Kiva Stories from the Field

Working with Mekong Plus in Vietnam has allowed me to observe some of the many different ways one can help the poor. Aside of visiting Kiva borrowers, I also got a chance to observe other projects that Mekong Plus implements as part of its holistic approach towards attacking poverty.

Mekong Plus an extremely wide range of activities. One of the most successful and popular programs is its quilt shop, Vietnam Quilts. The project employs over a hundred poor women in the areas of Duc Linh and Long My. The women are taught to sew quilts and souvenirs that are then sent to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to be sold. The project has been very successful and self-sustaining. The revenues generated are poured back into the program, and the women receive a monthly salary. The impact is tremendous because it allows the women to stay close to home and work instead of leaving their children for several days at a time to find work in far away areas. Also, it empowers the women by providing handicraft skills and financial freedom. I had a chance to visit all of the small shops where the quilts and souvenirs are made and the quilt store in Ho Chi Minh City.

One of Mekong Plus’s most important programs to providing a long-term solution to poverty is its scholarship project. Mekong Plus provides hundreds of scholarships to poor students. Education in Vietnam is not free or mandated. Families must pay a yearly tuition if they want their children to receive an education. Also, they are responsible for buying the school uniforms and school supplies. For many poor families, the fee is too high. Many children of the families I visited do not complete the 8th grade. Without an education, they have very little hope of breaking free of poverty. I went with a loan officer one day in order to film and document the event, and I also ended up handing out scholarships. The parents of the students were also there, applauding as their sons’ and daughters’ names were called out. The parents have sacrificed a lot as well to keep their children in school. Not only do they lose on potential income their children could earn by working, but they must also save up to buy the uniforms and school supplies. The scholarships provided by Mekong Plus cover the school fees. The parents would not send their children to school though if they didn’t think it was worth the investment. Talking to the families afterwards, it is clear to me that the families realize how important education is to providing a better life for their children.

In addition to educating poor children, Mekong Plus provides health education to women. I visited two separate classes, one about female hygiene and diseases and another about proper infant care. Many families, especially in the rural areas of Vietnam, have very little exposure to properly caring for themselves or their children. They rely on advice from their friends, family, and even Vietnamese myths. Doctor visits are expensive and health insurance in Vietnam is inadequate. The class on proper infant care was very engaging and successful. The women learned about the human respiratory system. In small groups, they drew and labeled the different parts of the respiratory system. They were given different scenarios and symptoms and were asked to identify the illness. The Mekong Plus staff also taught the women how to properly care for an ill infant. Afterwards, the women were quizzed on what they learned. The class does not end there though. The women must then teach a class on the same topic in the future, and the Mekong staff will supervise them and provide support.

The class on female hygiene was a much more difficult class because the topic is still taboo in Vietnam, especially in the rural areas. The women were less willing to participate. I learned that over 40% of the women in Vietnam however suffer from various diseases, including STDs and breast cancer. The class aimed to provide correct information to the women so that they would be able to self-diagnose themselves and prevent infection. The Mekong Plus staff covered symptoms of various STDs and how to self-check for breast cancer. The staff member also taught the women how to maintain proper hygiene, such as where they should hang their underwear to dry. Cultural attitudes in Vietnam are still tremendous hindrances to sex and health education. I doubt anyone knows when Vietnam will be more open to the subject, but in the mean time, I think it’s wonderful that Mekong Plus has taken it upon themselves to provide proper information to the rural women. Through my interviews, I find that one of the biggest reasons a family ends up in poverty is due to illness. Families must take out huge loans and sell their land and assets in order to pay for doctor visits, hospital bills, and medication. Being able to prevent illness or detect it early may go a long way towards ending poverty.

I only highlighted three of Mekong Plus’s other programs aside from microfinance, but I would like to mention there other projects really quickly. In the Mekong Delta area, Mekong Plus helps build roads and bridges. They have an incense program that provides jobs and income to dozens of poor individuals. The incense is made by the poor and sent to France as part of a Fair Trade agreement. In addition to providing hygiene education to women, Mekong Plus sends toothbrushes, toothpaste, fluoride, and workbooks to schools so that children can learn and practice proper dental hygiene. Mekong Plus trains local citizens to become veterinarians so that the poor farmers can help one anther instead of Mekong Plus having to constantly provide veterinary services. Mekong Plus also has a theatre group that writes plays and puts on performances in the community. The theatre shows are used to educate the community about issues such as alcohol, drugs, HIV, and domestic violence. The list of activities that Mekong Plus is involved goes on. I have been very fortunate to visit many of its other programs, and it has taught me a great deal about how poverty is not simply an economic issue. It is also an issue of health, culture, politics, etc.

One of the most memorable visits I had occurred while I was doing interviews in Duc Linh, Binh Thuan province. I visited a small house made of dirt walls and a dirt floor. The walls were crumbling and had holes in them. The family used some plastic to cover up the hole so rain would not get into the house. Sometimes, the plastic is not all that successful. The mother of the house is Pham Thi Xi. She is 38 and married to Nguyen Van Tam. The interview began fairly typically. I asked her about her day and explained to her who I am. I noticed a TV in the corner of the room and asked her if she just bought it. In Vietnam, it seems that no matter how poor, everyone owns a television and karaoke machine. I am always wondering, with all the needs of the family, why purchase a television. Xi responded to my question with a huge smile on her face. She had saved up money from her improved earnings to buy the television. She turned and spoke to the loan officer Chi Phu and said, “It’s thanks to you.” She then couldn’t hold back her tears as she told Chi Phu a story of how the other day her sons were scolded by another family. Her sons went to another family’s home to watch TV, and they were told to leave because their feet and clothes were dirty. Xi said she didn’t want her sons to feel ashamed about being poor, so with the money she earned, she bought them a TV. To her, and probably many other families, having a TV relieves them of the constant reminder that they are poor. It also may symbolize the progress that they have made through their hard work. I am extremely glad that Xi shared that story. While I probably cannot fully understand their struggles, the stories of the borrowers give me a better perspective on the definition of poverty.

Hi everyone.  I’m Felix, a Kiva fellow in Vietnam.  I am and have been working with Mekong Plus since late August.  I apologize for not blogging earlier.  My schedule was much different from what I expected, but I will be making up those blogs in the next few weeks with reflections on what has happened these past 3 months.

I guess for my first blog EVER, I’d like to share a story about why microlending has greater potential for success rather than donations.  After some 200 or some odd interviews, I had some questions and concerns about microlending.  Many of the borrowers I visited, while better off than before, were by no means no longer impoverished.  Many were still in debt to moneylenders or the government.  The borrowers were still working extremely physically demanding jobs.  They even sometimes struggled to make the repayments on the Kiva loan.  I understand it’s not easy to step out of poverty, but with the incremental progress that the borrowers were making, I wondered how long it would take them or if they would ever no longer be impoverished.  How much effective is microlending than donations?

While pondering the question, I had a chance to visit family I never knew I even had.  My dad emailed me the phone number of his cousin, and I gave her a call one weekend to see if I could come down.  I was pretty excited because I have never seen my family’s hometown.  Co Thao (Aunt Thao) took a bus with her aunt to Long My to pick me up.  On our way down to Bac Lieu, Co Thao told me if any family member asked me for money, I should tell them that I don’t have any.  I asked her why not, and she began to explain to me her family’s situation.  She told me how her dad has become dependent on money that the family in the States, including my dad, sends.  Ong Chu, her father, has a huge plot of land, yet he doesn’t work.  He encourages his family to stay home and wait for the next time money is sent over instead of going to school and working.  Every time Ong Chu receives money, he spends it all in one day, paying off debts that he’s developed and drinking.

The trip to my family’s hometown was bittersweet.  It wasn’t the way I had imagine my visit to my family’s hometown would be, but the experience has really completed my Kiva Fellowship.  Now, I have a better sense of why I journal and promote Kiva.  It also gave me a real life example of why we have microlending in the world.

On a sidenote, I’d like to congratulate Co Thao on her wedding and opening up a hair salon shop!  I’m proud to see her do something about her situation, and I know she’ll do what’s right for her family.