Posts tagged ‘Manila’
20 Years in 2012: A Celebration of Serving the Filipino Poor
The new year is already in full swing and resolutions are being met or failed as we speak. This New Year’s celebrations, for me, was a little different as I got to spend a full week with Center for Community Transformation staff as they celebrated 20 years of growth and successful service to the poor in the Philippines. President Ruth Callanta spent time reflecting on the past but also casting vision for the future as CCT hopes to transform more communities in the Philippines and reach more marginalized people groups.
Continue Reading 22 January 2012 at 04:51 The Musings of a Sponge 1 comment
And the Winner Is…………
By Jill Hall, KF16, Philippines
“And the winner is……..ppprrrrrmmmmmmm” (drum roll). Now, if you are anything like me, the image in your head is of some famous actress or actor fumbling with a large envelope, complaining about how is it hard to open. Luckily, for this post, we are going skip the envelope and talk about a winner who is a little closer to home for this Kiva Fellow. The winner I am talking about is CCT’s very own, Andresa Javines, who is Citi Bank’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” (MOTY) for Mindanao, Philippines.
Continue Reading 14 December 2011 at 07:00 The Musings of a Sponge 3 comments
Study Now, Pay Now: Funding Higher Education in the Philippines
by: Jill Hall, KF16, Philippines
The higher education loan was an exciting idea because it had the potential to provide access to financial backing to those who wanted to pursue further education but were often limited by the lack of availability of funding in their country. The higher education loans hold much potential but it also introduces a whole other set of potentially troubling issues.
It was a pleasure to sit down with Maricar Santiago, CCT with the Visions of Hope division, to discuss the the details of the “Study Now, Pay Now” education loan product.
Continue Reading 12 November 2011 at 18:08 The Musings of a Sponge 5 comments
Girlie’s Peanut Butter: Borrower Verification in the Philippines
By: Jill Hall, Manila,Philippines
As I stepped out in the oppressive humidity of a Manila morning, my spirit was excited and ready to leave the protection of CCT head office’s wonderful air conditioning because this was the day I got to do another borrower verification.This day’s journey is particularly exciting because the reward at the end of the two-hour bus side in Metro Manila traffic, is Caloocan City, a place where nature begins to meet houses and instead of high rises and smog you plunge in to lush green hills and palm trees. It is there that I will find the lady that makes peanut butter.
Continue Reading 23 October 2011 at 21:54 The Musings of a Sponge 6 comments
Work is cancelled: Typhoon Day
“To Luzon (Head office, NCR, C.Luzon, Rizal, Laguna-Cavite, Batangas) staff: Due to heavy rains and strong winds brought by Storm Pedring, management advised to stay at home. Work is suspended today. Kindly monitor our communities if help is needed. Ingat mga kapatid. God’s protection be upon us all!”
The view from my window. Manila Bay is typically completely stagnant water which is why the waves crashing over the break wall were alarming.
This was the text message I received at 6:24 am on Tuesday, September27th, 2011. I had already been up about an hour due to the sleepy realization that my room was distinctly more humid than my wonderful air conditioner allows for during my hours of sleep. Puzzled, I got out of bed to turn on my lights and identify the problem but the lights did not turn on. This information, in combination with a few other factors, helped me put the pieces of the puzzle together. There was heavy rain as I fell asleep, there were screaming winds outside my window and small puddles on the floor of my apartment. Monday’s rumors were true, Typhoon Pedring (international name Nesat) had come to visit Manila and the island of Luzon.
I had already seen what a few hours of rain in Manila could do to the streets and traffic here, so needless to say I was relieved when I got the text message cancelling work. Just the day before, a colleague had been telling me how his normal two hour commute (due to traffic and not physical distance) had become four hours due a minor rain shower, Monday morning. Knowing this, I could only imagine what havoc a typhoon could bring to the arteries and veins that feed into the heart of Manila and it’s surrounding areas.
So what does one do with a “Typhoon Day” from work? Having had snow days growing up with cold and snowy winters in Wisconsin (USA), I reviewed the activities I did then. Sledding? No, there were floods outside. Drink hot chocolate? No, I had no heat or power. Watch movies or work on Kiva tasks? No, my computer was dead and the Internet lab has no power. Obviously, I was new at this typhoon thing and the day unfolded with the following activities: sleeping, sopping up flooding in my 34th story apartment, releasing the foot of water on my balcony over the edge, walking the 34 flights of stairs twice to retrieve non-refrigerated food from the candlelit 7 11, and reading an entire 100 page book. At one point I did leave the building to attempt an escape to Starbucks two blocks away but quickly realized that between the thigh high flooding and massive winds, that a.Starbucks was probably closed, like all other establishments for blocks and b. this escape plan had some major flaws like the road being covered in water up to my hips.
The shallow end of the flooding on my street
The exciting conclusion to my story with the typhoon happened late on Tuesday night. Not only had the strong winds and rain subsided, but the power came back on. I had also managed to drain most of the water out of my apartment and I was reconnected to the world via the Internet. The only problem is that with all natural disasters, the story does not end there for a large portion of the people of Luzon. I came to the office on Wednesday to discover much of the city was still without power, much of the large street dwelling population here had been displaced to aid centers and that 400 of CCT’s borrowers had suffered great damage or loss to their homes and businesses. (For more information on the typhoon, you can check out this article from BBC News.)
So with this, or any natural disaster, what is the role of microfinance or our local NGO’s or MFI’s? My first hand experience that I can share with you is through the benefits that I have seen through my placement at CCT. Microfinance institutions have a unique relationship as they have access to borrowers in low income and remote areas. As the Philippines is a highly developed microfinance market, many of the MFI’s have begun to offer comprehensive services to their borrowers that can include aid and relief during natural disasters. Also CCT’s portfolio includes borrowers with small businesses and agricultural business, which could be severely affected by the typhoon if their inventory was washed away, or crops destroyed. Already, two days later, I just received a report on the status of CCT’s partners and the ways in which those affected received aid. CCT staff was ready and on call to assist their region of borrowers. The following quote was from a 2010 report given by CCT President, Ruth Callanta about their response and plan for other disasters.
“D. Responding to Disasters.During Typhoon Ondoy, CCT set in motion a disaster response effort that included relief, medical missions, and rehabilitation of the shelter and businesses of affected community partners and staff. This response, begun within 24 hours of the flood’s arrival, was possible because of a ready infrastructure of staff and volunteers at the community, barangay, municipal, provincial, regional, andnational levels.”
The small business owners in the area that I like have appeared to bounce back fairly quickly as the small pedi-cab (bicycle cabs) are transporting people through puddles and the street food cellars were out as soon as the flooding had diminished. Others, though, will need to take more time to recover as homes and business were lost. Luckily CCT is there to help them identify their losses and get reconnected to the services to help them recover.
Pedi-cab driver offering his services during the typhoon. The street was so flooded he had to walk the cab through the flooding.
This week Kiva started sharing the stories of lenders worldwide who talk about “Why I Kiva”. As I have listened to the stories of Kiva borrowers in the field and now heard from numerous Kiva lenders about why they are involved with Kiva. I have also been reflecting on the same question and in light of the events of this week, I just realized how much I like being a part of the movement to level the playing field. When a tornado, snowstorm, or flood hits us in the developed world, we do not worry if our money is safe in our savings or if our bank will provide us access to the capital to work on restoring our business or livelihoods. We also assume that we have the right to services that will come for us, if the community is destroyed and we are not safe. It is inspiring to be on the ground working with an organization that is providing capital and resources to the local microfinance institutions who have relationships established with these borrowers as well as the access to assist them through these uncontrollable disasters. Join us in this movement and share with us why you Kiva?.
Jill Hall is part of Kiva Fellows 16th class, working with Center for Community Transformation (CCT) in the Philippines. Please support CCT borrowers by reading about their stories and making a loan today. Be a part of the movement of Kiva and join CCT’s lending team.
The Circle of Life; Filipino Style
The phrase “The Circle of Life”, for individuals of my age demographic, typically conjures up images of Timon and Pumba. Hopefully I did not pull you into this blog under false pretenses but unfortunately the title is the only relation to the famous Disney movie. My hope is that you will continue reading in order to find out what “The Circle of Life” has to do with microfinance and Kiva.
First off, let me introduce you to the place, which is not Africa. For this circle of life I will be showing you around the workings of my MFI placement in Manila, Philippines. My MFI placement is called Center for Community Transformation (CCT). I have been working with CCT for just a week and already had a whirlwind introduction to what was microcredit services at birth and has transformed into a diverse body of services to enhance the lives of their “partners” in Metro Manila and to the greater body of the Philippines.
Prior to starting my Kiva fellow duties associated with their microfinance activities, the staff at CCT wanted to introduce me to the breadth of services they offer so I can understand how my participation in their microcredit services is contributing to a much bigger picture. I am going to bring you along on the ride, so you can get a glimpse of this bigger picture as well.
- Microfinance services- My first two days here I got to travel to several field offices of CCT, in order to see individual lenders and community lending meetings. One of these areas is just outside of Manila and it is called Payatas. This place is home to Manila’s infamous trash mountain called “The Smokey Mountain” (please see links on bottom for more information). Here many of the entrepeneurs own junk shops to clean and re-sell the items that have been scavenged from the nearby infamous “Smokey Mountain”.
- Payatas, the infamous “Smokey Mountain” landfill
- Health services- In this same field office I was introduced to just a portion of the services offered by CCT in their field offices. Here the CCT staff look for individuals that show leadership and consistency in participation in order to recruit them to be health partners for individuals undergoing Tuberculosis treatment in their area. The reason this is important is because the treatment for TB is a daily, six month long treatment that requires much support to complete correctly. If left to themselves, TB patients will often not complete the treatment without support.
- Feedings for Kaibigans (Tagalog for friends) aka Street dwellers- Manila is home to a large community of street dwellers. CCT has developed a transitional program to help individuals, who desire to do so, get off of the streets and find housing, mentorship, job training and school services for their children.
- Trade/job training- for the Kaibigans in areas of trade that include construction, janitorial work, sewing and agriculture (rice farming).
- School services and job skills for Kaibigan children- CCT has constructed several schools (by Kaibigan construction workers) to provide boarding and school services to students of all ages. In addition to this, they provide trade and job skill training to the teenage students.
- Agricultural services- for those Kaibigans who choose this areas of speciality they get to move out of Manila to help manage the rice fields and agricultural areas that are a part of the CCT portfolio . Not only do they earn a wage and food for their home/community, the food goes to supply the on-going Kaibigan feeding program from which these individuals came.
- Jobs- CCT provides jobs to the Kaibigans that go through their training programs as well as increased leadership opportunities for the entrepeneurs that show potential in these areas. The janitorial staff work at all of the CCT field offices (spanning the Philippines), the construction workers help build the buildings going up for CCT’s growing programs and the agricultural workers get to help raise the crops for the feeding program.
- CCT provides job training for former street dweller which they call Kaibigan (Tagalog for friend)
- Support and create community water programs- CCT finds local spiritual communities to become partners in supply affordable and safe drinking waters to low income areas. Through the water program, CCT is able to offer more jobs to Kaibigan to run the water purification process and packaging. CCT also works with local microentrepeneurs so that they can sell the safe water products.
The aforementioned items are a part of the whirlwind orientation I received over the last four days. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. These programs grew out of what was initially just microcredit services. It became a circle where borrowers become health partners and community leaders and former street dwellers find homes, get jobs, supply their products and skills to enhance CCT’s day to day functions. A CCT field staff and I were talking over my time in orientation and she kept emphasizing to me this element of spiritual transformation, long term growth/vision and sustainability. Together we joked about this “circle of life” that CCT is trying to provide. At the end of four days, it is not so much a joke but a serious and inspiring vision to me.
For more information on Manila’s “Smoky Mountain”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/world/asia/21iht-city7.1790859.html?pagewanted
Jill is a Kiva Fellow (KF16) currently serving with the microfinance institution CCT in Manila, Philippines. In addition to seeing micro-finance work first hand, she’s looking forward to personally assisting food vendor micro-entrepreneurs across the Philippines to increase their revenue. Please be a part of this movement and check out more about the stories of CCT, the Philippines and Kiva. Visit Kiva.org and CCT’s partner page (http://www.kiva.org/partners/1440).
9 September 2011 at 05:08 The Musings of a Sponge 8 comments
Developed or Developing – Which would you rather?
These words were inspired by a recent conversation I had with a Ugandan man who had spent 10 years of his life living and working in the UK. He left shocked over the lack of community, how you couldn’t just talk to a stranger on the streets like in Uganda, and how people would refuse to acknowledge someone sitting next to them on the subway. “They all just want their space!” he exclaimed mortified. He looked at his watch and said; “and it’s all about time.”
Here I seek to compile a list of my observations from living in both developed and developing. In my eyes both have certain advantages and a merger is what we need to aspire to.
Solb! 21 Centers, 21 Meals, 1 Day in Antique
“Solb” or “solve” is Filipino slang for “problem solved,” and typically said upon finishing a big meal. My problem (hunger) is solved, and I am full.
Was I ever solb last Friday…
Micro-Infrastructure
By Nick Whalley, KF12, Manila, Philippines
Every day at 5pm Manila is blanketed with rain. I was nominally aware of this before I arrived, and spent a significant amount of time and a not insignificant amount of money equipping myself with waterproof Gortex jacket. To my dismay, I would have been better equipped with a golf umbrella and a pair of waders. In the Philippines, the start of a downpour does not indicate a cold front moving in, indeed the air is stays so warm the effect resembles a hot shower. It is far too hot for my Gortex jacket, and the flooded streets make my pair of sneakers comically impractical. Each day’s commute involves navigation around enormous puddles and across streets inundated with water. An umbrella in one hand and a bag in the other, managing this task through dense crowds can be daunting.
Continue Reading 10 November 2010 at 08:00 nwhalley 1 comment
A Promising Loan
By Nick Whalley, KF12, Philippines
As I noted in an earlier blog, the bulk of the Center for Community Transformation’s loans are made to small variety store owners for inventory restocking. While this capital is necessary to sustain these businesses, and at times allows owners to diversify their offerings, it is clear there are few opportunities for growth. Competition is rampant, and demand local and limited.
It was inspiring then to meet a “round rag” maker in Manila who had developed partnerships with two companies interested in purchasing her rags. The companies needed thousands, and the borrower was having difficulty satisfying the new orders. A single employee working with a single sewing machine was simply insufficient. The production process is quite simple: scrap fabric from a local t-shirt factory is sewn into two sunflower shaped pieces six inches in diameter. Smaller pieces of colorful fabric are placed in the middle of one of the sunflowers and the other is sewn on top creating a thick, ravioli-like rag (see below). The borrower mentioned she had spent the last week looking for an affordable new sewing machine (she would purchase it with a CCT loan) to help her expand production. She also intended to hire an additional employee.
Continue Reading 24 October 2010 at 00:44 nwhalley 2 comments
Water Stations and the Kaibigan Village
The past couple weeks at CCT in Manila provided me with an opportunity to take a closer look at the multitude of poverty alleviation services the organization provides. CCT targets several poverty groups (see diagram below), and tailors programs to each accordingly. Micro-entrepreneurs, broadly categorized in the middle of the poverty pyramid, are the recipients of the small business loans posted on Kiva. “Sufficiency” is the primary objective for this program, a mission reflected in the reality of loan utilization I observed in interviews with borrowers (primarily working capital financing). Above micro-entrepreneurs on the targeted groups pyramid is growth oriented business (those receiving loans in excess of 50,000 pesos (~$1,000) and hopefully hiring employees) and below, sweat shop laborers and “the poorest of the poor,” for which the primary objective is mere survival.
By Nick Whalley, KF12, Philippines.
Continue Reading 10 October 2010 at 19:33 nwhalley 1 comment
Business in Manila, Both Mall and Small
By Nick Whalley, KF12, Philippines
A first Jeepney ride through the heavy traffic congestion on Taft Street, the main thoroughfare through Ermita and Malate, gave me a quick introduction to the urban economy of the Philippines. Despite the presence of familiar franchises (McDonalds, Starbucks, etc.) and some not so familiar ones (Jollibee, a local favorite), the majority of commercial enterprises lining the road are small, family run store fronts and stands, most of them selling a diverse and predictable range of products: candies, bottled water, soft drinks, small toiletries, spices, canned goods, etc. The sheer number of these “sari-sari” stores is astonishing. It wasn’t surprising then that as I began working with the CCT Credit Cooperative uploading borrower profiles onto Kiva’s website, I found that the vast majority of borrowers listed “SSS” (Sari-Sari Store) as their current business, and the purchase of small consumer goods for repackaging and resale as the purpose of the loan.
Continue Reading 19 August 2010 at 15:55 nwhalley 5 comments
Kiva, Google Earth, and the Big Wide World
Ok so hear me out on this concept – I think it’s a good one.
In my eyes one of THE greatest things to come out of the last fifty years is the ability to travel. The ability to see, to experience, to understand different cultures, and get a taste of what it’s like to live in a country vastly different to your own.
So what about Google Earth?
Of Chicken and Men
By Ujwal Kharel, KF9, Philippines
Today is my last day here at CCT. I can’t believe how soon it’s ending.
I have been largely absent from the blogosphere for more than a month. I blame that on two work weeks I missed being bedridden with chicken pox. I found it ironic (?) that I spent 19 years of my life in Kathmandu without any sickness, and within 4 weeks in a relatively cleaner and more developed city of Manila, I got bedridden. I realized that the worst part about getting a child illness at the age of 25 is not the severity of symptoms, but the ridicule from friends and cousins.
“What!? Chicken pox!? Haha! I had that when I was in the 3rd grade!”
“No way! But you are sooooo old!”
“Hey poxy!”
“Are you sure it’s not adult acne?”
Yeah, thanks everyone! (more…)
From the Office of the President
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Philippines
After spending over three months in Manila working in the Center for Community Transformation Credit Cooperative’s (CCT) head office, I thought it would be interesting for the Kiva family to hear from CCT’s President and Founder Ruth Callanta and meet my coworkers. Ate Ruth, as she is called by her coworkers (Ate, pronounced “ah-TEH”, is a Tagalog term of respect meaning older sister), is very passionate about her work and respected and loved by the CCT community for her vision and dedication.
If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, here is a table of contents of the questions: (more…)
Happy Birthday Balloons at a Christmas Party? Whose Birthday is it?
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Philippines
I thought my coworkers at the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) were just recycling balloons from the last birthday party to save money, but a coworker told me that “It’s Jesus’s birthday.”
As I prepare to celebrate my first Christmas away from family, the Christmas spirit has become overwhelming with carols being played since I arrived in Manila in early October. People say the Philippines starts celebrating in months that end in “ber,” so Christmas is really a four-month event here. (more…)
CCT Christmas Fun
By Ujwal Kharel KF9
This is a collection of video excerpts from Christmas parties at few of the CCT branches. They sure know how to have fun here 
.
Another young boy!
By Ujwal Kharel KF9
Hello everyone!
My name’s Ujwal and I started as a Kiva fellow for CCT, Manila on Monday, December 07. For those fans of Prem, don’t worry he’s still here, and will be here for at least another month .
I left Atlanta on November 23rd and flew to Kathmandu for the best detour ever (I am of course ignoring that this ‘best detour ever’ required 40 hour long trip with long transits in DC, Frankfurt and Bahrain). Kathmandu is awesome as always. Despite the chaos, it has maintained its charm. Temples in Basantapur still stand tall. You can still savor the best dumplings in the world (Momos) in a long line of Nepali restaurants in King’s way. (Oh yeah! right in the middle of this line now stands a recently opened KFC, the most popular venue in Kathmandu right now).
I arrived in Manila on Saturday. Prem was nice to take me around the city over the weekend. We mostly went to malls. And there are so many of them! Manila seems great and not very unlike Kathmandu. I am sure I will get to share great things about Manila with you in next few months.
On my first day at CCT, Lala, the Kiva coordinator, introduced me to almost everyone. The most common comment I got: Another young boy!
These are Former Street Dwellers?
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Philippines
They look like happy kids to me. As I mentioned in my first blog post, at the Center for Community Transformation Credit Cooperative (CCT) it’s not all about microfinance. I had the chance to take a look at some of the work CCT is doing with street dwellers (homeless) throughout the Philippines.
Kiva Lenders Have Character
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Philippines
Yesterday I took a trip to a CCT Kiva branch located in Caloocan, about 2 hours north of the head office in Manila. CCT offices often have inspirational posters and signs, but I thought this one was very relevant to Kiva.
Kiva lenders have good character: “They lend money to those in need without interest.”
The Show Me Game!
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Manila, Philippines
One of the great parts of being a Kiva Fellow in the Philippines is the access it gives you to other countries with relatively inexpensive domestic and international flights. Cebu Pacific is one of a handful of budget airlines in the Philippines that allow you to fly internationally to places like Hong Kong, Taipei and Vietnam for around $100 USD round-trip. You can also fly domestically for less than $40 USD which already came in handy when visiting a branch about a 45 minute flight away.
My favorite part about flights on Cebu Pacific is the Show Me Game. After take-off, flight attendants ask passengers to show them certain items for prizes:
A Violin Lesson in Geppetto’s Workshop
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Philippines
I haven’t picked up a violin in over 12 years despite playing for most of my childhood. But when I saw that CCT had made a Kiva loan to a violin-maker 3 hours outside of Manila, I knew I had to visit. Evelyn Gabute and her husband Angel recently received a 22,000 peso ($475) loan.
Angel Playing the Guitar
They used the entire loan to purchase maple wood from Germany to design and construct stringed instruments.
Walking into the Gabutes’ shop (which is also their home) reminded me of Gepetto’s workshop from Pinocchio. (more…)
“Filipinos are like Bamboo…
By Prem Thomas, KF9, Manila, Philippines
We bend, but don’t break.” These are the words Lala, the Kiva Coordinator, at the Center for Community Transformation Credit Cooperative (CCT) used to describe the Filipinos who have and will bounce back from the flooding caused by Typhoons Ketsana and Parma. My name is Prem Thomas, and today is my fifth day at the head office of CCT in Manila, Philippines. I spent the last four years working in finance in New York; most recently I was at a civic venture capital fund and previously worked at an investment bank. I will be taking over for Merrick Brown (KF8) who has been helping CCT for the last three months.
A CCT borrower out and about, they seem to be everywhere.
