I will not eat pork. It's not a religious thing for me, nor is it a question of taste; I think bacon tastes fantastic and is a wondrous smell in the morning, particularly maple-cured smoked bacon, eagerly sizzling in the pan as the coffee brews. This is the smell that mornings are made of, that makes... Continue Reading >>
Stories tagged with Social Performance
I will not eat pork. It's not a religious thing for me, nor is it a question of taste; I think bacon tastes fantastic and is a wondrous smell in the morning, particularly maple-cured smoked bacon, eagerly sizzling in the pan as the coffee brews. This is the smell that mornings are made of, that makes... Continue Reading >>
This Thanksgiving I may not be eating turkey and pumpkin pie, but I have many reasons to be thankful. I am grateful to work with two Kiva Partners in Togo and Benin who go above and beyond to provide services to poor clients who previously had no access to formal credit.
Reaching the Poorest of the Poor...
Continue Reading >>He is named Global Young Leader by the World Economic Forum and is on the Forbes 40 under 40 list.
It is easy to become impressed, maybe intimidated by a person that holds such accolades. But Premal Shah, president of Kiva, is the last person to become intimidated by. However, impressed? Yes, highly. And he was coming my way to Nicaragua.
The only time I...
Continue Reading >>On my last post I outlined some of the difficulties of working and living in Bolivia. Marches, protests, and strikes from nearly every sector of the population make it hard for any organization to conduct business here in La Paz and its surrounding areas. Yet there are plenty of Kiva’s partners that manage to do a great job despite any and all local challenges.
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I lived the life of a Kiva Zip borrower for a day as I rafted down the Nile in Uganda. It all started last weekend when the brave expats of Nairobi and Kampala decided to meet in Jinja. Jinja is a quaint city in Uganda serving the best Rolex, and is also the place where the Nile originates. With every natural wonder of the world comes some adventure – a full day Grade 5 rafting trip at the Source.
As a first-timer to extreme action sports in the water, I decided to tune in to every emotion – the anticipation of a class 5 rapid, the heightened fear every...
Continue Reading >>Alice Reeves | KF18 | Kosovo & Albania
KF 18 is reaching The Field…
….so first of all I would like to extend a huge welcome to all the lovely people at KosInvest – based in Pristina, Kosovo. KosInvest is one of Kiva’s newest field partners, and everyone here has certainly made me feel immensely welcome from the moment I touched down!
I’m going to take this “blogotunity” to introduce you to a tiny, landlocked state in the Balkans and explain how Kiva is getting involved here for the first time.
Having emerged from the shadow of a...
Continue Reading >>Jon Hiebert | KF 17 | Mongolia
This family was surprisingly connected. They showed me that the solar panel could charge their cell phones, and yes, they have reception here!
As we drove hundreds of kilometers on this “Mongolian highway” (dirt road), the only thing that broke the vast nothingness was animals and the occasional ger (Mongolian nomadic tent). We were headed to a city called Kherlen in the Eastern Mongolian province of Dornod, where I was scheduled to check in with five borrowers to verify some information.
While bumping...
Continue Reading >>Emmanuel M. von Arx | KF 16+17 | Mexico
Kiva is all about stories. What draws us all in and inspires us to lend are the stories of courageous micro-entrepreneurs that speak of hard-ship and success, challenges and dreams, love and dedication. Single mothers who request a loan to provide for their children; fathers who are able to finance their kids’ education with a business that was started originally with a Kiva loan; and youths who are the first to study in their family, thanks to the generosity of Kiva lenders (such as in the loans of Kiva´s Field Partner...
Continue Reading >>Chris Paci | KF16 & KF17 | Azerbaijan
It’s the beginning of March, and by now, most of KF17 has been out in the field for several weeks. We’ve settled in at our field partners, gotten to know some of our new coworkers, and started to dig a...
Continue Reading >>Michael Slattery | KF 17 | Togo
Early on in my stay in Lomé I presented the Social Performance badge certificate awarded by Kiva to my microfinance institution WAGES. I made enquiries and had a gilded frame made for the certificate at a local photography shop, and presented it to the Director of Women and Associations for Gains for Economic and Social (WAGES), Monsieur NASSIROU Ramanou.
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