Stories tagged with Kyrgyz Republic
“I’m going to volunteer with Kiva in Kyrgyzstan and help the American University of Central Asia!”
“Wow! Great! Wait. What’s Kiva? Where’s Kyrgyzstan? What is an American university doing in Central Asia? There are a lot of holes in your story, is everything ok? Are you in trouble with the... Continue Reading >>
By Kiva Fellows | KF19 | All Over the World
With January 2013 coming to an end, KF19 fellows are either continuing on with KF20 or returning home to various responsibilities and careers. Regardless of the next adventure or destination, one thing is common among all: KF19 fellows have been permanently changed by their placements.
What began as a joint blog post about any person, place, or event during the course of the fellowship that affected our lives, of itself turned into simply the one person who left the most impact. Afterall,...
Continue Reading >>By Kiva Fellows | KF19 | All Over the World
A Happy Holidays to the Kiva family everywhere! May your celebrations be filled with foods and flavor, smiling faces, natural beauty, light and memories… here are some gifts from around the world courtesy of the Kiva Fellows 19th class:
On the Twelve Days of Christmas my Kiva Fellow gave to me…Day 1: A Turtle Heading Out to...
Continue Reading >>Abhishesh Adhikari | KF19 | Kyrgyzstan
One of the most exciting things about Kyrgyzstan is the potential for the growth of entrepreneurship. Over the last few months, I had the opportunity to travel all across this country and meet a wide variety of borrowers and potential entrepreneurs. From young college students in Bishkek to farmers in the remote regions around Naryn, shopkeepers in violence affected areas of Osh to livestock owners in Batken. Just twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm here for starting up small...
Continue Reading >>Abhishesh Adhikari | KF19 | Kyrgyzstan
When you live in a new culture for a long enough time, you start to realize subtle cultural norms that you wouldn’t have necessary learned by reading a book about the country. I have now been in Kyrgyzstan for exactly 2 months. Here are some interesting facts about the country and its culture that I have noticed after arriving here.
1) Manas: Manas, a warrior who united Kyrgyzstan, is undoubtedly the most popular folk hero in the country. You see this name everywhere. There are streets, statues,...
Continue Reading >>Abhishesh Adhikari | KF19 | Kyrgyzstan
It’s crowded, overwhelming, loud, and cheap. And you can find almost anything you need here. Osh Bazaar is a huge marketplace near the center of Bishkek. People from all over Bishkek and the surrounding areas come here to buy and sell.
I entered this country with just the bare essentials. I squeezed everything in my traveler’s backpack and a small daypack. So when I first rented my place in...
Continue Reading >>Abhishesh Adhikari | KF19 | Kyrgyzstan
It has now been three weeks since I landed at Bishkek’s Manas International Airport. It’s amazing how many new things I have experienced and learned in such a short amount of time: a completely different culture, new friends, exotic food, interesting Soviet architecture, the Russian language, and many more. I am now glad to add a new item to that list: my...
Continue Reading >>Compiled by Kate Bennett, KF15, Ecuador
Kiva’s Field Partners are spread far and wide, from Nicaragua to Nepal, Afghanistan to America. As we lend $25 to a borrower in a distant land, we try to imagine what his or her life is like. This is one of Kiva’s greatest successes, in fact: it gives us a glimpse into the life of...
Continue Reading >>By Miranda Phua, KF15 – Bai Tushum & Partners, Kyrgyzstan
“Sorry, you’re moving to Fishcake?”
To my family and friends (and possibly many of you) Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is a mystery. Actually, until a couple of months ago, it was to me, too.
Despite its noticeably disproportionate consonant to vowel ratio, Kyrgyzstan has never really been a lead actor on the world stage. My knowledge was limited to discerning that the country was a former Soviet state perched somewhere near China and Afghanistan.
So, when Kiva advised that I would...
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