my first piece of King Cake, so I went to Antoine’s on Carrollton where they sell King Cakes all year round. They actually had pieces of King Cake for sale, so I dove in head first.

Okay, it tastes and smells like a really good cinnamon roll. In fact, the whole experience reminded me of the chain restaurant, Cinnabon. Am I wrong? Would someone from N’Awlins disagree with my assessment? I googled cinnamon rolls and King Cake and got a multiplicity of hits all of which indicated that somewhere along the way, the original brioche style King Cakes have morphed into a coffee cake similar to a Cinnamon roll. In fact, some easy recipes suggest using ready made cinnamon roll dough to make a King Cake.

Finally, the Twelfth day arrives, January 6, 2012, I go to Rouse’s and “Make groceries”. (In N’Awlins you don’t go grocery shopping you make groceries, like you make dinner.) I buy a whole King Cake and plant the baby inside of it from the bottom. The day before, I learned from a man I met at a bar that January 6, is also Joan of Arc’s birthday. She turns 600 in 2012 and much of New Orleans is going to be in the French Quarter to celebrate her birthday with a parade. The parade ends at the Joan of Arc statue given to the City of New Orleans by France.

So what does all of this craziness have to do with microfinance? Not much really. Except to say that this is a very cultural place with traditions steeped in the fabric of the city. If you are a lender to Kiva Nola chances are you are making a loan to a person who is not just celebrating this amazing city, but is participating in the myriad of celebrations from parades, baking king cakes, making costumes, mixing drinks, dancing to playing jazz. They might be a janitor, an accountant, a tire repair shop owner, or small business owner by day but at night they “Laissez le bon temps rouler.”

If you are a small business owner in New Orleans and are thinking about a Kiva loan got to KivaNOLA.org and click on “to borrow” button. If you want to lend, go to the same place and click on the “to lend” button.

Charlotte Makoff
Kiva Fellow | New Orleans

Charlotte is a Kiva Fellow in KF-16, the 16th Kiva Fellows Class, with ASI Federal Credit Union and is now living in New Orleans. Charlotte has lived in India, Japan, and has built houses with Habitat For Humanity in Ethiopia, Zambia and India.

For more information about Kiva, click here. To read about ASI Federal Credit Union, click here. You can also follow Kiva New Orleans on facebook, join the Kiva New Orleans lending team.

After my first placement in Ecuador, I thought I knew living and working in South America- three months in Ica, Perú proved me wrong. New (and delicious) food, a drastically different (and drier) climate, and wonderful new friends, coworkers, and chicha-vending Kiva borrowers showed me another side of South America’s many amazing countries and cultures. As I phase out of my second fellowship back into the real world, I want to share these photos, and photos from my first placement in Ecuador, with you lenders and give thanks to KFP and Perú for an amazing fellowship experience! Click the photos to see them enlarged!

Kate Bennett (KF16) is thrilled to be working in Ica, Peru with Kiva Field Partner Caja Rural Señor de Luren. For more on Kate’s experiences with Caja Rural Señor de Luren or life in Peru, follow her work here.

Before I volunteered as a Kiva Fellow in Sierra Leone (May of 2011) and Bolivia (September 2011), I was living in Santa Barbara, California. Imagine: Santa Barbara beaches saturated with color, mansions with the smell of jasmine twisting through the air, and a pace of life only to be set by the sun. While there, I was working for a de jure artist and took up the ranks as a de facto artist myself. Life was pretty easy, and moving to a developing country and working with microfinance seemed a million miles away. Leaving it all made me wonder why I would forfeit the comfort and normalcy of home for places where it feels like I have to relearn basic parts of life (i.e. restroom, showers, and food).

While volunteering, I was often asked , “Why would you come volunteer in my country?” Each time, I rambled about a desire to foster opportunities in the development of people around the world. But that is just it, how concise can pre-volunteers really be?

Well, the life of a volunteer goes with the wind. Four weeks ago I was living in Sierra Leone and today I am sitting in an office in Bolivia. Obviously, volunteering is not the most advantageous financial move one can make; in fact, while in the States, I qualified for free immunizations before coming to Bolivia because I was “low income”. In all honesty, most volunteers are a footnote to an organization’s real employees, and the “We couldn’t do it without you” speech only gets volunteers high for a split second. So why endure the bucket showers in Sierra Leone and language barriers in South America? Why volunteer?

For me, it has to do with something I encountered as a child while hiking around my home in Washington State. I saw the diverse beauty of nature: cedars, Douglas firs, ferns, and myriad wildflowers. I then thought about the diverse beauty of humanity (although those weren’t my exact thoughts as a child…). What it came down to was that I knew people (and the world) had to be different beyond my hometown population of ninety-something.

I didn’t leave and volunteer to “save the world.” (Do people still do that?) Rather, I had this desire to cease to be dichotomized from the developing world. Volunteering was a means to share life with people and hope to understand why populations live at different standards of living. This, hopefully, is joining in the process of lifting people out of poverty –the more minds and hearts that are included in the “process” (any process or cause you are volunteering for), the more potential there is to yield results and answers.

The wonder in volunteering, I have found, is simply in the interaction between me and a Kiva Borrower (those who recieve loans). In most cases, we each have something to add to the life of the other. With Kiva, microfinance volunteer work is geared to sustainably enable entrepreneurs in developing countries by facilitating capital for their business through loans.

My greatest interest in life was to see this “process,” and I have been so encouraged by what Kiva Borrowers are doing with their loans to better their lives. In reality, when any volunteers collaborate with people in development, we begin to answer for ourselves the questions we could not articulate beforehand. Within it all, volunteers are fortunate to take the time and witness the diverse beauty of humanity.

***

Eric Rindal has had the privilege to be a Kiva Fellow based in La Paz, Bolivia working with Emprender and IMPRO. He is a big proponent of Kiva Lenders lending to people in countries they have not lent to. If you have not lent to a wonderful borrower in Bolivia, click here to find a smiling face. Eric was a Kiva Fellow in Sierra Leone during the 15th class — if you have not lent to someone in Sierra Leone, click here to find a wonderful person! 

My first placement in Ecuador was my first time in the country. Turns out that Ecuador is every bit as incredible as the guide books say, and more. I was continously struck by the warmth and openness of the Ecuadorian people (and their passion for politics!), the beauty of the mountains, jungle, and countryside, the richness of Ecuadorian food, the strength of the Kiva borrowers I met there, and my persisting inability to salsa as well as my coworkers. These are a few of my favorite photos of my time there. Stay tuned for my next post, of my favorite photos from my placement in Perú!

Above the town of Chunchi, Ecuador. Kiva Field Partner Fundación Alternativa's program directed at families of immigrants is supporting a group loan to building a restaurant, at the site- where the borrowers' big dream is to one day build a hotel and spa as well!

Kiva Borrower Orlen Rafael (http://www.kiva.org/lend/321388) shows us the fruits of his recent loan from Fundación Alternativa, which he used to buy oil paints, fabric, and general supplies to be able to make his works of art.

Helping Fundación ESPOIR borrower Ana make tamales outside of Cuenca, Ecuador (http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2011/08/10/how-to-make-a-tamale-or-a-hundred/)

Dolls in Ecuador's famous Otavalo weekend market

A view of Ibarra, Ecuador, where Kiva Field Partner FODEMI is located

A FODEMI borrower's microentreprise: dragon-boat tours! (Definitely worth the $2)

A celebration outside of Ibarra, Ecuador. None of the Ecuadorians I talked to could actually explain why the men were dressed as women.

Fundación ESPOIR borrower Gladys used her loan to buy ingredients for her ice cream, which she was kind enough to share with my fellow loan officer and me. Yum!

Cuenca: Ecuador's colonial jewel, and an incredible blend of strong indigenous presence, enduring Spanish influences, and true Ecuadorian culture

The daughter of a Kiva borrower at her mother's market stall in Quito, Ecuador

A Kiva borrower spins wool, which she will eventually dye and use to knit hats and gloves to be sold to tourists in Cuenca, Ecuador

A Fundación ESPOIR group loan meeting takes place outside of Cuenca, Ecuador (inside this small structure are 15 mothers and grandmothers, most of whom have been ESPOIR borrowers for over ten years)

Kate Bennett (KF16) is thrilled to be working in Ica, Peru with Kiva Field Partner Caja Rural Señor de Luren. For more on Kate’s experiences with Caja Rural Señor de Luren or life in Peru or Ecuador, follow her work here.

Institutional birthdays in the US can be fairly stuffy affairs. Seating is often arranged to maximize contact with those in the institution with whom one has never spoken (perhaps for good reason, argue some guests) and they tend to be remembered more for inappropriate comments inserted into otherwise boring speeches rather than for the celebrations that they hope to be but rarely are.

Not so at the Cooperativa San Jose de Chimbo (CSJ). Instead of standing around awkwardly, everyone secretly wishing they were somewhere else, the 47th birthday of CSJ (conveniently combined with the office Xmas party) was a chaotic and energetic no-holds-barred inter-office Karaoke war. There wasn’t a bored face in the crowd.

Upon arrival, I found myself quickly ushered to the judges table across the large open dance hall from the stage, which had an impressive array of microphones and speakers as well as three unidentifiable steel objects evenly spaced across the front. They looked like iron champagne glasses. I was told, along with my fellow judges (the general manager of the credit union and the three directors of the members’ association, one of whom also happens to be the booming “ladies and gentlemen” voice of the local radio station) that I would be judging contestants on vocal quality, presentation, and the ‘use of the stage’.

I quickly discovered what the mysterious objects were (and what ‘use of the stage’ meant) when the third singer stepped up. It was the janitor from CSJ headquarters, Don Vinicio, who as it turns out is an impressive baritone with a mean stage presence and a penchant for ballads. As he began to sing, someone walked in front of the stage with a match in hand. Sparks and flames began shooting up from two of the metal objects in front of Don Vini to a height of at least 15 feet. (Please excuse the quality of the following clips… they’re fun, but they aren’t nearly as awesome in terms either content or video skills as Laurie’s video from yesterday)

That was only the beginning. As the next group began their set, a little boy of no more than 7, wearing a bright yellow shirt and what appeared to be a two foot by two foot papier-mache buffalo or mule head, came stumbling on unsteady little legs through the doorway and onto the open dance floor. In place of horns, the buffalo had the same metal champagne glasses shooting sparks and flames precariously close to the thin cloth hung from the ceiling, until they slowly fizzled out into smoke. The lack of flames didn’t stop him from continuing to dance around the floor, still wearing the smoking buffalo head.

Just after the set had ended, he and his giant mask collapsed onto the floor. The little boy then proceeded to leave the smoking buffalo head in the middle of the floor and promptly run for the exit laughing wildly, arms flailing.

Ever make a Kiva loan to CSJ that said the borrower lived in Chillanes? The flaming buffalo- headed child is the son of the Loan Officer responsible for distributing that loan! The two women clapping (around the 43rd second of the video) on the left at the far end of the table (one in blue, the other in white) are “the Karinas”, CSJ’s two Kiva Coordinators who happen to have the same first name.

There was a brief interlude during which we all got up and danced to a DJ, after which we went back to our seats to listen to the remaining performances. These included CSJ’s lawyer and assistant director singing a folksy local favorite, and a very pregnant loan officer belting out cheesy love songs; she ended up winning handily after a sub-par performance from Don Vini during the second round head-to-head Karaoke-off.

After the awards presentations, the announcers unexpectedly invited myself, CSJ’s general manager, and three directors of the member’s association to sing “El Rey”, an awesomely absurd classic Mexican ranchera song that is popular all over Latin America for its not-so-subtle allusions to the King of Spain (and to a more general tendency to exaggerate one’s own importance). Sadly, there is no video of this; I think the cameraman was on stage singing with us!

The rest of the night jumped around between dancing, speeches and eating, until a live band (of professionals) came out. After that, nobody dared interrupt the dancing; and when the band finally packed it in, we all went out for more.

CSJ is not always like this. Four social performance badges and a four-star risk rating on Kiva don’t earn themselves; the good folks of the Cooperativa San Jose work hard. But as it turns out, when given the chance, they play hard too. Tomorrow is my last day here, and I already miss them for both, among other things. Happy 47^th to the Cooperativa San Jose!

Marcus Berkowitz is a first-time fellow with Cooperativa San José (CSJ) in the western Andes of Ecuador’s Bolívar province. Show support for CSJ´s hardworking rural borrowers by making a loan. Or get even more involved by joining CSJ’s lending team!

My host and Kiva´s partner organization Banco D-MIRO provides over ten different types of microloans to borrowers in and around Guayaquil: among them loans to finance housing improvements, school expenses, medication, and loans awarded specifically to employees, young people with a great idea but no experience, and – as Ecuador´s only microfinance institution – discount loans for HIV-positive micro-entrepreneurs.

I am the first to attest, that all these loans have found enthusiastic and committed takers. Yet, one borrower group beats them all: the well over 400 disabled borrowers of Banco D-MIRO, whose deep commitment and payment discipline has turned “their” loan type – called Producto Creer (“Product Believe”) – into the most successful and inspirational product of D-MIRO´s extensive spectrum. The delinquency rate of Producto Creer is by far lower than that of any other major micro-loan type of Banco D-MIRO, which means that borrowers of Producto Creer are better at paying back their monthly rates than any other client group!

Specifically, by the end of October 2011, Banco D-MIRO´s entire loan portfolio had a delinquency rate (here defined as PAR1, or the total outstanding amount of loans with repayment delays beyond 1 day) of 2.67%, whereas Producto Creer shows a PAR1 of 1.91% – a number that´s extremely hard to beat! People at this bank certainly didn´t expect such an impressive outcome when, in April 2010, they first introduced a special discount loan product for physically disabled clients. The bank may have been encouraged by the success of another pioneering discount loan product that had been  introduced in September 2007: the Producto Vida (“Product Life”) – a discount loan for HIV-positive entrepreneurs about which I wrote in this blog post.

In September 2011, the headquarters of Banco D-MIRO finally became accessible to clients in a wheelchair, thanks to a newly built ramp.

So much for the numbers, but how is the reality in the field? Why are D-MIRO´s borrowers with a physical disability such incredibly good payers and clients? How and in what do they work? What are their main successes and challenges in life? No loan officer within D-MIRO is better suited to answer me these questions than Nahin Alvarado: his focus is on HIV positive and disabled clients and he was already my guide during an earlier visit to an HIV-clinic in one of Guayaquil´s largest public hospitals. When I ask him to join him in the field, he immediately agrees to take me to “Asoplejica” – an organization for the disabled that Nahin visits every month to educate its members on their financial options and specifically on Producto Creer.

After a ten-minute car ride to Los Esteros, a rough neighborhood west of downtown Guayaquil, we stand outside the headquarter of Asoplejica where I ask Nahin for his personal take on the low delinquency rate of borrowers with Producto Creer. Spanish-speakers please jump right ahead to the video – for all others, Nahin´s response to my question was: “Our experience has been very positive.  Other financial institutions in Ecuador marginalize these disabled clients who are aware that only we [Banco D-MIRO] give them an opportunity to obtain a loan; so they are very faithful to us. To that extent, the delinquency rate is extremely low.” I follow up, asking: “Lower than for regular loans, right?” “Yes, we have a delinquency rate that is much lower than that of regular loans.” Here´s all this in Guayaquileño-colored Spanish:

As we walk into the building, we are immediately greeted by the organization´s receptionist, who introduced herself as Mariuxi. She has just wrapped up a discussion on the day´s schedule with Emilio, the President of Asoplejica.  Emilio immediately comes towards us in his wheelchair, inviting Nahin and me to sit down with him for a talk: he is amazed to hear about my Kiva Fellowship and is even more surprised when I tell him how Kiva connects over 640,000 idealistic Kiva lenders with over 668,000 micro-entrepreneurs around the world. He spontaneously exclaims: “I hope that one of my past loans with Banco D-MIRO has been funded through Kiva!” [Back at the office I double-check: while none of Emilio´s past loans was listed on Kiva, chances are good that future loans of his will appear on Kiva.org.]

Emilio recounts for me his loan history: “I have been a client of Banco D-MIRO for the last four years. Every year I take a higher loan which I then invest in my one-man taxi business, paying it off during the following twelve months. My first loan was on $1,500, followed a year later by one of $2,000. I hope my next loan will be on $5,000.” I ask him about his taxi business and how exactly he invested his first loan. He answers: “The first thing I bought were the papers for my taxi to make it legal. This was not cheap and cost me about $300. But it was a good investment: if you have a taxi that´s not legalized, the police can stop you anytime. And as a paraplegic driver I feel that I am more vulnerable to police harassment than otherwise. I also use my loans to pay for gasoline and repairs that cost me between $4 and $6 a day. My daily fare income with my little taxi is about $20, so I have a daily surplus of $15 which easily pays for D-MIRO´s low interest rate.” [The yearly interest rate for Producto Creer is about 16%, as opposed to 26% for regular loans.]

Javier´s picture features prominently in Banco D-MIRO´s publicity materials, including here on this life-size banner (Javier´s picture is the forth from the top).

Our talk is interrupted by Javier, a white-haired elegant man with joyful eyes who rolls into the room on his wheel-chair. He looks strangely familiar to me and it´s not until the next day that I connect the dots: Javier´s photo features prominently on many of D-MIRO´s promotional materials, including the bank´s homepage. Apart from being one of D-MIRO´s favorite role models, he is also Asaplejica´s Secretary. Furthermore, he works two jobs: from his home he sells homeopathic health products which are popular in Ecuador as a way to fight just about anything, from obesity and hair loss to cancer and bad luck; and in the building of Asoplejica he also has a workshop space where he works as a serigrapher, creating beautifully elaborate stencils to screen-print T-shirts and paper. His current loan with Banco D-MIRO is $1,000 which he pays back with his monthly income of $450 to $900 from the sale of his prints and health products. When asked whether he has ever had any trouble paying back his loan, Javier emphasizes to me the importance of credibility when doing business: “Your credibility is key when it comes to doing good business. And I believe we disabled entrepreneurs have more to lose, simply because we don´t have that many options – so we always give our very best and work as hard as possible to provide excellent customer service. The same is true with my bank loans. I don´t know of any other bank but D-MIRO who would give me a loan, so I am extra careful to pay it back on time and reward their trust.”

Clockwise from top left: the author, Mariuxi, Emilio, and Javier in front of a collection of basketball trophies that the team of Asoplejica has won over the years.

I ask Emilio and Javier to tell me more about their organization: Asoplejica. Its name stands for “Hemiplegics´, Paraplegics´, and Quadriplegics´ Association of Guayas Province” and has over 200 associates, all of them physically disabled. It also has its own Facebook profile. Asoplejica was founded almost 30 years ago by a group of disabled men and women who used to get together after their rehabilitation therapy at a public hospital in Guayaquil.  All their activities and operations – including the salary of two paid employees (one of them Mariuxi) – are being paid for through public fund-raisers, such as raffles and bingo. Among the services the association provides to associates are physical therapy, homework assistance to children, and – most importantly – pure and simple companionship.  To explain what he means by companionship, Javier invites Mariuxi, Emilio, Nahin, and me to gather around the office computer where he shows us photos of Asoplejica´s last Christmas celebration. It was definitely a very merry Christmas among the members and their families… Walking back to Nahin´s car a quarter hour later, I feel as if I am leaving behind a group of friends.

In these times of economic and social turmoil, Banco D-MIRO´s Producto Creer may be a much needed reminder that it may pay off for banks to do the morally right thing. Please consider making a loan to one of D-MIRO´s clients on Kiva.

Emmanuel M. von Arx is a Kiva Fellow working with Banco D-MIRO in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Banco D-MIRO focuses on clients who have long been excluded from the traditional financial system for reasons that include culture, sex, race, poverty, disability, and illness. To learn more, please visit Banco D-MIRO´s partner page on Kiva or become a member of the lending team of Banco D-MIRO, the only provider of special financial services for disabled and HIV-positive clients in Ecuador.

Part of my Fellowship here in Bolivia is to complete two Borrower Verifications (BVs) for two Kiva partner microfinance intuitions: Emprender and IMPRO. During the BV, I ask four questions to verify that the borrower is the real borrower, and I ask one question to understand the Kiva borrower better. This one question: What is your dream for you life or your business, is the most moving part of my Fellowship. I am so inspired by Kiva borrowers. Some of their dreams are simple, some are grand, and others take hold of my heart with profound sincerity. I would like to introduce you to my friends and their dreams.

Gregoria

Dreams to…Own sewing machines to make and sell clothing

Gregoria is a mother of seven, four of which live at home, and she sells shoes in the local markets around Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I visited her in a half-constructed small home in the outskirts of town; her sons built the home using their mom’s profits. Her three sons adore their mother and are all a part of the business decisions and the loan process. With a huge smile Gregoria said her dream was to purchase sewing machines and make clothing. This will allow her to employ her sons with a steady job. Clearly the bond of the family would be a driving force in her business.

Irene

Dreams to…Purchase a car to help her traveling business

Irene sells cleaning towels, cleaning products, and small household items out of a small cardboard box. Her business is, well, a traveling business. She walks twelve hours per day along the streets between towns selling these small items. I met Irene in the mid-morning after she had been walking for a few hours; she was already tired. “I am getting old,” she said, and she isn’t able to walk as far or as long as she used to do. With great strength she does not complain about walking, but her dream is to purchase a car so she does not need to walk everywhere and wear herself out to make a living.

Teodocio

Dreams to…Buy a fabric cutting machine to increase efficiency

Teodocio lives with his wife and two daughters in El Alto, Bolivia. He works at home three days a week making large brimmed hats for field workers and he sells the hats in the marketplace the rest of the week. He previously had one sewing machine to complete his work, but then purchased a second sewing machine with his loan. Since taking out his loan Teodocio has been able to employ both his daughters to sew the hats. Teodocio’s dream is to buy a fabric cutter to create custom designs and produce the fabric cuts at the pace and moment he needs them.

Julia

Dreams to… 1) Purchase a larger bus, and 2) Travel to Europe

Julia is the owner of a bus for public transportation in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I expected her to be a bus driver, but she hires a driver and simply is responsible for all the maintenance. She is a woman of great business savvy, and is also is an active distributor of Herbalife products. As a responsible borrower and businesswoman, she is always seeking to grow her business and uses microloans as a means to expand and actualize her goals. After using a loan to purchase the bus, her new dream is to purchase a bus big enough to fit 40 or 50 people. I asked if she had other goals; her eyes became distant and she laughed as if it was utterly ridiculous, but Julia’s other dream is to make enough money to travel to Europe. She would “love to see Europe.”

Valentine

Dreams to…Plant more fields and increase his herd of cows

Valentine is a farmer and raises cattle in the quiet warm agriculture area outside of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He has 30 cows and a few fields where he plants corn, yucca, and peanuts. Valentine lives in a house on the hillside with his wife and young son who loves to sing (he is about 6 years old and sang a few songs while strumming his guitar). I asked Vincent why he took out loans, “if I didn’t have a loan I couldn’t buy more seeds. If I do buy more seeds then I can plant and harvest more fields.” It’s that simple. Valentine’s dream is to buy more cows for his farm and more seeds to plant – both of which allow him to supply the local cooperative market.

Elvira

Dreams to…Construct her own house

(Elvira is the second from the left, in the back)

Elvira is member of the nine-woman-strong “New Hope” group working in a street market of Cochabamba, Bolivia. She sells noodles, rice, and beans in her market stall and is the dedicated leader of the solidarity group. With the few profits Elvira makes each month, her dream is to construct and complete a home. “That is all I want…to construct a home,” she said.

Martina

Dreams to…Pay for her two children to graduate from university

Martina lives in the rural town of Achacachi, Bolivia near the shores of Lake Titicaca. She owns four dairy cows and sells the milk to a local cooperative in her area. She has two sons in their early twenties who are attending university in La Paz. Her dream is to pay for her two sons to graduate from university. She has been using all her profits from milk sales to pay for their education. She purchased her fourth dairy cow with her loan, but it has since become pregnant and currently produces little milk. Despite slow milk production and sales, Martina is determined to pay for their schooling. Even while things are uncertain until the cow’s birth in January, she is frugal and knows she will see them both complete their education.

Gabriel

Dreams to…Own a reliable dump truck

Gabriel drives a dump truck for hire in La Paz, Bolivia. He used his Kiva loan to buy a new motor for his truck; his other motor up and died a few months ago. As an older man it is difficult to get steady work, so he relies solely on his skill of driving large trucks. He is the only worker in his family, and his financial situation is delicate, so if his motor goes out he has no income. Gabriel’s dream is to purchase a new, reliable dump truck to ensure his employment and steady income. He then would not need to worry if his “business” could break down at any moment.

Lilian

Dreams to…Travel to Europe and attend hairdressing workshops

Lilian owns a two-chair hair salon in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She is extremely kind, welcoming, and a great hairdresser. During my whole interview she had a huge smile and described how her loan allowed her to buy more hair products to sell to her customers. When asked about her dream, Lilian exhaled, rolled her lips inward, and closed her eyes, “I want to take hairdressing classes and workshops in Europe or the United States. I have heard of these classes and want to learn new styles and see Europe.” She knows it would be expensive, but she still has hope that one day her dream will come true.

Hugo

Dreams to…Purchase another skill saw and hire an employee

Hugo is a puzzle maker in El Alto, Bolivia. With his Kiva loan he purchased a skill saw to cut the intricate shapes of children’s puzzles. Previously he was cutting all the shapes by hand using a small tricky saw. Hugo’s dream is to purchase another skill saw and hire an employee (who would become his apprentice). He says there are plenty of people who want to work in his area and there is also high demand for his puzzles. Hugo loves puzzle making, and expanding his business is his ultimate goal.

Cesar

Dreams to…Re-open a restaurant with internet and a book store

Cesar owns two restaurants in La Paz, Bolivia, one is directly across from a local high school and the other is in a small neighborhood. With his wife, they have taken out a loan to expand and remodel the restaurants. “There are internet cafés, restaurants, and book stores,” he said, “but no one in his areas has combined all of them.” A true entrepreneur, Cesar’s dream is to remodel his restaurant, connect wi-fi, and offer bookstore items for the nearby high school students.

Eric

Dreams to…Start his own printing and copy shop

Eric studied at a local university in La Paz, Bolivia. He has been working at his father’s printing and copy shop making money to pay for his classes. However, he has had to take some time off from school to save up enough to continue his classes later. In the mean time he has decided to pursue owning his own print and copy shop. Learning from his father how to run a print and copy business, Eric’s dream is to use a loan and purchase his own copy machine and printers…thus moving out on his own and starting his own business.

Juana

Dreams to…Maintain steady sales and be equipped to do business

Juana owns a small storefront on a main street in La Paz, Bolivia. She has run the small store for years and taken out loans since 1995 to keep her business competitive and innovative. Always trying to differentiate herself, Juana has purchased phones for customers to use for local and international calling; no one in Juana’s neighborhood has these phones. When asked about her dream, Juana simply smiled and said, “I would like to equip my store and make it of the highest quality. I would like to continue on as I currently am…and, well, in the future make a little more in profits than I am now.”

Miguel

Dreams to…Start his own dairy

Miguel has taken out two loans so far. He lives in a rural farming community hours away from La Paz, Bolivia. His uncle owns a farm with dairy cows, and Miguel wanted to try his hand at owning a dairy. With his first loan he purchased a cow, and he did the same with his second loan. His dream is to be a dairy farmer and little by little he is reaching his dream.

Ben

Dreams to…Send his two young daughters to school through university level

Ben is a painter who specializes in the restoration of 17^th-19^th century colonial art works living in La Paz, Bolivia. With his loan he was able to purchase more works of art in antique shops and more supplies to continue his restoration business. Ben sells his renovated pieces to private collectors as well as in the markets of La Paz. He lives with his wife and two daughters in a beautiful little home with paintings (most are his own) from floor to ceiling. His dream is to make enough money to send his two young daughters to school through university level.

***

I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to share with you the dreams of some Kiva borrowers I met here in Bolivia. Dreams are a wonderful thing to share and are a part of people’s lives regardless of economic standing. It may be expected that people living in developing countries might only have dreams for cleaner water or better healthcare, however most have very concrete dreams for one more cow or traveling to Europe or owning a car. There is kind of a glass ceiling above people in developing countries in the perception that poorer people might only want potable water or medicine. This idea really limits their dreams and desires to a perception of what I (we) feel they are asking for. Their dreams are greater and go further than I can imagine. The dreamers are creating their futures..! How awesome that Kiva is able to play a small part in assisting these borrowers on the path to their dreams!? So Kiva Lenders, thank you for believing in and promoting the dreams of the borrowers. Seriously, though, thank you.

***

Eric Rindal is a part of the Kiva Fellows 16th class in La Paz, Bolivia. He is currently working with Emprender and IMPRO. He was previously in KF15 based in Sierra Leone. If you would like to contact Eric, just visit his lender page. 

I love double rainbows, too.

I love hot water.

I also love designated bus stops, and having lunch with co-workers..not at my desk.

I love the noise that the leaves of plantain trees make when the wind hits them.

I love having a garbage removal service..instead of having to burn the garbage to get rid of it.

I love the smile on a borrower´s face when they´re told their loan will be disbursed in a couple of days, or when I show them what their profile on Kiva.org looked like.

I love how the face of a borrower lights up when I ask about their business.

I love being trapped in a vehicle with a loan officer for hours, and learning why they took on the job in the first place – and why are they still at it.

I love talking to the head of a microfinance institution and poke at what the future looks like for their organization, what are their challenges, and trying to understand why things are the way they are.

It took me four months, probably 100 hrs on a bus, many dead bugs, and two countries to realize how much I love these and many other things.

In the process I´ve had to let go of many other things I also love. Little things like a dryer for my clothes, and big things like people and relationships.  I am shocked by how quickly these last few months have gone by.  More than anything, I am in owe of the people I´ve met and what I´ve leared from them. I am humbled and thankful for the experience I´ve had as a Kiva Fellow, and without a doubt this is the best thing I could have ever done. I know my work in El Salvador and Costa Rica is far from over, and that the relationships I´ve made in the region will last beyond my fellowship. I also thank you, the people who have supported the MFIs I´ve worked with (Fundacion Campo and Fundacion Mujer) by making loans to their clients on Kiva.

I love El Salvador!

..And the open skies in Costa Rica!

If there is anything that will always remain with me after this experience is the fact that we can all do something to help make the world a better place for those who have been less fortunate (and future generations).  I don´t mean it in a paternalistic way, but really thinking about how we can do a little something to bridge the gap between what government and capitalism have accomplished so far, and what still needs to be done. I believe in paying it forward with more than good intentions. You don´t need to leave your home and your loved ones to volunteer abroad to do so (although if you can, and you find the right fit for you, do it!). You can, from the comfort of your home, make a $25 loan to a microentrepreneur anywhere in the world through Kiva, or give a Kiva giftcard to someone you love for the holidays.  The impact of microloans and microfinance overall continues to be a controversial topic.  And although I´ve confirmed that microfinance is not the panacea for inequality and poverty, I´ve also confirmed it can be a very efficient tool when paired with other mechanisms. Particularly, when paired with people with the undying desire to innovate for a better future. A future when the little things are available and enjoyable for most of the world.

Andrea was part of the awesome 16th class of Kiva Fellows working in El Salvador and Costa Rica. She is sad to leave Central America, and thankful to those who helped make her fellowship possible. Please support Kiva´s mission by making a loan on Kiva.org – it´s super easy!

“We built a little house” she replied happily, when I asked how she had used the loan. I looked down at my sheet. Oops. This loan, according to its Kiva description, was for corn seeds and fertilizers.

"A little house". Typical rural house made of wood, with a part-thatched, part-aluminum roof. Chillanes Canton.

Of course, we have no right to insist on any particular loan use. That’s not the point. But of the first three borrowers with whom I had spoken as part of Kiva’s Borrower Verification process, not a single one had used the loan for the purpose listed on Kiva. And two of three had built houses with their loans. What gives?

As I continued with other projects such as redesigning the way that the Cooperativa San Jose in Ecuador gathers information for Kiva profiles and follow-up journals, I found a clear common thread. Often (though not always) families’ ultimate goal is to build or upgrade their house, whether directly by putting some of the loan money into home improvement, or indirectly by using the loan to grow their business, and then funneling the increased profits into their housing plans. Their other most common long-term goal is the education of their children, to which a similar dynamic of direct and indirect funding applies.

Upon discovering this, my first thought was a critique; well, obviously CSJ isn’t adequately meeting all of its borrowers’ needs. They should offer housing and student loans, I concluded, and we should fund them through Kiva. I was going to find out why they didn’t.

The truth, as always, turned out to be much more complicated. For poor folks in Ecuador, building or adding to a house usually means upgrading from a somewhat rickety wooden structure (see image above) to a stronger cement-walled building (see images below), as well as purchasing furniture and the interior decorations that make it nice to live in. It is expensive, so people tend to do it in stages instead of all at once. (For an excellent discussion of an innovative solution to the same problem in Mexico, check out Part II, Section I, starting on pg. 147 of this book)

And CSJ does offer housing loans for this purpose, but the law requires that the potential house be posted as collateral. Easy, right? Anything but.

In order to post the house as collateral, one needs an architect’s official evaluation of the property that the borrower owns. Aside from the absurdity of expecting low-income borrowers to hire an architect, the concept of property value presents tricky challenges of its own.

Many of Kiva’s borrowers here belong to Ecuador’s large indigenous community, composed primarily of the Quechua (and Spanish) speaking modern day descendents of the Incas. By Ecuadorian law, they are allowed to own land collectively rather than individually, and most do. This means that they are unable to get the individual property deeds that underpin the official evaluations of land needed to get housing loans.

Those who are not indigenous are often living on land that is either rented or to which they have no specific deed or claim. This too makes evaluation impossible.

Student loans have curveballs of their own. They are exclusively for higher education, but most of Ecuador’s low-income borrowers’ kids could use the financial help just to get through high school.

So it makes sense that micro-loans end up in practice being used for both of these purposes because, though small, they conveniently skirt these obstacles. But what should our reaction be as lenders?

The answer is; a big thumbs up (Or perhaps one that inverts itself for just a second to hit Kiva’s “Lend” button, before returning to its upright and locked position).

Housing upgrades can make life a lot less precarious for borrowers. Cement is of course a lot less likely to burn, flood, or rot than wood. This can be an enormous benefit in the face of unpredictable events that seem to happen much more frequently in the precarious environments to which poorer members of Ecuadorian society are often relegated.

A cement house under construction in Ventanas Canton. A Kiva borrower with a contracting and soldering business works on this site.

And spending on schooling can have obvious benefits on the earning power of the children on which it is spent. But in a society where children are often expected to take much closer care of their parents in old age, the benefits of an educated daughter or son can often accrue directly (although, of course, with a lag) to the patient parent and borrower who funded the education in the first place. If the goal is give borrowers the tools to improve their quality of life, in addition to expanding their businesses, these expenditures have the potential to be overwhelmingly successful.

There are many roads that lead to the improved welfare of borrowers. So take the loan labels with a grain of salt, but trust borrowers to use your loaned funds to improve their lives in whatever way they choose.

Marcus Berkowitz is a first-time fellow with Cooperativa San José (CSJ) in the western Andes of Ecuador’s Bolívar province. Show support for CSJ´s hardworking rural borrowers by making a loan. Or get even more involved by joining CSJ’s lending team!

In the first part of this blog series, I shared pictures of Malian borrowers. But even on my way to those borrowers, I was not able to put down my camera. Here are my favorite shots from the road.

If you are as mesmerized by Mali as I was, also check out Mali in Color (Part 1): Impressions of Kiva Borrowers.

Family on a donkey cart

Three women

Moving truck

Group of children

Bicycle transport

Women and children

Mother and daughter

Fire wood

Children

Young girls

Morning commute

Overloaded bus

Three women with babies

Man on bicycle

Woman with fruit

~~~

Kathrin Gerner took a little detour from her fellowship with Amasezerano Community Banking (ACB) and Vision Finance Company (VFC) in Kigali, Rwanda, to conduct a borrower verification for Soro Yiriwaso in Mali. Support borrowers in Mali by lending to one of Soro Yiriwaso’s clients.

Previous posts by Kathrin Gerner:
Paving the Way to the Future (Part 1): Bad Roads, Transportation Costs and Microfinance in Togo
Paving the Way to the Future (Part 2): Road Construction and Its Effects on Microfinance in Togo
Isabukuru Nziza, ACB! A Kiva Field Partner in Rwanda Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
Say a Little Prayer for the Portfolio: 5 Questions about Christian Microfinance in Rwanda

When I boarded a plane to Mali last week, I was not exactly enthusiastic. One reason may have been the unpleasant 2 AM take-off from Kigali, another the recent Al-Qaida kidnappings in the North, which meant that all relevant tourist spots were off limits. And six months into my career as a Kiva fellow, a routine task such as a borrower visit was not enough to get me excited.

I was in for a surprise.

The borrowers of Kiva’s Malian field partner Soro Yiriwaso and their incredible hospitality, made my trip unforgettable. I came to check borrowers’ identities and look at loan papers. I left with a mountain of presents, a full stomach and a serious caffeine high after the countless cups of sweat tea offered to me everywhere I went.

But I was most excited about finally being in a country where people love to be photographed. Below are my favorite shots from my meetings with Malian borrowers.

If you are as mesmerized by Mali as I was, also check out Mali in Color (Part 2): Impressions from the Road.

Dikel and one of the fish she purchased with her loan

Benkan Group with the smoked and fresh fish they bought to sell

Benkadi Group in front of one of the women's homes

Yaya in his pharmacy where he offers traditional Chinese medicine and treatments

Mariam, the president of Benkadi Association, a group of rice and peanut farmers

Some other members of Benkadi Association, a group of rice and peanut farmers

Assitan bought a sack of rice to use in her restaurant

Yeh, a member of Benkola Association, another group of rice and peanut farmers

Guests are welcomed with song and dance

The members of Benkola Association, a group of rice and peanut farmers, posing in the village square

Rokia and the other members of Tiessiri Group, who bought jewelry to sell

~~~

Kathrin Gerner took a little detour from her fellowship with Amasezerano Community Banking (ACB) and Vision Finance Company (VFC) in Kigali, Rwanda, to conduct a borrower verification for Soro Yiriwaso in Mali. Support borrowers in Mali by lending to one of Soro Yiriwaso’s clients.

Previous posts by Kathrin Gerner:
Paving the Way to the Future (Part 1): Bad Roads, Transportation Costs and Microfinance in Togo
Paving the Way to the Future (Part 2): Road Construction and Its Effects on Microfinance in Togo
Isabukuru Nziza, ACB! A Kiva Field Partner in Rwanda Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
Say a Little Prayer for the Portfolio: 5 Questions about Christian Microfinance in Rwanda

The Women of the Year!

Today I was a judge for the first time.  I had the honor of being invited to represent Kiva as part of the jury for Fundación Mujer’s 8^th annual Woman Entrepreneur Awards for 2011. Today was a day full of stories of strength and success, told by some of the bravest women I have ever met.  I knew these women had to be pretty amazing, but my imagination wasn’t wild enough to have predicted the struggles that these women have and continue to face.  If you’re looking for inspiration to start a new project, face a difficult situation, or just to get off the couch – keep reading.

Patricia after the awards ceremony.

Patricia is in her late 50s, and she owns a catering business. She owns two cars, and caters events for large banks, government, and private companies here in Costa Rica. Not too shabby, right? Well, it’s been an uphill battle to get to where she is today. About 15 years ago Patricia lost it all, including her house. She used to be a housewife, her husband was rather successful and the family was well off. Patricia painted Chinese pottery as a hobby. Her kids all attended private school.  Unfortunately Patricia’s marriage ended, and at the same time her husband’s businesses started go down.  This is how she became head of her household, and also facing the mortgage payments that her husband left her with when he refinanced the house before leaving.  Not long after the bank knocked on her door with the police, and gave her two days to find a place to live. She first started selling her painted pottery, but competition was stiff, so Patricia decided she needed to do something else based on the demands of the market. It was Christmas time, so Patricia made Christmas cakes (popular during the season in Costa Rica). After Christmas came and went, she found herself struggling again. Then, Valentine’s day came, so she made chocolates for sale. She sold them in gift boxes, and sold 150 of them.  At the time she would also cook lunch for her daughter to take to work with her. Her daughter’s boss saw what she was having for lunch, and since it looked so delicious asked her to have Patricia send her two meals for her and her husband. Another co-worker of Patricia’s daughter bought meals to take home and not have to cook dinner. The husband of that co-worker worked at another private company, and they hired Patricia to cater an event. Little by little, by word of mouth Patricia established a reputation. She also was not afraid to knock on any door, offering her food products at office buildings near her home and calling everyone she knew to sell her creations.  She sometimes even sold products she didn’t know how to cook! She would go online, look up a recipe, give it a try, and improve it up to her standards.  Almost 15 years later she caters events for some of the largest organizations in San Jose,Costa Rica. Today at Fundación Mujer’s offices, she was granted the “Superacion y Esfuerzo Award.”

The judges at work!

Fundación Mujer not only works with the individual lending methodology, but also with solidarity groups.  In a solidarity group, women are each-other’s co-signers.  This methodology also enables them to have a support system to voice their concerns about their business, and also requires them to save together in case one of them has an emergency. A representative from one of these groups spoke up during the ceremony, explaining that thanks to the training programs given by Fundación Mujer she was able to realize that she needed to stop blaming everyone else when things didn’t work out for her. She realized that she was often times the obstacle for herself and for others.  She said working with Fundacion Mujer has helped her to continue to work and improve her self-esteem.

There were so many other inspiring stories, and it was so hard to choose the winners. However, today I had the opportunity to measure the impact that microfinance had on these clients.  All the women I met today expressed that having access to credit, and being able to repay their loans, has given them the confidence to take on any challenges, and to face the world beyond their communities. Some of them expressed that they would not leave their homes or travel to the capital before they started working with Fundación Mujer Today they see themselves as micro-entrepreneurs who are equal to their husbands, and who have an opportunity to grow beyond the opportunities they were born into.

Andrea is thankful to Fundacion Mujer for inviting her to be part of this important event. Please join her and support Fundacion Mujer by making a loan to one of their clients on Kiva!

Sierra Leone boasts lush, tumultuous landscapes, postcard-worthy beaches, delectable home cooking, inspiring stories, and some of the friendliest people you’ll meet. I was fortunate to have been placed in Freetown, Sierra Leone for my Kiva Fellowship at BRAC Sierra Leone. Follow my journey through this beautiful country and its capital city, Freetown. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Fish is one of Sierra Leone's abundant resources, with main catches including snapper, lobster, barracuda, and mackerel.

Sierra Leone’s beaches are a piece of paradise outside of the city

Arriving from the office just in time to catch the sun set on the West African coast: priceless.

Fresh fruit on the side of the road sold by a friendly Sierra Leonean man named Joe. So swit.

The Kiva coordinator, Mbalu, and I at the BRAC Sierra Leone country office in Freetown.

A hometown hero and Kiva borrower, Ethleem opened a stationary and school supply shop after recognizing how deprived local schools were in basic supplies. She is one of the main suppliers of textbooks and stationary to schools in downtown Freetown!

Spicy! Mbalu gave me a lesson in Sierra Leonean cooking.

Mbalu taught me how to prepare a traditional Sierra Leonean meal: fried stew with fish. Delicious!

On a boat departing from Banana Island to Freetown.

With the BRAC Tengebeh Town SEP staff: the folks who help make it happen in the field!

A BRAC credit officer, Reginald, took me to watch a local football match at the Freetown National Stadium scrimmage field: Team Krootown Obama vs. Red Devils.

Tejal Desai has served as a Kiva Fellow in Freetown, Sierra Leone with BRAC Sierra Leone from August to December 2011. Want to support microfinance in Sierra Leone? Joining BRAC Sierra Leone’s lending team joining BRAC Sierra Leone’s lending team and lend to a BRAC borrower today!

Read more Kiva Fellows blog posts by Tejal here.

Video posts on a “typical day” in the life of a Kiva Fellow are a time-honored tradition on the Fellows Blog. Past examples include the fantastic video blog of Josh Bull (KF6) on a day he spent meeting borrowers in Tarma (Peru); Nick Hamilton (KF14) has created a video blog on his life as a Kiva Fellow in Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and Josh Wilcox (KF9) has published A day in the life of a Kiva Fellow as part of his video dairy that he kept in Ica (Peru).

Many of these past videos highlight the excitement of meeting and talking to borrowers in the field – and for all those Kiva Fellows who are so lucky to have a borrower verification on their work-plan, these personal encounters are an indisputable highlight of their fellowship. Yet, the work of us Kiva Fellows consists of so many other tasks. Some of the more challenging assignments of my own work plan include:

• Evaluating the journals of “my” micro-finance institution and Kiva´s field partner Banco D-MIRO, to identify trouble areas and ultimately raise the journaling rate.
• Analyzing and estimating all the operational costs and the itemized direct cost that arise for Banco D-MIRO as a consequence of working with Kiva, including the time it takes for loan officers to collect information for borrower profiles and journals.
• Thanking five super-lenders with a personal video message and postcards.
• Select and interview ten borrowers to get a sense of Banco D-MIRO´s compliance with the Client Protection Principles.

While not officially part of my work-plan, one of the most time-intense tasks was to help Banco D-MIRO´s Kiva Coordinator Rubi Chaca train new loan officers. Training mostly consists of making loan officers understand: a) how Kiva works, b) why it is important that they help their institution reach the Kiva fund-raising limit, and c) why hundreds of thousand of enthusiastic people are willing to lend $25 and more to complete strangers at the other end of the world.

In total, Rubi and I have visited and trained fourteen agencies in and around Guayaquil where Banco D-MIRO is located. By the time I had given the same presentation three or four times, I began to literally feel like a rock star on tour who is performing the same song over and over, trying to pretend that it is sensationally new and absolutely spontaneous… My colleague Sandra Pina (KF16) has just published a gorgeous blog post in which she came up with the perfect name for these loan-officer-training “performances”: the Kiva Love Tour!

When I headed to Libertad – a coastal town two bus-hours away from Guayaquil – to give yet another loan officer training on October 24, 2011, it was my eighth stop on the Kiva Love Tour. I expected it to be a quiet day with Rubi and her 16-year-old Kiva Intern Joel Kenny Matias who would be filming our work – but it all turned out very differently…

So without any more words, here is my contribution to the video series of documenting a typical day in the life of a Kiva fellow. Like all previous contributors to the series, I am keenly aware that there is no “typical day” for Kiva Fellows. But taken together, the growing number of “typical day”-videos may at least convey something of the diversity, unpredictability, spontaneity, and joy that a day of a Kiva Fellowship entails. Enjoy!

Emmanuel M. von Arx is a Kiva Fellow working with Banco D-MIRO in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Banco D-MIRO focuses on clients who have long been excluded from the traditional financial system for reasons that include culture, sex, race, poverty, disability, and illness. To learn more, please visit Banco D-MIRO´s partner page on Kiva or become a member of the lending team of Banco D-MIRO, the only provider of special financial services for disabled and HIV-positive clients in Ecuador.

The president of one of Kiva Field Partner Micro Start's solidarity groups. By Allison Moomey, KF16, Burkina Faso

This week’s updates come at a time of change for Fellows around the world. As the holidays near, Fellows prepare to phase out of their current placements, move on to the next ones, and tie up loose ends with their Kiva Field Partners. But this doesn’t interfere with Fellows’ primary mission: to ensure that Kiva’s work and the work of our Field Partners is, too, sparking change as the new year approaches.

Malaria Dreams: The True Kiva Fellowship Experience
By Tejal Desai, KF16, Sierra Leone

Looking back on her Fellowship, Tejals offers a unique glimpse into Kiva Fellow’s experience. She brings us along for the journey of finding out her placement (and then finding out it was changed), arriving in Sierra Leone, and hitting the inevitable speed bumps, pot holes, and the trough of disillusionment.

The Ladder of Autonomy
By Allison Moomey, KF16, Burkina Faso
Allison discusses Micro Start’s solidary groups and their vision for each group member: ultimately, to achieve a level of autonomy from microcredit itself.

Kiva Love Tour: Honduras 2011
By Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras
For the Kiva groupies out there, Sandra takes us backstage her “Kiva Love Tour,” her recent whirlwind tour of 26 ODEF Financiera branch offices. Sure, maybe she wasn’t actually doing any musical performances, but she was definitely spreading Kiva love.

*      *       *

Adapting for Borrowers by Borrowers, Microinsurance + SKFL
Why Do We Lend, What’s a Kiva Fellowship + How does Microfinance Support Green & Agricultural Development?
Expanding the Reach of Microfinance, Downsizing Development + Why We Kiva
Kiva-style Microfinance, Reggaeton + a Journey though the Commercial Jungle
Loan Use, Agriculture Loans + Stuff Kiva Fellows Like

*      *       *

Plus more on-the-ground photos from the past week:

Swit Salone, it's been real. By Tejal Desai, KF16, Sierra Leone

By Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras

A loan officer with one of Micro Start's solidarity groups, one rung up on the ladder of autonomy. By Allison Moomey, KF16, Burkina Faso

Beautiful Freetown sunset

As my Kiva fellowship winds down, I reflect on the memorable journey I’ve been privileged to experience through the Kiva Fellows Program as a member of its 16^th class. Through personal revelations and humbling lessons in adaptation, microfinance work, cultural differences (and a unique incidence of malaria), I’ve grown attached to beautiful Sierra Leone. Throughout the fellowship, I’ve found my journey paralleling that of a character in a humorous novel, Malaria Dreams by Stuart Stevens, in which a man travels through the Central African Republic in one mission in mind: to find a friend’s Land Rover and drive it back to Europe — only to find that his 3-month journey has a lot more in store for him than he anticipated, and nothing goes exactly as planned. My fellowship similarly followed suit with its own surprises, bumps in the road, and memorable moments.

This journey started with a phone call. Much like the experience of my KF 16 friend, DJ Forza, this call arrived out of the blue, and was received with some degree of hesitation. As I was daydreaming about my placement relocation (first placement was planned for the Philippines) to the South Pacific gem, Samoa, two weeks before Kiva Fellows training, Kiva Fellows Program staff informed me that there was an urgent matter we needed to discuss.

A ball of tension immediately struck me in the gut. As the conversation progressed, I learned that, due to unforeseen circumstances, I wouldn’t be going to Samoa… and I wouldn’t be going to the Philippines. I would be going somewhere for this fellowship, but the location was yet to be determined, and I would find out in a few days.

Three days later, KFP informed me that Sierra Leone was the most available placement, and that I would have to make the decision and shift gears as soon as possible. I think my response at that moment was, “Wow. Ok. Can I think about it?”

My family started to wonder what I had gotten myself into, what I signed up for. There was a lot of head shaking and concerned looks shared amongst my family and friends, and a lot of pity faces that conveyed, “Oh jeez, Tejal, you’re nuts. What ARE you doing?” I recalled images and scenes from the movie “Blood Diamond,” reports in the news about corruption, documentaries about civil war, and tried to push them far out of my mind. Kiva Fellow alum assured me to relax and do more research, and shared their overwhelmingly-positive experiences in “Swit Salone.” Shortly after, at KF16 training, I met over 20 amazing individuals who signed up for the same experience of spending almost 4 months in unfamiliar surroundings, and realized that if I’m crazy, I have many crazy friends right by my side to help me through this exhilarating journey. And so it began…

A warm welcome

With the BRAC SEP staff in Kenema.

Salone undoubtedly welcomed me with open arms, with its people being some of the warmest and most accommodating I’ve ever met, and its weather being comparable to a rainforest sauna. On my first day at BRAC, I was pleasantly shocked at how quickly the  staff took me under their wing, instructing me how to take public transit around the city, taking me to beaches and local football matches, and planning weekend outings.

Additionally, the Kiva Coordinator, Mbalu, and I found ourselves inseparable: we stuck side by side on field visits, trainings, even for fun weekend cooking sessions. And when I wasn’t at the office, I found new friends in local business owners, school kids in the neighborhood, and families that religiously welcomed guests with a friendly, “How de body?” (Krio for “How is your health?”).

The rainy and humid weather forecast made for exciting adventures navigating through Freetown on the back of motorbikes and cramming into poda-podas to jet across town to complete Kiva deliverables with Mbalu. There really is nothing quite like taking a motorbike ride through a torrential storm in Freetown!

Speed bumps, pot holes, and the trough of disillusionment

Like every journey, mine hit quite a few bumps and pot holes along the way. In Kiva Fellows training, we were told to expect a trough as we progressed through our Fellowship workplan. My “fall” into the trough occurred slightly early, around week two, while I was starting a large project that would help take BRAC Sierra Leone from Pilot to Active status in their partnership with Kiva. A few of the catalysts that induced my “falling” into the trough were a combination of understanding cultural differences, adjusting to a new work environment, and finding a groove to personal productivity.

At first, I tried absorb and observe as much as possible in the new work environment: work culture, policies, traditions, best practices, hierarchy, field work, microfinance products and programs – without passing judgment on what could be “better” or more efficient. But little did I know that my KF-powered brain was already in go-mode, looking for ways to improve things and not actually taking the time to understand how systems worked, and more importantly, why they were the way they were. This resulted in major frustration, miscommunication, misunderstandings, and many hand-on-forehead moments.

Those six weeks in the trough, although very difficult, proved to be some of the most eye-opening of the entire fellowship, and brought to light a very humbling and important lesson: modifying my definition of success and using different benchmarks to measure productivity will in turn change the way I viewed efficiency. As soon as I realized this (thanks to the help of family and friends who gave the golden advice!), everything seemed more manageable, clear, and sensible.

A third struggle I encountered, and unfortunately have never quite overcome, was understanding the weight of poverty and economic conditions in Sierra Leone, and realizing as a Kiva Fellow, as a foreigner, and as an individual, there were few things I could change on my own and had control over, but many more that I could not change. This has by far been the hardest reality to digest. And although microfinance work does help hundreds of thousands of people in Sierra Leone, the reality is that microfinance alone won’t solve all problems, it won’t heal an entire nation.

Swit Salone, it's been real.

Reflection

Despite these challenges, the growth, knowledge and friendships I’ve gained in Sierra Leone have made this fellowship a memorable and life-altering experience I won’t forget. The wonderful people I’ve met, the warmth of the people, the food, the natural beauty, and of course the work I’ve done at BRAC Sierra Leone will always remain fondly with me.

I think back to that memorable day in August when Kiva called me to introduce me to this opportunity, and have never been more thankful to have given the chance to find a home in Sierra Leone during my fellowship. I’m very sad to leave, but know that soon enough, I will find myself back in the embrace of Swit Salone.

Tejal Desai is a Kiva Fellow finishing her fellowship in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She has been working at BRAC Sierra Leone, and has been grateful for the hospitality and support the BRAC Staff has shown her during her time in Freetown. She encourages you to support sustainability in Sierra Leone by joining BRAC Sierra Leone’s lending team and loaning to a BRAC borrower.

Read Tejal’s additional Kiva Fellows blog posts here.

A Warm Welcome! Manana offers the best from her garden. By DJ Forza, Georgia

This week’s Fellows Blog focuses on adaptability: Adapting microinsurance to poor households in Indonesia, an MFI in Turkey adapts to the needs of women entrepreneurs, a multifaceted borrower in Nepal adapts to market pressures, and a Kiva Fellow adapts to changing expectations. In a continuation of The Stuff Kiva Fellows Like series we hear how different fellows have adapted to their lives abroad by ‘crashing parties’ and ‘going to the Bazaar’. We hear about how practitioners are adapting finance and microinsurance products to their borrowers. Equally nimble we hear from a few borrowers and how they have expertly adapted to market pressures and changing circumstance. Microfinance is a dynamic industry by nature and like DJ or Binu or Maya Enterprise for Micro Finance, ensuring success means staying flexible and welcoming new opportunities born out of challenges.

Microinsurance in Indonesia: Current Challenges and Innovations.
Country: Indonesia / Fellow: Laurie Young, KF16

Laurie takes us to a microinsurance conference and explains the challenges of getting appropriate insurance products to poor households in Indonesia.

If It Is Tuesday It Must Be Izmit+ more of my favorite borrowers+ “buyurun agabeyi”…
Country: Turkey/ Fellow: Kim Strathearn, KF16

Kim explains the history of Maya Enterprise for Micro Finance and gives a profile on the women micro-entrepreneurs served by the organization in Turkey.

Multi-faceted Borrowers Part 2
Country: Nepal / Fellow: Abhinab Basnyat, KF16

Abhinab continues his series on multifaceted borrowers by introducing Binu, a Kiva borrower, and explaining her many business ideas.

Second Chances (Part 1)
Country: Georgia/ Fellow: DJ Forza, KF16

In this heartfelt and honest post DJ explains how she adapted her expectations and settled into her Kiva Fellowship in Georgia.

Stuff Kiva Fellows Like #10-17
Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Jim Burke, KF16

The ‘Stuff Kiva Fellows Like’ series continues. Fellows discuss the stuff they like and how they have adapted to living abroad and working in microfinance.

* * *

Questions from the Field: Why Do We Lend, What’s a Kiva Fellowship + How does Microfinance Support Green& Agricultural Development?
Update from the Field: New Products in Microfinance, Over-Indebtedness+ Transparency
Update from the Field: Earthquakes, 5Ks+ The Pain of Sickness and Loss
Update from the Field: Expanding the Reach of Microfinance, Downsizing Development+ Why We Kiva

* * *

Plus more on-the-ground photos from the past week:

Vice Minister of Finance giving the Keynote Speech on the second day of the event. By Laurie Young, Indonesia

Binu infront of her canteen. By Abhinab Basnyat, Nepal

Spectacular Sighnaghi! By DJ Forza, Georgia

Jill in a Poofy Pink 'Filipiniana'. By Jill Hall, Philippines

We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From party crashing to bazaars to street food, these are the things we like and thrive on. Check out Stuff Kiva Fellows Like (SKFL) #1-9!

#10 Street Food

Mariela Cedeño, KF16, Cochabamba, Bolivia

I’m not really sure why, but there is something inherently appealing to a Kiva Fellow’s being about food that is prepared, cooked, and sold on the streets. Perhaps it’s the dubiously hygienic food preparation, the alternative cooking apparatus used to bring food to fire, or it’s ready availability and our relative laziness…wait, no, it’s actually our need to literally ‘taste’ the local culture. In our fits of street food deliriousness we are open and ready to taste all that our surroundings have to offer, however, we often find that the local fare may not quietly find a home in our stomachs. Thankfully, before leaving to our local assignments, our travel nurses reminded us that in times of intestinal woe, Cipro and other like antibiotics will be our best friend. They sometimes are, but because we are well versed in the dangers of overusing antibiotics and are haunted by nightmares of creating giant super bacteria that start kidnapping local women and children, we use them sparingly and wisely.

Nevertheless, a Kiva Fellow is not threatened by the possibility of exposure to parasites, e. coli, or anything of it’s kind, and with unready stomachs we take in all the savory goodness that the streets have to offer. Often we eat things without knowing what they are, and when told what they are, we shrug our shoulders and press on. We seek cultural immersion through food; we are bold culinary pioneers.

#11 Party Crashing

Sandra Pina, KF16, Honduras

Kiva Fellows (KFs) LOVE a good party. Food, music, drinks: what’s not to love? KFs are repeat offenders for obvious reasons. They do not consider their behavior to be ill-mannered or inconsiderate: crashing is merely a survival tactic. It can get very lonely in the field and KFs can’t sit and wait for invites to flood their Facebook wall because well, odds are they won’t. So, KFs crash. Weddings, birthdays, retirement celebrations, grocery store inaugurations, TGIF fun, holiday festivities are all fair game. Sure, the KF may not know Marta from accounting or her husband to be, or Adrian the birthday boy, but KFs firmly believe that nothing brings people together like cake. In the pursuit of brotherly love (read: food, music, drinks), KFs show up and wow coworkers and strangers alike with their witty banter and impressive dance moves (moonwalk anyone?). As (invited) party-goers head for home, they are usually heard saying something along the lines of, “That KF is really something.”

#12 Personal Space

Crowded ferry ride

Lauren Barra, KF 16, Kenya/Tanzania

The world’s population has just surpassed 7 billion people. Whether we’re boarding a matatu, dala-dala, or ferry, Kiva Fellows are painfully reminded of this fact each time we set out into the field. Public transportation in the developing world usually involves hoards of people, pushing and shoving, all desperately trying to secure a coveted seat. Hesitate, and you’ll end up standing for most of the bumpy ride. Although buses have legal limits, more people pile in at each stop because “there’s always room for one more.” You’re packed in like sardines and it suddenly occurs to you. What wouldn’t you give for a few more inches of personal space?

#13 Podcasts

Kate Bennett, KF16, Peru

Stuff You Should Know Team howstuffworks.com

You’re living in middle-of-nowhere Perú, or Sierra Leone, or Cambodia. You’re feeling isolated, whether due to your language skills, culture shock, or sheer exhaustion. You’re covered in mosquito bites, your toilet doesn’t work, and you can’t remember the taste of strawberries or what it feels like to not be in 100°F weather. The only English you’ve spoken or heard in three months are your own inane mutterings over PA2‘s most recent tech glitch.

But then, you flip on your iPod. All your troubles slide away as the smooth, calming voice of Ira Glass envelops you. It almost doesn’t matter what Ira is going on about, it just matters that he’s there for you. And it’s not just Ira: it’s the Stuff You Should Know team, the hilarious duo at RadioLab, and maybe a little bit of Prarie Home Companion for posterity’s sake. Meet your new best friends. You’re learning, you’re growing, and you’re keeping yourself sane through the incredible technologies of podcasts. And now that there’s a Stuff You Should Know lending team? Well that’s just gravy.

#14 Being ‘Xtreme’

Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua

Volcano Boarding Leon, Nicaragua

Kiva Fellows are adventurous, risk taking individuals. They are Xtreme. The natural habitat for the Kiva Fellow is the extreme cold (La Paz), the extreme heat, or the extremely uncomfortable. KFs thrive in new environments, welcome an adventurous BV visit, and like being pushed to the limit physically and mentally. KFs love extreme sports like whitewater rafting in Uganda, volcano boarding, walking around Guayaquil, or canoeing flooded city streets.

Kiva Fellows are extreme but what they like even more is to remind people how extreme they are. They do this by wearing outdoorsy clothes, or accenting their business casual office wardrobe with hardcore Keen gear. KFs also establish their field cred by downplaying how extreme they are. They especially like pretending really shocking things are no big deal. Be it a GIGANTIC earthquake, election violence or sky diving, recounting these harrowing tales always ends in; ‘Oh, but it was really just no big deal…’

#15 “Going Native”

Jill Hall, KF16, Philippines

Jill in a Poofy Pink 'Filipiniana'

A Kiva Fellow is lucky if they get an email from their MFI prior to leaving for the field detailing a list of appropriate clothing items to bring. Some fellows get hints like, “at your placement, they are a bit more formal so take a suit” or “you will be visiting agricultural borrowers in remote areas so take durable clothes”. It is not often that you get a “bring a gown because every company event you attend everyone there will be dressed to the nines” so you can imagine my shock when I attended my first work event in the Philippines and everyone is in beautiful gowns called “Filipinianas”.

Every Kiva Fellow knows there is that moment where they can decide to “go native” and we either do as the locals do or we don’t. As fellows we whole heartedly embrace the phrase, “When in Rome…”. With this in mind, I finally traveled to the labrynth of a market to find my own Filipiniana. Initially I had reservations but when I walked into the room in my new bubble gum pink gown, I saw a room full of smiling faces. For this type of reaction, any Kiva fellow would “go native”!

#16 Eating Stuff With Weird Names

Kim Strathearn, KF16, Turkey

Karnıyarık, otherwise known as 'Split Belly'

Kiva Fellows like to eat. But not the stuff that made Rob sick, twice! We like good food with weird names such as the Imam fainted, Sultan’s Delight, split belly, angle hair, lady’s thighs, lady’s belly, attractive lady’s lips, priest’s stew, Ali the gentlemen, cigarette pastry, Albanian liver and Lion’s milk (yes too much of it does make you roar!) More than eating strange foods, Kiva Fellows like to take charge and  cook local specialties themselves! Nothing says immersion and cultural understanding more than whipping up a batch of ‘vizier’s fingers’!

The fellow in Turkey is probably the luckiest because of the amazing cuisine available. Turkey has a rich culinary history dating back to the Ottoman Empire. Don’t forget that the Sultan controlled the spice trade crossing his territories so only the best ingredients ended up on his table. Legend says that imperial cooks were rigorously tested for hire solely based on their method of cooking rice, a simple dish. KFs are foodies and have mastered the subtle differences between rice, beans and other simple dishes

#17 Going to the Bazaar

Chris Paci, KF16, Tajikistan/Azerbaijan

The Bazaar

As Kiva Fellows, we try to do all we can to support the microentrepreneurs that Kiva has sent us abroad to help. The flip side of that – natural, if you think about it – is that we’re required to feel guilty whenever we shop at an enterprise that is not sufficiently micro. It ruins our field cred. You see, we have been sent out into the world as MICROFINANCE MISSIONARIES!: volunteers who spread the Kiva gospel while leading ascetic lives of self-deprivation that bring us closer to the impoverished societies in which we live. Upscale clothing stores and glitzy shopping malls just don’t square with that self-image.

Luckily, there’s a loophole, and it’s called the bazaar. Vast, labyrinthine, and bursting with local color, the bazaar is packed with every good a Kiva Fellow could need, all sold by hundreds of individual entrepreneurs who are micro enough to earn our attention. The bazaar makes us feel more assimilated just for having stepped inside. Even the word “bazaar” is resonant with exoticism and magic, which means, of course, that it should be dropped into casual conversation as often as possible. “Why yes, I buy all of my shashlyk from the bazaar.” “I found the most amazing Engrish T-shirt at the bazaar yesterday.” “I might be a little late; I need to pick up some apricots from the bazaar after work.” Any one of the above lines is guaranteed to make us at least 20% cooler in the eyes of our developed-world peers.

And of course, as every Kiva Fellow knows, successfully haggling with a microentrepreneur is the number-one way to gain field cred!

Read Stuff Kiva Fellows Like (SKFL) #1-9 here!>>>

Be a part of loans that change lives. Apply to be a Kiva Fellow!

Jim Burke is a Kiva Fellow working with AFODENIC in Nicaragua. When not diligently working on his Kiva deliverables he kills time reading the blog SEAWL. To learn more about Kiva borrowers around the world please visit Kiva.org.

There’s a certain amount of introspective review that happens near the end of a Kiva Fellow’s time in the field, as previous Fellows have written about self-discoveries in spirituality, competitiveness, and self-acceptance. We’ve all gained a better worldview, certainly.  Witnessing extreme poverty, adjusting to life in a developing nation and participating in the small technological miracle of connecting Kiva Lenders and Borrowers can lead to some genuine soul-searching.  I’ve learned an important life lesson and, at the risk of public humiliation; but ultimately hoping to a) cement this lesson to my own heart and b) encourage future Fellows, I’ll admit that due to my own ignorance and fear, I nearly missed out on one of the greatest experiences of my life.

As soon as I received the news that I had been accepted into the Kiva Fellows program, I threw myself into learning the complexities of microfinance; taking a course provided by the United Nations and reading everything about Africa I could get my hands on, especially works by and about Nelson Mandela. I indulged in elaborate daydreams about waking up to warm African sunrises, traveling through spectacular landscapes and helping women in Africa connect with Kiva Lenders; enabling them to sell more cows, purchase a sewing machine to launch a school uniforms business and find a self-determined way out of poverty, thus making a better life for their children. Even though I knew that the kind of wild animals found on safari would be nowhere Richards Bay, South Africa, my dreams had songs from THE LION KING soundtrack playing in the background. Yep, you could say my expectations were high.

Reality hit during a Skype call with my Kiva Fellows Program coordinator.

KFP: Hey DJ, I know we talked about your placement in Africa, but we decided you are needed in Georgia.

Me: I don’t want to live in Atlanta.

KFP: Um, we’re talking about the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. You know, next to Russia and Azerbaijan?

Me: (fumbling for my atlas) Uh…oh…can I think about it?

KFP: Sure, but this is your only option. It is Tbilisi or nothing. Everything else has been taken*.

Me: (desperate) What about Liberia? South Sudan? Sierra Leone?

KFP: Sorry, not options at this time. Anyway, Sierra Leone was just filled.

Me: (whining to self) WHY couldn’t I have Sierra Leone???

*Note: the Kiva Fellows Program coordinator was professional and kind; my ears just did not want to hear it in that moment. At no time was I guaranteed a placement in Africa.

Devastated would be an overstatement, but I was severely disappointed. My beautiful Africa fantasies dissolved. Fear and uncertainty took over. Bad stereotypes of the former Soviet Union filled my head. Never mind that it was early July, I felt as though I had been exiled to Siberia, picturing endless cold and depressing days; trudging through blizzards, surviving on bread and vodka, suffering as though I was a tragic character in a Tolstoy novel. Snapping out of those dark (Hello! Overly dramatic much? ) thoughts, feeling deeply ashamed at my reaction (the Golden Rule of volunteering: be flexible!) and embarrassed by my serious geographical ignorance, I anxiously surfed the web for any information about Georgia. I clicked over to the Kiva website and found several borrower profiles from Georgia. One jumped out: Nanuli, who wanted to borrow money for tomato seedlings and to pay for her son’s wedding. I noticed her loan was just $25 from being fully funded and took that as a sign.  Two clicks later, I felt immensely better and quickly committed to my assignment. Thankfully, the Kiva Fellows Program team was gracious in the wake of my cringe-worthy moment. Really, is there a worse way to react than out of selfishness and ignorance? My cheeks get hot thinking about it to this day.

The irony, of course, is that living and working in Georgia has exceeded every expectation I had about volunteering, living abroad and my ability to contribute to Kiva’s mission to alleviate poverty. The Kiva Fellows Program wisely and carefully matches Kiva Fellows with each host MFI, based on the experience and skills each Kiva Fellow can bring to the table, with the critical needs of Kiva and the MFI itself. In my case, Credo has been working to move from pilot to partner, and I had a set of deliverables that challenged me and was incredibly rewarding to work though. I’m proud to share they are well on their way to full partnership and, pending final approval, a significant increase in available funding. Oh yes, I worked with Kiva Borrowers to help them connect with Kiva Lenders; enabling them to sell more cows, launch businesses and find a self-determined way out of poverty- just as I had envisioned. There have been warm sunrises and spectacular landscapes- a bit different, but no less amazing than I planned. Perhaps most significantly, I’ve begun to understand urban poverty and have taken a more compassionate view about what poverty does and does not look like.

What does poverty look like?

Spectacular Sighnaghi!

Daily, I’m humbled by the famous hospitality of my Georgian friends, neighbors, colleagues and especially Kiva Borrowers, who live by the belief that guests in their homeland are a “Gift from God”.  Georgians will literally give anything and everything they have if they thought it might make a guest happy. I’ve learned to refrain from complimenting things, yet am still showered with bags of delicious fruit, homemade tomato sauce, and invitations to supra, weddings and cultural events. Each kindness takes me back to my initial reaction, and I’m humbly reminded that the universe has a bigger plan for me than I ever had for myself.

Manana offers the best from her garden

Homemade tomato sauce and spicy ketchup

Gifts of grapes, figs and hazelnuts

Tamar sends me home with a perfect pumpkin (and a huge smile!)

In part 2, we’ll take a look at an innovative new program Credo is launching to help bring Kiva loans, financial services and client protection education to the most vulnerable of borrowers: previously rejected loan applicants.

Thank goodness for second chances.

Previous posts by this author:

The Velvet Season

Trust But Verify

Pride and Poverty: A Photo Essay of Kiva Borrowers in Georgia

DJ Forza is a Kiva Fellow working in Tbilisi, Georgia and is truly happy her good friend Tejal Desai landed in Sierra Leone, but she still hopes to visit one day. She also thinks Atlanta, Georgia is just great. Mostly, she is thankful for the second chance that lead her to Georgia and the team at Credo. To learn more, please visit Credo’s partner page, and join the Georgia lending team.

If It Is Tuesday, it must be Izmit.  Maya’s Kocaeli / Izmit branch is about 1 ½ hours away from Istanbul and every Tuesday, either Aylin or Asu, or both from the Istanbul office make the trip to approve borrower applications.  These visits always take place in the business or home (if that were she works from) of the potential borrower.

Izmit Office

Maya Poster

The office is located in a small mall in the downtown area. Pelin (now on maternity leave) and Songül staff  the office.

Pelin

The Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work (FSWW) conducted a pilot micro-credit project in Istanbul between 1995-1997.  Ninety-one women took micro loans up to $200 with six and twelve month repayment terms.  The interest rate was based on the same rate as Halk bank loans.  Clients were low-income women with small businesses in sectors such as trade (62%), manufacturing, and service.  The businesses were mostly runs  from home, the rest in neighborhood markets, street stalls or a rented shop or stalls.  Although the arrears rate was 12%, all the loans were repaid.

The 1999 Marmara earthquake (7.2 on the Richter scale) was the impetus for the Kocaeli / Izmit office.   The earthquake changed the priority for FSWW and they postponed their project for Istanbul and conducted two market research projects in 2000 and 2002 in the area hardest hit by the earthquake, Kocaeli.  Their research found the women micro-entrepreneurs were mostly low-income, primary school graduates, and married with small families of two to three children. As in Istanbul, their businesses  were mainly in trade (66%), manufacturing (26%) and service (8%) sectors focusing on food production, small jobs, sales from home, garment stitching / repair,  handicrafts and hair dressing.

Mostly home-based (74%) or working out of small shops which they rented or owed, or market stalls, the women wanted financing to improve their business sites, buy fixed assets or for working capital.  The only sources of credit were wholesalers or bank credits given against the guarantees of registered businesses.  But the vast majority (80%) of the women entrepreneurs’ businesses were not registered or they could not find guarantors.  Some of the women did  not have the confidence to apply to banks or needed loans below amounts loaned by banks.  Some others lacked confidence in the profitability of their businesses and therefore were afraid to take credit from the banks and were hesitant in borrowing even from their relatives because of fears of not being able to repay.

FSWW established Maya Enterprise for Micro Finance in June 2002.   Maya disbursed it first loans in Kocaeli / Izmit in August 2002 after the training of personnel, distributions of promotional materials and the establishment of operational procedures.  Maya  distributed the first loans in Istanbul in June 2003, and started lending in Düzce in August 2004, Sakarya in 2005 and Esikşehir in July 2010. Unlike the other three branches, the Kocaeli / Izmit branch does not receive support (office space, rent, and utilities) from the municipality as it was set up on its own by FSWW.

I have had the pleasure of meeting current Kiva entrepreneurs Nezahat and Asli in prior visits to the Kocaeli / Izmit office.  Last week I visited the Kocaeli  / Izmit branch and met Filiz.  Filiz has worked as a bookkeeper, car painter,  and a tailor.  Filiz learned the trade  growing up helping her mother and father in the family’s home tailoring  business.  Her father died at a young age  and all 5 siblings learned the trade to help support the family. It was during  a period of unemployment when Filiz did not want to remain idle that her mother,  who is now retired, helped her start her own tailoring business.  Filiz has ambitious plans for her  business.  She is looking at a space in a  street off the main shopping area in Kadıköy (district on the Asian side of Istanbul) so she can more easily  follow market trends and is planning to create her own brand.  All this she hopes will lead to opening her  own workshop, where she will be able to offer employment to other women  tailors.

Filiz’s energy and enthusiasm are evident by what she has accomplished so far and I have no doubt that she will accomplish even more in the future.  I am hoping to talk Filiz into letting me hire her to make me a few pieces for my own wardrobe.  You see, I am the opposite of Turkish women who tend to be shorter and more curvy while am taller and more angular.  When I first came to Turkey (my first time living here was 1989-1991), I could not buy any clothes –the sleeves of shirts, jackets and coats, and the legs of pants were never ever long enough.  Plus if pants fit nicely at my waist, I could gather handfuls of fabric at the hips and if they fit nicely at my hips then I could not get them to button around my waist.  Now I can buy a few things but still have to do the majority of my shopping when I travel back to the USA.

Shoes were another story.  I still can hardly find size 10 shoes, let alone any with low heels.  I am 6 feet tall and do not need or ever wear 3 to 4 inch heels.  Ever tried walking in 3-4 inch heels on cobblestones and very uneven surfaces?  I hate to admit that once I  got to the point where I had a fleeting impulse to smack the smirking sales boy when he pointed to the clunky hiking boots in the men’s section when I asked if the store carried size 42 shoes.  Fashionista I am not, so I could not imagine pulling off wearing men’s boots with a suit, skirt or dress!   This was after he welcomed me into his shop with “buyurun agabeyi”.  This phrase loosely translated means how can I help you older brother?  I got that a lot when people just assumed that I was an “ağabeyi” (older brother) from my height without taking a good look and well since I could not find any shoes that fit, I was not wearing dresses or skirts.  I guess it did not help that I had short hair as well (majority of female hair length here is long).   In all fairness it was not meant disrespectfully.  In fact, “agabeyi” or “amca” (uncle) is the respectful way to address a male older than oneself, however he should have called me “abla” (elder sister) or “teyze” (aunt).  It is just at that time, I really did tower over both men and women and tall women were very uncommon.  Now I  do not even bother to look in shoe shops windows and just stock up when I go home.

One time I went to a female dentist.  I happened to glance at her shoes and saw her feet were as big as mine.  So I asked her where she bought her shoes.  She hemmed and hawed for a while.  I course I kept pressing because I though the answer would solve all my shoe problems. Eureka, I have hit pay dirt, the mother lode! She finally sheepishly said she bought them at a shoe store in Şişli (a district in Istanbul).  I naturally asked for the name and address of the shop.  Once again after pressing for an answer, she sheepishly said you know the store were the transvestites shop.  Huh no, where is that I asked?  No matter that I was pleading with her for the name and address, she wasn’t going to give it up.  Then I got the look from my Turkish friend that had brought me to this dentist–her dentist.  You know the look that said cease what you are doing you are embarrassing me–yes that look.  So I left with nicely cleaned teeth but wondering how I was going to find that shop!

I really really really want to hire Filiz.  Ohh how I dream about or maybe more accurately, drool over thoughts of having clothes that fit properly in all the right places, in the colors, fabrics and textures that I want …… but at this point Filiz prefers making costumes.  Wish me luck!

Filiz with costume

Newspaper article on Filiz with her mother and sister

Other blogs about Maya:

Home to a New Adventure: Hoş Geldiniz Maya

If It is Thursday, It Must Be Sakarya + What is Bohça?

Kim Strathearn is a Kiva Fellow serving in Istanbul with Maya. Kiva’s new Field Partner in Turkey. To learn more about Maya and their clients, please visit their Partner Page, join our newly created Friends of Maya Lending Team, or make a loan to one of their awesome clients. Looking for gifts that make a difference this Holiday Season, consider the gift that changes lives, Kiva Cards. What could be better that giving the gift of helping someone?

The door to my Kiva office in Cusco, Peru

Should I become a Kiva Fellow? I imagine a lot of the Stories From The Field blog followers have considered applying to the Fellowship, or have wondered what the comparison is between the Kiva Fellows Program to similar volunteer or development programs abroad. This may include the Peace Corps, overseas research grants, overseas workshops on topics in development, Fulbright Fellowships, Rotary Scholarships, and possibly service-learning trips if you are currently students.  The list goes on and on.  And it can seem like a big and slightly mystifying list for anyone who just wants to make a decision and DO SOMETHING!

There are a lot of similar experiences out there, and it can be tough narrowing down the right choice for you.  Here is my perspective as a Kiva Fellow in Peru who is extremely grateful to be currently doing or have done those projects listed above. This post will compare and contrast “what it’s like” to be a Kiva Fellow to the myriad other programs out there.  If you are thinking about “doing something different,” “getting out of a work rut,” or “finally being one of those people who GOES and DOES something,” I hope this post helps you make a decision about what exactly to do.

To that end I will categorize each of the above experience based on five criterion.

1.  What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me
2. Level of Freedom or Structure
3. Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?
4. Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all
5. Was it Worth it?

‘Nuff talk.  Enjoy!  If you have specific questions after reading, shoot me a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I get done with my next local kid pic.

Kiva Fellows are a pretty sharp crowd.  We write all kinds of interesting blog posts about poverty, financial services, and development theories. We quote authors like Yunus, Sachs, and Easterly so you know we are open to everyone’s ideas.  We insert pictures of ourselves in all kinds of crazy situations like riding camels, standing in front of slums, and hugging local children.  Man, do we love hugging local children.

A lot of us are hoping this fellowship will be a foot in the door to a career in international finance, international development, or, let’s be honest, maybe the thing that gets us a graduate scholarship.  We are all great people.  I know that first hand from getting to know all of my current fellows during our training at Kiva Headquarters, and through the months of emails in the field since then.  We all want to use our lifetimes to help.  BUT, we probably all have personal reasons for doing this too.  And there is nothing wrong with that! Just like Kiva, us Fellows are trying hard to balance helping others and helping ourselves; which is much harder than just doing one or the other.  This post is about those personal reasons, a.k.a. the incentives for us helping.

OVERSEAS SERVICE-LEARNING

College students working on clean water project in Ecuador, '11.

1) What it’s Like and What It was Like for Me

I designed community water projects in Nicaragua as a student and have directed service learning projects for students to do the same in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador(and will do the same in Peru this coming spring).

Service-learning is really close to my heart because it is how I got pulled out of the sometimes dry world of engineering and into the colorful, inspired, much more complicated world of international development..  As a fourth-year undergraduate engineering student I designed a water pumping and delivery system for a village in Nicaragua. In order to implement this project, I applied for and my proposal was granted $10,000 bucks from the Davis “Projects for Peace” Foundation.  This service learning experience showed me for the first time how useful my skills could be in the world.  I have never been as challenged on a daily basis as I was during that project, nor have I have I been as ecstatic to get up every day and work.  My work included engineering design, studying Nicaraguan history and politics, trying to communicate with NGOs overseas and in the states, and learning as much Spanish as possible.  Occasionally I would talk with people in the village itself through skype, and my heartbeat literally doubled from excitement.  That personal connection was something extremely knew and exciting.

Service learning may exist at your university, and may not.  If it does, be proactive and get involved, then make it your own.  If it doesn’t exist, make it happen!  I found like-minded students and professors, and was allowed to work on the first service-learning engineering project at my university.  My last year at college I learned more than I did in the previous three, thanks to this service-learning project.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

Usually these are fairly structured, for good reason.  It is part of a class and you have to finish SOMETHING.  Small, bite-sized projects are typical for service-learning experiences.  So, don’t get involved in this if you want to have the freedom to do exactly what you want or possibly scrap your original idea half-way through.  That said, these projects typically are more open to creativity than standard theoretical projects and/or reports.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

My experience was great, and I think I did help.  My service-learning team (engineers and environmental science students) was lucky enough to successfully pair up with NGOs that had follow-through capabilities.  This was very important, as we were new to the work.  Looking back, we were a group of young students trying to change the lives of 350 Nicaraguans.  That is powerful stuff, and if we were alone on the project, I think we would have had little impact or worse, would have set them back.  Make sure you have a good mentor capable of picking up the pieces if you decide to start up a new service-learning project.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

This stuff usually costs some dough.  I would expect it to be around $1000-$3000 extra to do one of these for a semester rather than typical coursework. It is possibly included in your course fees or can tack on an additional couple grand.  Every experience is different.  BUT the good news is that you can dip in the educational funds money-bucket.  Educational grant funds are huuuuuge.  You can probably apply for scholarships, grants, etc. and get away doing this kind of thing almost for free.  If your “project” costs money to implement, that’s another thing.  It will probably be much harder to find funds within your university to go and implement, but look!  Mission programs, international study offices, and outside foundations like the one mentioned above are a good start.

5) Was it Worth it?

As a foot in the door, DEFINITELY.

That said, service-learning is a mixed bag, because it is usually attached to an educational institution (universities) where there is a focus on the educational component for students.  That is great, but sometimes leaves the person/group you were serving a little disappointed.  As service-learning is a partnership between a student-group and clients (overseas or not), there is much time and effort invested on both sides.  The student group will be expected to do more than simply write a final report, in many cases.  Be wary of the impact you are having on the project beneficiaries, and make sure that when you leave they also think it was worth it.  But at the end of the day, if I had not done this I would probably be a much wealthier but much more depressed engineer, sitting in a cubicle somewhere, making calculations.  Therefore I am a huge fan of service learning as a tool to show young people how to engage their community and world, and try to help.  To read an article I published on service-learning click here.

OVERSEAS WORKSHOPS

The author soldering together individual solar cells in Nicaragua, '07.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I participated in a workshop on Appropriate Technologies in Nicaragua with the National Engineering University of Managua, which entailed some basic classes on the physics behind appropriate technologies like solar panels, solar water pumps, biodigestors, solar ovens, rope pumps, composting latrines etc.  We also built our own solar panels, solar cookers, helped construct an adobe building, and practiced our intercultural skills with a “homestay” with a humble Nicaraguan family. I have also participated in a  course on Globalization, Leadership, and Technology that culminated in an overseas conference in Vietnam and Taiwan.  The conference encompassed some very high level, involved visits with CEOs of large corporations and, in my opinion, was very much an outsiders view of a local culture.  The former was a bottom-up approach.

These experiences are similar to service-learning projects being that you are really only expected to learn.  They are also a great foot in the door or a refresher course on field work in a specific part of the world.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

These are very structured. There will probably be a schedule for everything you do, from the time you land on the runway to the time you are swooped back up. They are usually pretty jam-packed and don’t leave much freedom to “do what you want” if it isn’t the specific goal of the workshop.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

The goal of these courses isn’t to ‘make a difference’ at all, or at least directly.  You pay to participate in these courses, and some of those funds may go towards the efforts of an NGO or social movement, but don’t expect to directly have a huge impact on anyone.  I didn’t leave Nicaragua thinking I had helped much, but I was more equipped to do so in the future.  I knew leaving Asia that I hadn’t done anything, but the experience might contribute to my future path in life.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Pricey.  I have seen these offered anywhere from $500-$1500 for a week!  That adds up.  Outside funding is probably harder because of what I said in #3. These courses are similar in price to overseas vacation tours.  The only difference is that on vacation tours you typically sit on a beach, get a tan, and enjoy relaxing.  For those short on time, this is probably a good option.

5) Was it Worth it?

In terms of professional development, for sure.  It is a very unique experience and might inspire you to do more, learn more, etc.  These are typically more serious about transferring knowledge to you than service-learning trips, so in terms of personal bang for your buck they might about the same, even though service learning experiences might be much longer.  Nevertheless, the personal connection to the experience developed over a longer period of time like a service-learning project is unlikely in these shorter trips. 

PEACE CORPS

The author's village in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I served as a “Healthy Environments” volunteer in theDominican Republic from 2007 to 2009. Peace Corps is something I can’t stop thinking about.  It is a mix of training, really independent work, and unique field research.  I lived in the mountains with 200 villagers, without ready access to clean water, adequate sanitation, electricity, you name it.  I bathed in the river every day, collected drinking water from a spring with the locals, and really SLOOOOOOOWED DOWN for a bit.

I was sent there to help my village gain access to clean, piped water.  I ended up doing that, learning a lot about what it means to be poor and not receive any attention, and working on a bunch of other projects.  The first 3-5 months I was pretty uncomfortable, lonely, even scared at times.  But in the next year and a half I built closer relationships than many of mine in the states and felt much more comfortable, happy, and alive than I have ever felt in the USA.  My time was filled with sun, pipes, wrenches, concrete, donkeys, mud, plantains, mangoes, rice, beans, grants, paperwork, and more community meetings that I can count.

Peace Corps is really an in-depth, immersive service-learning experience.  Nothing is sugar-coated for you, and that might scare you at first.  But as an insider view of a different culture and a different way of life, there is absolutely nothing like it.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

First three months are language, culture, and technical training.  After that Peace Corps staff tell you to call X number 24-hours a day for health problems, Y number 24-hours a day for other problems, drop you off in a village where you probably only speak a little bit of the local language, and say GOOD LUCK!  They tell you that you will be receiving around $300/month with which you are supposed to live, work, pay rent, buy food, all that.

In short, the Peace Corps provides the most basic structure for survival but beyond that you are on your own.  They also try to pair you up with a community that has need for your specific skill-set.  For me it worked out great.  For others, it was a mess and they had to “make it work” on their own, demonstrating their value and getting involved where they felt they could help.  Peace Corps REQUIRES you to be extremely independent, proactive, and outgoing.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

Yes and yes – I brought engineering skills to a village that needed them.  I also am kinda stubborn, which helped with motivation in an area that was used to being pobre, having nada, and expecting nada.  Sometimes the match of your skills meshes perfectly with the needs of the community.  If it doesn’t, you better suck it up, find where you are needed, and make it happen.  Peace Corps is an opportunity to guide the development of a poorer area, from the inside out, and will test you in every way.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Peace Corps doesn’t cost you one cent.  They will fly you from you house to the host country, teach you some language skills, some technical skills, and plant you in a community with a family that will take care of you for two years. When it’s all over, they will fly you back home and give you around $6,000 to “re-adjust” to the United States. It is an amazing deal, and I really hope to do it again some day.  On the other hand there is some significant investment of time (2 years of service and three months of per-service training).  On the whole, when I was at home two years later with $6,000 in my pocket, I was financially about the same place as many of my friends who had taken more traditional paths.

5) Was it Worth it?

Yes.  I am a huge fan.  The application and interview process is very rigorous and trying, and the average time between applying and being given an overseas position is usually 6-9 months, but it is well worth it.  Even if you leave your country of service without thinking you “helped” as much as you should have (this is almost universal, by the way), you leave with a very personal relationship with your host-family and community.  That relationship will affect the way you live your life, the perspectives you can understand, and overall, your level of solidarity with people who drew the short straw in life, for whatever reason.  It is not easy or straightforward, but as is a common phrase among RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers), that this is “the toughest job you will every love”. 

FULBRIGHT GRANT

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I am currently a Fulbright Scholar here in Peru, working with PACC-Peru on water resources issues associated with climate change in the Andes Mountains. My opinion of Fulbright is very good, though it seems to be relatively front-loaded.  The application process is very rigorous, and at the end of the day requires two very polished essays- one about who you are, and one about what you want to do as a Fulbrighter- and collaboration with a host-institution overseas, which eventually needs to write a letter of support for your work. Once in-country you are given a short (in my case, one-day) orientation by the local Fulbright staff, then are sent off to your location of study.  (Every country is different, and many include a 3-day orientation in Washington DC before departure from the United States, but mine country was not included in this event.)  Upon arrival you discuss that finely tuned research proposal with your host-institution, making modifications that range from slight variations to complete redirection, and you go on your way, exploring whatever you set out to explore.  You are not babysat, you are encouraged to get to know the country, and you are reminded that the research is only part of your experience.  Most Fulbrighters need to be reminded to chill out, not the other way around.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

Once in country, the Fulbright experience is very open.  You receive a monthly living stipend to cover all of your expenses, and are asked to “check in” once a month just to let the Fulbright Commission know how everything is going.  In this way you really can do anything you want, as long as it is communicated with your host-institution.  I think this would be a daunting challenge if I hadn’t had significant overseas experience previously.  From another perspective, it is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do and study whatever gets you going!  You are in the driver’s seat.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

Fulbrighters are listened to.  It is regarded as a very prestigious grant in both the United States and overseas (though I imagine this can depend on the host country).  Though  I am only a couple months into my grant, I am aware that my results will not simply be filed away.  They will be read and analyzed.  The potential for helping is very real.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Fulbright is a grant.  All expenses are paid for (after you are awarded the grant).  So, it is a great option if you have a good idea, connections overseas, and the time and patience necessary to get through the application process and overseas experience (about 2.5 years from the start of the application to the end of the grant period).  The application should be started probably 3-6 months before the submission date, which is typically about a year before the date of departure for Fulbrighters.  And, like all competitive things, there is much luck involved.  I would consider Peace Corps a “weed-in” program, where most applicants who sincerely want to help can make their way in.  Fulbright is a fine toothed comb, and even very brilliant people are not accepted for one reason or another.

5) Was it Worth it?

So far, so good.  I can’t help but compare this experience to that which I had in the Peace Corps.  As a Peace Corps Volunteer I was not respected very much by local government, and generally treated as another “missionary” of sorts.  I understood what poverty was, but felt incapable of fixing lots of the problems I saw.  As a Fulbrighter I know that I have access to much more influential people, and I will be listened to.  It seems to me that it is definitely worth it.  As a side note, had I not experienced the Peace Corps, I might have seen the Fulbright experience as semi “normal”.  I live in an apartment, pay bills, and work on my research.  In that way a Fulbright Grant is less of a life-changing experience for me than living in a mountain village; it is complete freedom to explore issues that are important to me, given the support and resources to do so.

ROTARY SCHOLARSHIP

The author concentrating wayyy too hard to try to take a steady photo, looking down on Cusco, Peru.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I am currently a Rotary Cultural Scholar inPeru. Becoming a Rotary Scholar involves an application similar to Fulbright but, in my opinion, it does not have to be nearly as polished of an idea as the Fulbright application process requires.  I am studying Quechua and water resources management with my Rotary funds.  This Rotary Scholarship provides support monetarily.  There is no orientation, no help with overseas planning, and no in-country contact for my work.  I am on my own.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

Extremely free.  I have not communicated directly with my grantor more than once in the past two and a half months.  As a Rotary Scholar you define your own structure in the application, and you are expected to follow that plan.  But again, there is no babysitting.  Your experience is what you make of it.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

I am studying here, so I don’t see a direct impact to what I am doing.  Still, I know that Quechua skills will pay dividends in my Fulbright and Kiva work and will be an invaluable skill in the future.  Whereas Peace Corps was immediate gratification (seeing water come out of a pipe), Rotary is about building capacity, namely in people who they think will be able to help further down the line.  It is similar to Fulbright in this way.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Rotary Grants vary in the amount they provide, but they generally are very flexible as to what they can cover.  Flights, insurance, food, lodging, costs of courses and/or tutors, and cultural trips are all fair game.  The grants vary greatly in their duration, but one year seems to be common.  In my case, the funds were dispersed up-front and I am required to provide documentation of all expenses.  Whatever isn’t spent, I will have to give back.

5) Was it Worth it?

Very much so.  More than the funding, Rotary is a global network.  I hope that this experience will help me connect with like-minded people in the future as I may try to continue to “help” those in the world that need it.  As an experience by itself, I think Rotary is amazingly un-regulated.  As a first long-term overseas experience, I would not recommend it.  The structure provided by Peace Corps, Fulbright, and Kiva(discussed below)  are necessary to guide your overseas experience.  That said, if you are an experienced traveler and are looking for some funding to do something creative and open-ended, a Rotary Scholarship might be just what you are looking for.  

KIVA FELLOWSHIP

A group of Kiva borrowers just outside the city of Cusco.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I am currently a Kiva Fellow with Asociación  Arariwa in Cusco, Peru. If you are reading the Stories From The Field blog you probably have a good idea of what we do.  But if you don’t, I am proud to say that Kiva is one of the most organized experiences of this sort that I have participated in.  I was trained for a week in San Francisco(LONG 11-hour-days, where you learn a LOT!), paired with a microfinance organization somewhere in the world, given a desk, given specific tasks (but still the freedom to innovate and take on news tasks as they may appear), and given a lot of support from Kiva Fellows Program staff.  If I need to talk to someone in San Francisco, I can do it probably tomorrow.  If not, I can just keep showing up to my office and working with my in-country partners.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

As I mentioned above, I was given a work-plan that I am expected to accomplish for Kiva.  They maintain long relationships with their in-country microfinance partners and can look strategically at what most needs improvement at a specific point in time.  Kiva Fellows are eyes, ears, and boots-on-the-ground implementers for all it is that Kiva does.  There is no long period of ‘figuring out what to do’ because you arrive with a very good idea of what needs to be done.  But Kiva is a very innovative startup, with an environment that breads creativity.  I have never felt stifled by any Kiva staff, and that has allowed me to enjoy each day of this Fellowship.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

Kiva Fellows do important work, work that keeps Kiva not only up and running, but allows them to explore new avenues of growth and innovation.  It is exciting seeing directly the improvements you make with Kiva and your partner microfinance institution.  It is also exciting to be given the chance to go meet Kiva borrowers, meet the loan officers that facilitate those loans, and hear, feel, see how these small loans are such a source of hope and improvement for people all over the world.  I studied engineering, and have not had a problem keeping up with the financial work involved with the position.  I would say if you are comfortable with mathematics and basic accounting you can expect to be utilized very well by a Kiva Fellowship.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

The one major downfall of a Kiva Fellowship is that there is no financial support beyond basic health insurance coverage.  Fellows fundraise or directly pay for their time overseas, including the flight to San Franciscofor training, the flight overseas, rent, food, etc.  This can be a substantial burden, but I think that the experience is worth the expense.  It is an investment in your personal growth, and allows you to help in a significant capacity with a major player in the world of global investment/philanthropy.

5) Was it Worth it?

Yes.  It is not as easy to say yes because, let’s be honest, a number of other programs don’t require a financial investment up front.  But the Kiva Fellows Program gives you a look into what I consider to be one of the most promising approaches to creatively finance progress and development overseas.  Like most things, and exactly like Kiva borrowers all over the world, you have to invest something financially to reap the benefits later on.

It is a bottom-up approach, and relies on the sensibilities of millions of entrepreneurs.  Kiva provides a loan.  Borrowers decide how to use it to improve their own lives.  In this way, you can be sure that the funds are used for something truly productive.  It is a simple concept, but to keep that bridge open Kiva needs your help.  Kiva NEEDS Kiva Fellows.  Entrepreneurs NEED Kiva Fellows.  And that is why the experience is so worth it.  You can be that person, fill that need, and learn a ton in the process.

There you have it.  Those are my impressions.  I hope this was helpful but now it is up to you to decide.  To each his own!

Robert Gradoville is a Kiva Fellow (Class of KF16) working with Asociacion Arariwa in Cusco.  If you would like to learn more about Asociacion Arariwa, please visit their partner page.  You can also support them by joining the lending team for Asociacion Arariwa.  To hear more about Rob’s Peace Corps experience, take a look at his blog from that time.

Oxen hauling coffee harvests in La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.

The warm red earth pulls me in, as I follow FUDECOSUR loan officers on their labor of love.

Serpentine paths lead us through farm lands carved out of dense swaths of jungle, as borrowers take us to the plots of land they proudly cultivate, thanks to the help of Kiva lenders.

As I slip and surf along steep paths slick and thick with monsoon rain, sprawling ferns the size of a family hut, reach out to us, with unfurled leaves heavy with the same mist that envelopes us.

Majestic white oxen haul mighty harvests out of the valley depths, where machines dare not tread, due to thick, quicksand clay mud, which all too lovingly pulls all things passing, toward the womb of the world. We move to the side of the path, making way for the heaving beasts of burden, as they pull weighty sacks of coffee beans and other food crops, in brightly painted “carretas” (wooden carts with wooden wheels).

Continuing along our trek, we descend into a warm, moist Eden of lush green, where water-collecting trees grow taller and stronger as we approach the river.

“Welcome to La Sierra! Here we take care of nature!” – Village welcome sign in La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.

Unlike farms I’m used to seeing in the United States, Costa Rican farms boast fields of crops coexisting with an abundance of medicinal plants and native trees, which are protected by law.

True to Costa Rica’s conservationist spirit, owning land means that one is charged with protecting existing plant species essential to long term survival, while cultivating crops essential to immediate survival.

Cutting down old-growth, or endangered trees, or trees which sprout, stretch and rise along rivers, is strictly punished by hefty fines and jail time. These rules apply even if one destroys any such tree on land one owns.

The result?  Farming in Costa Rica is no longer synonymous with deforestation. Because of the great care that has been taken to preserve the environment, Costa Rica has become a Mecca for biologists and laymen lovers of wildlife. The nation boasts the largest percentage of protected land in the world (25%, compared to the developing world average of 13%, and the developed world average of 8%). While making up only 0.25% of the earth’s land mass, Costa Rica is home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity. And though such animals are nearly extinct in neighboring countries, large jungle cats, a variety of monkeys, reptiles and amphibians, and an abundance of bird species and marine turtles, survive and thrive in the ecologically rich coast that is Costa Rica.

Oxen hauling farmer and son to coffee fields - La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.

Protected land swells and wells with sweet, crystalline springs, rolling rivers, tumbling white waterfalls, lakes, mangrove swamps and marine estuaries brimming with life.

Due to a deep respect for the earth, exceptionally clean water and fresh air blanket the country, and are a great source of pride for Costa Ricans.

Those who work the land are especially proud of it, and in the eyes and smiles of Kiva borrowers and FUDECOSUR loan officers, beams a joy and passion that comes from living a labor of love.

In The Fields:  Loan Officers Serving as Agricultural Development Partners

Not only are FUDECOSUR  village banks run by village farmers, as detailed in Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof, but they are also trained and managed by loan officers who are farmers themselves.

As FUDECOSUR  seeks to assist and develop agricultural communities by becoming an integral part of each community, FUDECOSUR’s loan officers provide much more than a mere financial services relationship. Since loan officers Geiner Gonzáles Marín, Gerardo Barrantes and Danny Zuñiga all come from farms themselves, they also serve as valued partners, advisors and mentors, not only from a bank operations training and guidance perspective, but also with regards to helping clients optimize crop and livestock output.

Geiner Gonzáles Marín: Chief Loan Officer

Geiner Gonzáles Marín entering a coffee farm in La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.

When visiting borrowers and the lands they cultivate, Chief Loan Officer Geiner Gonzáles Marín, often leads the trek into plunging valleys or up steep mountains, with unceasing enthusiasm.

Born and bred on a coffee plantation with dairy cows and various food crops, Geiner is in his element and is unstoppable –copious rain or shine.

With an absolute passion for the land and the fruits of farmers’ labor, his camera is always in hand, snapping photos of crops grown with Kiva loans. He also interviews the farmers with great interest, inquiring about crop cultivation challenges (such as destructive wilting or fungus caused by excessive rain), and offers vital suggestions on how to combat various crop infirmities and increase crop yields.

Gerardo Barrantes: Loan Officer 2

Gerardo Barrantes with the largest of his giant Ayote harvest, measuring 67cm long, and weighing 17 kilos – San Rafael Norte, Costa Rica

Sharing the same intense passion for the land, loan officer Gerardo Barrantes shows off photos of gigantic yucca and ayote crops he’s produced organically. Clients are wowed by the 37-pound mega-vegetable Gerardo proudly cradles like a newborn child.

While eagerly inspecting and praising crops produced by Kiva borrowers, he offers guidance on stronger, more rain-resistant produce likely to benefit from organic farming methods.

Gerardo’s love of the land is also reflected in his paintings. One features his childhood home – an evergreen dairy farm, fed by fresh spring water, cascading from the mountains shadowing his boyhood village. Gerardo’s artisan talents are also used to turn “carretas” (ox-drawn wooden carts) into rolling works of art, for the proud farmers in and around his village.

Danny Zuñiga: Loan Officer 3

Danny Zuñiga (far right) with his proud parents in the family sugar cane fields - Pilar, Costa Rica.

Like his counterparts, loan officer Danny Zuñiga has always had a deep desire to remain close to the land, and the people who tend it.

As a small child, Danny’s mom jokes that it was hard to get him excited about school, since he preferred spending time with dad in the family sugar cane fields.

True to his passion, Danny enrolled in an agriculture-based vocational school program. From grades 7-12, Danny bussed his way to Colegio Tecnico Profesional de Platanares, which has a working coffee farm, and livestock farm full of cows, pastures, pigs and rabbits. Just like his colleagues, Danny’s favorite part of the job is being out of the main office, and in the field with borrowers. As such, Danny is especially proud to help serve client needs with his agronomy training, both in theory and in practice.

In addition to informal cultivation guidance provided by loan officers, FUDECOSUR borrowers also benefit from community and business development courses funded by FUDECOSUR profits.  Free technical training and education are provided to increase crop and cattle yields, improve community health and sanitation, and expand alternative job opportunities. Course themes are requested by the Village Banks, and are coordinated by the FUDECOSUR director and loan officers – who source experts in each field of training (such as technical college agronomists for crop cultivation or livestock care courses, or information technology instructors for computer training courses). Village bank communities in need have benefitted from detailed courses combining theory and practice, such as:

• Livestock Health Care and Output Optimization
• Coffee Cultivation and Output Optimization
• Hydroponic Farming Capacitation (to optimize more environmentally-friendly, and disease-free farming)
• Food Handling and Sanitation (to improve community health and support start-up food service businesses)
• Computer Training (MS Office for children and adults)
• Sewing/Clothes Making
• Community Recycling
• Water Purification

FUDECOSUR provides these free courses not only as a form of long term community development, but also believes that such courses are responsible for client loyalty and very low default rates (2% reported for 2010). The more involved FUDECOSUR is in the village bank communities, the greater affinity clients feel for FUDECOSUR as a member of their community, and the more willing and able clients are to repay loans (per FUDECOSUR’s philosophy).

Furthermore, borrowers who are taught methods to improve production, make stronger clients and business partners in the future, since they’ll eventually have more income resources.

In The Village Banks:  Loan Officers Serving as Financial Operations Partners

Working “carreta” painted by FUDECOSUR Loan Officer Gerardo Barrantes.

Beyond working to provide agricultural communities with formal and informal business development guidance, FUDECOSUR loan officers also train farmers to run village banks, which operate in the communities where farmers reside.

With dedicated mentoring and guidance from loan officers, FUDECOSUR’s Village Banks (also known as Credit Committees) are run by 5-7 dedicated volunteers, who are elected every 2 years by members of their community.  Partnering with FUDECOSUR’s loan officers, Credit Committees are responsible for assessing and approving loan requests, disbursing loans to borrowers, collecting loan payments, documenting all credit requests and exchanges, and monitoring borrower progress. Credit Committees are also charged with educating their community members on FUDECOSUR rules and requirements for soliciting, receiving and repaying loans.

Geiner Gonzáles Marín (right) inspecting and gathering coffee beans for Kiva borrower Rigoberto Garro Godinez - La Sierra, Platanares.

Given their intimate knowledge of the land, FUDECOSUR  loan officers are deeply respected and revered by clients as fellow farmers, who bring much-needed credit funds and education to underserved communities.

“Geiner is one of US!”  Village bank members of Cedral de Cajón exclaim (referring to the Chief Loan Officer).

Since agricultural communities are commonly excluded from traditional financial services, the introduction of FUDECOSUR funds and training has given clients a renewed sense of hope, pride, and excitement.

Many FUDECOSUR clients recant tales of suffering through intimidating, confusing and lengthy application processes for traditional bank loans.

After losing money to travel costs, and crops left unattended for multiple visits to national banks, farmers are often left disheartened by rejection at the end of the process.

After struggling unsuccessfully for years to obtain national bank loans to support his farm, Antonio Vargas Hernandez, is now Vice President of FUDECOSUR’s village bank in Cedral de Cajón.

“After being rejected for loans with national banks time after time, I never imagined I’d actually be running a bank!” Antonio is radiant with warm pride and enthusiasm. “I’m so proud to be able to help my community move forward with affordable loans that can be obtained right here!”

Geiner Gonzáles Marín descending into the valley of La Sierra, Platanares to reach a Kiva borrower’s coffee farm.

The complexity of the national bank loan process, plus the constant rejection of farmer applications, made many farmers feel inadequate and incompetent when seeking credit.  In contrast, FUDECOSUR has taught clients that they are not only valued borrowers – they are also essential, competent and capable financial services partners.

As farmers with intimate knowledge of the land, and personal experience with members of their community, Credit Committees are well-suited to decide which business proposals are most apt to thrive from a micro-loan.  If an unprofitable business proposal is presented (such as planting crops in areas not conducive to successful crop production), the hands-on farming expertise of Credit Committees is leveraged, to help prospective borrowers come up with alternative proposals, which will generate positive growth, and help borrowers thrive.

Because of FUDECOSUR’s inclusive village banking model, farmers who formerly perceived themselves as financially illiterate, have become highly functional village bank operators who now beam with confidence.

“Loan officers like Geiner make us better people” says Arrelio Arías Brellas – President of FUDECOSUR’s village bank in Cedral de Cajón.  They’ve made credit processes easy to understand, and loans fast and easy to obtain. Because of their time and dedication, we are now equipped to help our community improve their businesses, and make life easier.”

Miguel Mora Vargas, Treasurer of Cedral de Cajon’s village bank, explains how loan officers lead by example, and are a great source of inspiration for village bank officers, who are also borrowers themselves.

“Geiner’s hard work makes us want to work harder every day to help our community succeed. Loan officers like Geiner are always punctual, and they stay after hours to ensure all credit exchange tasks are understood and complete. Their knowledge and expertise becomes our knowledge and expertise, and we learn more every day. Our community is stronger because of FUDECOSUR.”

Thumbs-up and smiles from a proud coffee farmer - La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.

As village bank operators express their gratitude for FUDECOSUR’s inclusive and educational community development model, monsoon rains often thunder down outside, making a mighty rap-a-tap-tap chorus of sound, which mimics roaring applause.

Cedral de Cajón is just one of many communities expressing deep thanks for FUDECOSUR credit services, and the Kiva loans that help make them possible.

Time and again, I have the pleasure of seeing borrower hardships converted into eventual successes through Kiva loans, and I redefine the concept of wealth every time.

Most FUDECOSUR borrowers, due to their isolated location, have never had a relationship with a national bank, and therefore, don’t even have savings accounts. They are subsistence farmers who don’t become financially rich with Kiva loans, but who are able to maintain crops and cattle for more consistent production, or grow their businesses when weather and market conditions are optimal.

With each new loan received (after years of exclusion from traditional financial services), FUDECOSUR borrowers feel that their work is valued and more important than ever. With each successful harvest supported by Kiva loans, farmers stand taller. Single mothers raising pigs which give birth to litters of 6, or chickens producing piles of healthy eggs, radiate with a newfound belief in themselves as capable and successful providers for their children. Sons producing more abundant coffee beans or corn with nutrient-rich fertilizers, beam with pride, as they are able to care for aging parents, and feel confident about supporting a future family of their own.

What price tag can you place on the renewed sense of life, optimism, enthusiasm and excitement that comes from feeling valued, confident, competent, capable and hopeful?

The value, in my humble opinion, is priceless.

And though life is not easy for these hardworking borrowers, they are growing wealthy in many ways human beings should be, thanks very much in part, to generous Kiva lenders.

Past Blogs:

• Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof: Making Non-Profit Microfinance Sustainable

Upcoming Blogs:

• Kiva Borrower Stories and Thanks from The Field
• Jungle Journals – Adventures in the Wilds of Región Brunca

How YOU Can Help:

• Lend to a Kiva entrepreneur today!
• Apply for the Kiva Fellows Program!
• Join the FUDECOSUR lending team!

Julie Kerr is Kiva Fellow serving in San Isidro, Costa Rica. She currently supports FUDECOSUR (Foundation for the Development of Southern Communities).  FUDECOSUR is a non-profit microcredit provider, dedicated to empowering Southern Costa Rica’s disenfranchised agricultural sector.

“Microfinance is not aid. This is the common misconception.” The words echoed through my head during a morning meeting at BRAC Sierra Leone’s country office with microfinance representatives from various organizations and banks in Sierra Leone, all present to discuss the state of local microfinance. I learned that an overwhelming majority of these microfinance providers shared a common challenge: scaling microfinance and infusing economic sustainability into an environment dominated by aid and financial dependency.

Aid: What does it mean for a country recovering from a devastating decade-long civil war that killed over 50,000 of its people? And what does it mean for microfinance organizations that aim to loosen the leash from dependency and push for sustainability? After taking an okada ride through Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, one may find the presence of international aid ubiquitous, and acting as a double-edged sword in the fight against poverty.

Two Edges, One Battle

A family planning health campaign sponsored by UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund.

The first edge of the sword has undeniably achieved great feats for Sierra Leone. Since 2001, international aid has helped Sierra Leone take tremendous strides in healthcare, democracy, human rights, and the fight against HIV/AIDS. Donors and organizations such as UNICEF have started to offer pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of five free healthcare, drastically reducing child and maternal mortality. Additionally, private and public funding is being utilized to build and improve roads and public health facilities throughout Sierra Leone.

The other edge of the sword, however, has created a barrier for sustainable growth and capacity-building. Microfinance representatives in Sierra Leone shared that they have often faced difficulty convincing unbanked communities who lack access to the financial mainstream of the self-sustainability and longer-term return on invest and growth associated with microfinance. Due to the infiltration of aid for many socioeconomic services and assistance programs, microfinance loans, according to local reps, are commonly perceived as aid funds, and on occasion, are not repaid by clients. As a result, the organizations providing these loans have to write off more loans as default or delinquent, take on more debt, and struggle to keep their own services afloat.

Aid in Sierra Leone: helpful or harmful for development?

Although aid has created positive changes in health and infrastructure in Sierra Leone, and will continue to help the country make strides as it recovers from the impact of war, it will not win this battle on poverty alone. It will clearly require more than a band-aid solution to foster growth, raise employment, improve health, reduce debt, and create opportunities for economic growth. Hopefully over time, microfinance will become one of  many prominent factors helping shift an economy away from dependency, and towards a more self-sustaining Sierra Leone.

Tejal Desai is a Kiva Fellow serving in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She is working at BRAC Sierra Leone, and encourages you to support entrepreneurship, prosperity, and sustainability in Sierra Leone by joining BRAC Sierra Leone’s lending team and loaning to a BRAC borrower.  To learn more about the impact of BRAC Sierra Leone’s small enterprise loan, click here.

My first loan officer training in June, at Fundación Alternativa in Quito, Ecuador

The most challenging part of loan officer trainings for we Kiva Fellows is not instructing loan officers to obtain signed consent forms from borrowers, or explaining how money moves from lender, to Kiva, to Caja Rural, to the client. The most difficult explanation is often how and why. That there are hundreds of thousands of lenders out there, all excited to make a $25 loan to someone else in the world- at no gain of their own- is often lost on new loan officers. But making this clarification is what enables these extremely important players in the Kiva process to understand why it all works, and why providing details that show clearly the life of the borrower is imperative to facilitating the connection between borrower and lender.

At a recent loan officer training, I tried a different approach than the usual Powerpoint and role playing. Before I even left for the training inLima, I sat down with Caja Señor de Luren’s business manager Victor Miranda, and together we searched for a loan together on the site. Victor wanted to lend to a woman in the very poorest of countries- someone who has true need, he said. After about twenty minutes on the site, we found a borrower in Cambodia, a woman who will be using her loan to buy fertilizer for her rice crops, and who hopes to use her profits to send her two children to school. Victor felt a connection to her, as he is a father of two young children, and he too wants to see them educated and hopefully, one day graduate from college.

Fast forward to Lima: I shared my and Victor’s experience on the site, and then loan officers and I fished the site for our own borrower. I asked loan officers what they liked learning about the borrowers: their families, one said. I like hearing about whether their children are in school, added another. Maykol liked hearing about why a client was successful in his business (is it his good reputation that makes him a good bus driver? Is it her good cooking that makes her a successful market stall operator?). We all liked hearing about the cultural norms of another country. And it was clear that we could gear our own profiles to include this type of content.

I also try to demonstrate that there is no ideal Kiva borrower. When loan officers ask me, ‘How do you choose,’ I give a few answers. Before I began volunteering for Kiva, I chose female borrowers in Africa who were trying to support children’s education. When I began my fellowship, I sought out female borrowers with my own partner organization in Ecuador, seeking to support my own Field Partners (and also hoping to meet them!). And as I enter my eighth month as Kiva Fellow, the next time I lend I know I’ll have a very different selection process- specifically, to lend through Field Partners that stand out to me for their social programs, are located within my own neighborhood (whether in New York or Quito, Ecuador) or alternatively to support green loans or recyclers of scrap metal. Obviously, in my time as a fellow, my selection process too has changed (and has become very specific).

Kiva Coordinator Karla Carlos at Caja Señor de Luren's loan officer training in Lima, Perú

Soon-to-be loan officer Dayana was most intrigued as to why borrowers lend: “how they [that’s you, the lenders] lend to someone else just because [borrowers] need the money. I think that’s what Kiva is about, right? These people that lend money-they don’t need to. They don’t get anything out of it. But they do, because it’s the right thing. To help out other people, like I would lend some eggs or a hammer to a neighbor, but on the other side of the world- and why? Because I care about her story.”

This is what struck the officers the most- just how international Kiva is. And it really is striking. Never before has a housewife in Arkansasinteracted with a rice farmer in Cambodia, an executive in Belgiumwith a market vender in Peru, or a nonprofit worker from New Jerseywith a butcher in Mongolia, with the ease that we can today. I told our new loan officers that all this would be impossible without the internet, but even more so it would be impossible with them. All substantial material on the site: the photos, the profiles, the journals, come straight from the eyes and ears of the loan officers.

So how does that translate to our borrowers? How can this inform the work of loan officers and Caja Señor de Luren, and how can I express this in my trainings? We spent twenty minutes of the training live on the Kiva website, looking at borrowers, grading their profiles, and painstakingly selecting who we wanted to lend to. And the moral of the story: we selected our borrower based on the quality of the photo and the profile. Providing an incredible photo can be difficult; Caja Señor de Luren cannot afford to provide its loan officers with digital cameras, so they instead take photos with their camera phones. But we do have control over borrower profiles and making them as content rich as possible.

So the question remains: how do you lend? How do you choose? I leave it to you, Kiva lenders, to fill in the blanks!

Kate Bennett (KF16) is thrilled to be working in Ica, Peru with Kiva Field Partner Caja Rural Señor de Luren. For more on Kate’s experiences with Caja Rural Señor de Luren or life in Peru, follow her work here.

If you have any other questions about Caja Rural Señor de Luren’s work in Ica, send Kate Bennett a message via her lender page or check out their Field Partner page. 

And better yet, to continue supporting Kiva and Caja Rural Señor de Luren in rural Perú, join Caja Rural’s lender team or check out their currently fundraising loans on Kiva!

One of the great joys and privileges of being a Kiva Fellow is to go along with loan officers when they are meeting Kiva borrowers and new clients. One of my most memorable outings was a visit of an HIV-clinic in a public hospital in Ecuador´s largest city Guayaquil. In the first part of this blog post I recounted how I drove with Nahin Alvarado from Banco D-MIRO´s headquarters on Guayaquil´s Isla Trinitaria to the HIV-clinic at Hospital Abel Gilbert. Nahin is the bank´s loan officer specializing in HIV-positive and/or disabled clients who have the right to receive a discount micro-loan. And Banco D-MIRO is the only micro-institution in all Ecuador to provide financial products especially for these two long-excluded client groups.

Nahin is talking to a patient outside of Guayaquil´s HIV clinic

While Nahin is presenting the bank´s special loan products to the patients in the HIV- clinic´s crowded waiting room, Franklin walks towards me. A strong man in his forties, Franklin is the leader and community organizer of FUSAD (Frente Unido por la Salud y los Derechos – in English: United Front for Health and Rights), a self-help and support group for HIV-positive people, based at the hospital and well known for the professional education courses they provide to their members.

Franklin tells me: “Even though it is illegal, many patients are getting fired from their job once their boss finds out about their HIV-status. For those people we provide an alternative by teaching them how to become independent in a new line of work.” FUSAD organizes month-long training classes in which HIV-positive patients are taught how to design and tailor clothes, create jewelery, and provide cosmetic treatments. When I tell Franklin about Kiva and this blog, he immediately asks me to publish his email address, so people around the world can directly get in touch with him and his organization in case they have questions, wish to make a connection, or want to provide support to FUSAD. He can be reached at ongfusad@hotmail.com.

Franklin is still talking to me in the waiting room, when Christian joins our discussion. Christian is the public face and main community organizer for CEPVVS, the Ecuadoran Coalition for People Living with HIV/Aids which also has the most comprehensive website on HIV in Ecuador that I could find.

I immediately follow Christian when he asks me to accompany him outside, so that the loud TV doesn´t interfere with our conversation. As we step out of the shed-like building of the HIV-clinic, the noise is almost as earth-shattering outside as it was in the waiting room. A crew of garbage men is in the middle of cleaning up the mountain of rubble and trash – including the prosthetic leg – that struck me when Nahin and I were walking towards the clinic earlier in the morning. Christian and I sit down on a bench and he tells me about CEPVVS.

The logo of CEPVVS - the subtitle says: "Together and Organized for our Rights"

CEPVVS is a non-profit organization whose staff and members are all HIV-positive and are working towards improving the quality of life for HIV-positive people with focus on human rights, civic participation, effective leadership, and overall development.  CEPVVS works in 15 provinces all over Ecuador, and Christian belongs to a team of three trained counselors and community organizers who work in and around Guayaquil – a city of over 3 million inhabitants. He, too, is very interested in hearing back from people around the world and exchanging experiences through the Internet and email, asking me to publish his email address in this blog post: jamebond22@yahoo.com

We have barely sat down when Christian begins to tell me his story and encourages me to recount it here: In 1997 he first learned that he was HIV-positive. “I must have gotten it from my girlfriend. She always told me that she was HIV-positive, but my love for her was greater than my fear of getting infected.” Now, 14 years later, he has a 5 year old HIV-negative daughter who doesn´t know about her father´s infection. For many years, Christian has been working for CEPVVS without pay or official assignment. Only recently, four months ago, did he first receive a stipend. I am not surprised to hear that his stipend is so small that it won´t allow him to keep working for the organization for much longer: This month, in November 2011, Christian ends his work with CEPVVS – as he told me – “to get a real job in order to be able to provide a better life for my daughter.” His successor will be Franklin, assuming a second position in addition to his work with FUSAD.

While talking with Christian about medical treatment options that are available to HIV-positive people in Ecuador, I quickly realize that he is extremely well informed. As he tells me: “The Ecuadoran State pays for your medication once you are known to have a T-cell count of under 350 cells/mm3. In the past the threshold used to be 200, but the government recently raised it, which is good.” [In the United States, by comparison, doctors recommend to start treatment if the T-cell count dips below 500 cells/mm3.] Yet, as Christian emphasizes, the problem is that the medication supply is neither permanent nor secure. “Hospitals often run out of medication and patients can´t help but wait a couple of days for a new delivery to arrive. Another issue is the high price: I know patients who receive medication from the State, but don´t use it for themselves. Instead, they sell it on the black market as a way to pay for food and school books for their children.”

Despite his expert knowledge, Christian was surprised about the numbers that I had found on CIA – The World Fact Book. A comparison between Ecuador and two developed western countries – the United States and Switzerland – reveals that the HIV adult prevalence rates are pretty similar:

These rates translate into the following absolute numbers of people (adults and children) living with HIV/AIDS:

The principal difference is in the number of HIV deaths:

Whereas in Switzerland about 100 out of 18,000 HIV positive people died in 2009 (a rate of 0.55% of all those infected), this number is 17,000 out of 1.2 million (1.4%) in the United States and 2,200 out of 37,000 (or a shocking 5.9%) in Ecuador. I ask Christian about an explanation, wondering: “Is this because the application process or requirements to receive free medication from the Ecuadoran government is very cumbersome?” “No, not at all,” Christian answers. “It´s much more because people just don´t know – or don´t want to know – that they are HIV positive. They will only go to see a doctor and get a blood test when they are very ill and show symptoms of full-blown Aids. At that stage it is often too late and impossible to reestablish a patient´s health.” He goes on to tell me of a case he witnessed recently: “In Ecuador, women normally learn about their HIV status during their pregnancy, when they undergo their first blood test. Even knowing that their wives are positive, I know men who are simply too scared to take the exam for themselves. Instead they continue with their lives as if nothing happened…”

At that point, our discussion is cut short: A doctor rushes out from the HIV-clinic towards us, calling for Christian to urgently attend a pregnant woman inside the building who is on the edge of breaking down. Christian rushes back in to support her.

As I follow him with my eyes, I become aware for the first time that during our conversation all the debris has been loaded onto a garbage truck – the previously obstructed walkway to the HIV-clinic is now clean and spotless. But for how long?

My thoughts are soon interrupted by Nahin who comes out of the clinic, exhausted but satisfied. Today twelve people have entered their contact information on his mailing list in order to receive information on Banco D-MIRO´s special discount loan products – twelve people who may get their first chance to access a micro-loan since their infection, getting new hope to grow their existing business and to secure the future of their spouses and children. Despite this success, Nahin stays realistic when he tells me: “Out of these twelve people, at best six fulfill the requirements for a loan. They need to have an existing business and be able to repay their loan – otherwise their application is not going to be approved. Out of these six, probably three will have a bad credit history or existing debt that keeps them from receiving a loan. At best, there are 2 or 3 people on that list who will become clients of Banco D-MIRO and potentially Kiva-borrowers.” How sobering! But then I remember my many past encounters with borrowers of Banco D-MIRO, thinking to myself: “Even if just one micro-entrepreneur ends up getting a chance to realize her or his dream, then all was worth it!” Looking at Nahin, I know that he has the same thought…

Emmanuel M. von Arx is a Kiva Fellow working with Banco D-MIRO in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Banco D-MIRO focuses on clients who have long been excluded from the traditional financial system for reasons that include culture, sex, race, poverty, disability, and illness. To learn more, please visit Banco D-MIRO´s partner page on Kiva or become a member of the lending team of Banco D-MIRO, the only provider of special financial services for HIV-positive and disabled clients in Ecuador.