Dimitri Zakharov | KF20 | Azerbaijan
Something big is happening here – and you don’t know anything about it. As I explained in my last post, Azerbaijan has amassed great wealth due to its reserves of oil. It is the third largest oil producing country out of the CIS nations and the government oil fund, Sofaz, currently sits on $33.9 billion. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan took on a staggering initiative of modernization in order to shed its Soviet past and remake its own Azeri identity. The frontline of this metamorphosis is Baku...
Feb 27, 2013
Albania
Come with me on a journey to northern Albania, an area known for legendary hospitality, ancient citadels, and blood feuds. In many villages in the north the people are not governed by 21st century european law, but a law that is much older called the Kanun. The Kanun, or canon, is a 500-...
Feb 27, 2013
India
Last week I had the privilege of visiting Churachandpur, the second-largest city in the state of Manipur. Three borrower groups from the surrounding area were cycling out; that is, three groups were making their final repayments to WSDS and I was there to collect journal information for Kiva for the first time in India. It was a truly exciting, heartwarming, and awakening day for me, because it was a chance to see what these women have really been able to accomplish over the course of their six month loans.
So much of what we read and hear about the successes of microfinance can seem...
Feb 26, 2013
United States
MEET JESSIE GOLDENBERG: entrepreneur, New Yorker, and - as of today, Feb 25, 2013 - Kiva Zip’s 150th crowd-funded startup in the US.
Jessie is a smart, resourceful, double-shift working Brooklynite and NYU graduate. Her 6 month old business idea - turning a used 14-footer truck into a mobile fashion boutique that tours festivals, markets and college campuses called NOMAD - is already revenue-generating. So it begs the question: why did someone like Jessie...
Feb 25, 2013
Zimbabwe
Meet Henry Bartram,
A career private equity professional in London who, about a decade ago, gave up his suit and tie to manage the British Red Cross response in Aceh, Indonesia after the December 2004 tsunami.
Henry Bartram, Founder and Managing Director, with a colleague at Thrive Microfinance
This experience led him to more social impact opportunities and ultimately to him becoming a Kiva Fellow. Henry was a member a KF15 and KF16, serving in Liberia and...
Feb 24, 2013
Tanzania
Marion Walls | KF19 | Tanzania
I’m on a quest to follow a Kiva loan from lender to borrower! How often have I dreamed of this whilst browsing my loans on a frosty winter weekend in Canada? Now I have an ideal opportunity to do so as the Kiva Fellow in Tanzania, so I’ll take you along for the ride!
My directions are set when a friend emails from Calgary: “I donated to the Jaguar Group. They’re asking for a loan in support of their beauty salon. I chose that one in honor of you – I figure you might want a haircut or a color...
Feb 22, 2013
Global Update
When I write this, I have just arrived in my new hometown for the next four months, Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Slowly I am getting used to being in one place for more than two consecutive weeks after having spent the past few months travelling over three continents to twelve countries with more than 200...
Kiva Fellow ready to explore the world!
Feb 22, 2013
Philippines
Keith Baillie | KF19 | Philippines
Part I: Construction of a New Community
Following the Sendong typhoon, many Cagayan de Oro residents were displaced. I visited one of the resettlement villages, Xavier Ecoville. Flood victims are still currently living in temporary wooden accommodation built by agencies like Habitat for Humanity.
Temporary housing:
But new permanent housing is being constructed, with the philosophy “We are not just building houses, we are building a community”.
...
Feb 21, 2013
Nicaragua
For a moment, think about what you do in a normal, everyday, 24-hour time period. Take a second; no rush.
Got it? Now imagine it without electricity.
I’m guessing a significant portion of your everyday activities would suddenly become impossible, extremely less efficient, or flat-out uncomfortable. Sure, you could probably go without some of the not-so-necessary first world luxuries, but...
Mural outside Tecnosol's office in Managua, Nicaragua
Feb 21, 2013
Chile
What does microfinance look like in a country that’s considered one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations? (BBC)
That was my immediate thought when told I would be working in Santiago, Chile as a Kiva Fellow. Understanding how small loans and accessible financial resources factor into Chile’s economic environment will be my task for the next four months.
Chile may have one of Latin America’s fastest growing economies, but just 40 years ago, it was home to one of Latin America’s bloodiest coups that left more than...