I dedicated the last few weeks of my fellowship to traveling to rural Haiti and meeting some of Zafèn’s borrowers. Out of the ten borrowers I visited, eight of them were a part of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) which represent the informal micro-finance ...
Continue Reading >>Stories tagged with Haiti
Aug 8, 2018
Haiti
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While I was in the Dominican Republic, I caught sight of the Haitian border and noticed that I couldn’t see as many trees when looking towards Haiti. My journey to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, confirmed this impression of 2 very different worlds on the same island.
I knew about deforestation but was still taken aback to see it so clearly. Unlike its neighbor the Dominican Republic, which...
Jun 6, 2018
Global Update
While the Dominican Republic is famous for Punta Cana and its pristine beaches, its neighbour Haiti is mostly known for being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but both countries have much more to offer than these limiting stereotypes.
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Sep 9, 2016
Haiti
When the French colonizers settled in the Hispaniola Island, they called Haiti “La Perle des Antilles.” Once you spend enough time in the country, you will find that there is a good reason for calling it as such. For anyone who visits Haiti for the first time, they will be shocked by their first impressions while driving from the airport to the hotel: the narrow and overcrowded streets, the piles of garbage laying at every other corner, the “Blokis” (Haitian creole for "traffic jam") every 500 meters and the countless motorcycles just trying to move forward by invading the other side of the... Continue Reading >>
Jul 7, 2016
Haiti
Outside of Haiti, little is known about these amazing and courageous women who oftentimes put their lives at risk every day to provide a better future for their families. A “Madan Sara” is a businesswoman who will travel to rural regions in the country to buy local goods and bring them to the city markets to sell. Normally, we find two types of Madans Sara: those who are wholesalers and those who work in the retail business by reselling large stocks in smaller portions.
It is a profession that is normally passed on from mothers to daughters, and in...
Continue Reading >> It is a profession that is normally passed on from mothers to daughters, and in...
Nov 11, 2013
Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Haiti
As surprised as my family and friends were when I told them that I’m heading off to Kyrgyzstan, that’s about as surprised as my Kiva colleagues were when they found out that I’m also heading to Frankfurt, for a portion of my Kiva Fellowship.
At first pass, Germany doesn’t seem like a country that would fit with Kiva’s non-profit microfinance orientation and mission statement. Yet, in Frankfurt, one of the world’s prominent financial centres, an innovative start-up and recent Kiva Field Partner, Yunus Social Business (“YSB”), is pushing the envelope of social business investing,... Continue Reading >>
At first pass, Germany doesn’t seem like a country that would fit with Kiva’s non-profit microfinance orientation and mission statement. Yet, in Frankfurt, one of the world’s prominent financial centres, an innovative start-up and recent Kiva Field Partner, Yunus Social Business (“YSB”), is pushing the envelope of social business investing,... Continue Reading >>