Posts tagged ‘microcredit’
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
Perks + Atatürk + My hero
Cookıe samples = Perks!
Mr. Cool: Layla’s Story (Video Blog)
By Laurie Young, KF16
Awhile ago I attended a Kiva loan disbursement for VisionFund Indonesia with my Kiva Coordinator, Valentine. She and I were both intrigued by a product called Mr. Cool that Layla, the leader of the group, has a business turning into ice cream pops. Often times the borrowers we met during field visits were quiet and reserved. However, Layla was extremely excited to have us in her home and show us all about her business making Mr. Cool pops. She was the most outgoing and charismatic borrower I met during my time in Jakarta and, because of this, I wanted to share our visit with you.
Continue Reading 21 December 2011 at 20:00 laurie4485 1 comment
Producto Creer: How for a Bank Doing the Right Thing Can Pay Off
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF16, Guayaquil (Ecuador)
My host and Kiva´s partner organization Banco D-MIRO provides over ten different types of microloans to borrowers in and around Guayaquil: among them loans to finance housing improvements, school expenses, medication, and loans awarded specifically to employees, young clients with a business idea but no experience, and – as Ecuador´s only microfinance institution – discount loans for HIV-positive micro-entrepreneurs. Yet, one borrower group beats all other borrowers in their dedication and commitment to paying back their loans on time: the well over 400 disabled borrowers of Banco D-MIRO, whose payment discipline has turned “their” loan – “Producto Creer” (“Product Believe”) – into the most successful and inspirational product of D-MIRO´s extensive spectrum. The delinquency rate of Producto Creer is by far lower than that of any other major micro-loan type of Banco D-MIRO, which means that borrowers of Producto Creer are better at paying back their monthly rates than any other client group! In these times of economic and social turmoil, Banco D-MIRO´s Producto Creer may be a much needed reminder that it may pay off for banks to do the morally right thing.
Continue Reading 20 December 2011 at 04:00 Emmanuel von Arx 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
Mali in Color (Part 2): Impressions from the Road
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
In the first part of this blog series, I shared pictures of Malian borrowers. But even on my way to those borrowers, I was not able to put down my camera. Here are my favorite shots from the road.
Continue Reading 13 December 2011 at 02:00 Kathrin Gerner 1 comment
Mali in Color (Part 1): Impressions of Kiva Borrowers
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
When I boarded a plane to Mali last week, I was not exactly enthusiastic. One reason may have been the unpleasant 2 AM take-off from Kigali, another the recent Al-Qaida kidnappings in the North, which meant that all relevant tourist spots were off limits. And six months into my career as a Kiva fellow, a routine task such as a borrower visit was not enough to get me excited.
I was in for a surprise.
The borrowers of Kiva’s Malian field partner Soro Yiriwaso and their incredible hospitality, made my trip unforgettable. I came to check borrowers’ identities and look at loan papers. I left with a mountain of presents, a full stomach and a serious caffeine high after the countless cups of sweat tea offered to me everywhere I went.
But I was most excited about finally being in a country where people love to be photographed. Below are my favorite shots from my meetings with Malian borrowers.
Continue Reading 12 December 2011 at 03:00 Kathrin Gerner 6 comments
A Typical Day in the Life of a Kiva Fellow: Loan Officer Training (Video Blog Post)
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF 16, Guayaquil (Ecuador)
Video posts on a “typical day” in the life of a Kiva Fellow are a time-honored tradition on the Fellows Blog. Without any more words, here is my contribution to the video series of documenting a typical day in the life of a Kiva fellow. Like all previous contributors to the series, I am keenly aware that there is no “typical day” for Kiva Fellows. But taken together, the growing number of “typical day”-videos may at least convey something of the diversity, unpredictability, spontaneity, and joy that a typical untypical day of a Kiva Fellowship entails. Enjoy!
Continue Reading 6 December 2011 at 04:00 Emmanuel von Arx 1 comment
If It Is Tuesday, It Must Be Izmit + more of my favorite borrowers + “buyurun agabeyi”….
By Kim Strathearn, KF16, Turkey
If It Is Tuesday, it must be Izmit. Maya’s Kocaeli / Izmit branch is about 1 ½ hours away from Istanbul and every Tuesday, either Aylin or Asu, or both from the Istanbul office make the trip to approve borrower applications. These visits always take place in the business or home (if that were she works from) of the potential borrower.
Izmit Office
Maya Poster
The office is located in a small mall in the downtown area. Pelin (now on maternity leave) and Songül staff the office.
Pelin
Microinsurance in Indonesia: Current Challenges and Innovations
By Laurie Young, KF16, Indonesia
I was fortunate enough to be invited to accompany the Director of VisionFund Indonesia to attend the ‘First Microinsurance Marketplace in Indonesia’ coined ‘MIMPI.’ The event was a joint effort by the Indonesian Insurance Council, World Bank and the IFC. There were speakers, panels, and exhibitions over the course of the two days aiming to create a marketplace environment rather than that of traditional conference. Below, I hope to provide you with the current challenges facing the industry based on presentations and discussions during the two-day event. Additionally, I will present some of the product innovations and ideas that have been recently, or are going to be, introduced in Indonesia in an attempt to increase access to insurance for the poor.
Continue Reading 22 November 2011 at 00:15 laurie4485 2 comments
Village Banks BY Farmers FOR Farmers: A Microcredit Labor of Love
Oxen hauling coffee harvests in La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.
The warm red earth pulls me in, as I follow FUDECOSUR loan officers on their labor of love.
Serpentine paths lead us through farm lands carved out of dense swaths of jungle, as borrowers take us to the plots of land they proudly cultivate, thanks to the help of Kiva lenders.
As I slip and surf along steep paths slick and thick with monsoon rain, sprawling ferns the size of a family hut, reach out to us, with unfurled leaves heavy with the same mist that envelopes us.
Majestic white oxen haul mighty harvests out of the valley depths, where machines dare not tread, due to thick, quicksand clay mud, which all too lovingly pulls all things passing, toward the womb of the world. We move to the side of the path, making way for the heaving beasts of burden, as they pull weighty sacks of coffee beans and other food crops, in brightly painted “carretas” (wooden carts with wooden wheels).
Continuing along our trek, we descend into a warm, moist Eden of lush green, where water-collecting trees grow taller and stronger as we approach the river.
“Welcome to La Sierra! Here we take care of nature!” – Village welcome sign in La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.
Unlike farms I’m used to seeing in the United States, Costa Rican farms boast fields of crops coexisting with an abundance of medicinal plants and native trees, which are protected by law.
True to Costa Rica’s conservationist spirit, owning land means that one is charged with protecting existing plant species essential to long term survival, while cultivating crops essential to immediate survival.
Cutting down old-growth, or endangered trees, or trees which sprout, stretch and rise along rivers, is strictly punished by hefty fines and jail time. These rules apply even if one destroys any such tree on land one owns.
The result? Farming in Costa Rica is no longer synonymous with deforestation. Because of the great care that has been taken to preserve the environment, Costa Rica has become a Mecca for biologists and laymen lovers of wildlife. The nation boasts the largest percentage of protected land in the world (25%, compared to the developing world average of 13%, and the developed world average of 8%). While making up only 0.25% of the earth’s land mass, Costa Rica is home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity. And though such animals are nearly extinct in neighboring countries, large jungle cats, a variety of monkeys, reptiles and amphibians, and an abundance of bird species and marine turtles, survive and thrive in the ecologically rich coast that is Costa Rica.
Oxen hauling farmer and son to coffee fields - La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.
Protected land swells and wells with sweet, crystalline springs, rolling rivers, tumbling white waterfalls, lakes, mangrove swamps and marine estuaries brimming with life.
Due to a deep respect for the earth, exceptionally clean water and fresh air blanket the country, and are a great source of pride for Costa Ricans.
Those who work the land are especially proud of it, and in the eyes and smiles of Kiva borrowers and FUDECOSUR loan officers, beams a joy and passion that comes from living a labor of love.
In The Fields: Loan Officers Serving as Agricultural Development Partners
Not only are FUDECOSUR village banks run by village farmers, as detailed in Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof, but they are also trained and managed by loan officers who are farmers themselves.
As FUDECOSUR seeks to assist and develop agricultural communities by becoming an integral part of each community, FUDECOSUR’s loan officers provide much more than a mere financial services relationship. Since loan officers Geiner Gonzáles Marín, Gerardo Barrantes and Danny Zuñiga all come from farms themselves, they also serve as valued partners, advisors and mentors, not only from a bank operations training and guidance perspective, but also with regards to helping clients optimize crop and livestock output.
Geiner Gonzáles Marín: Chief Loan Officer
Geiner Gonzáles Marín entering a coffee farm in La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.
When visiting borrowers and the lands they cultivate, Chief Loan Officer Geiner Gonzáles Marín, often leads the trek into plunging valleys or up steep mountains, with unceasing enthusiasm.
Born and bred on a coffee plantation with dairy cows and various food crops, Geiner is in his element and is unstoppable –copious rain or shine.
With an absolute passion for the land and the fruits of farmers’ labor, his camera is always in hand, snapping photos of crops grown with Kiva loans. He also interviews the farmers with great interest, inquiring about crop cultivation challenges (such as destructive wilting or fungus caused by excessive rain), and offers vital suggestions on how to combat various crop infirmities and increase crop yields.
Gerardo Barrantes: Loan Officer 2
Gerardo Barrantes with the largest of his giant Ayote harvest, measuring 67cm long, and weighing 17 kilos – San Rafael Norte, Costa Rica
Sharing the same intense passion for the land, loan officer Gerardo Barrantes shows off photos of gigantic yucca and ayote crops he’s produced organically. Clients are wowed by the 37-pound mega-vegetable Gerardo proudly cradles like a newborn child.
While eagerly inspecting and praising crops produced by Kiva borrowers, he offers guidance on stronger, more rain-resistant produce likely to benefit from organic farming methods.
Gerardo’s love of the land is also reflected in his paintings. One features his childhood home – an evergreen dairy farm, fed by fresh spring water, cascading from the mountains shadowing his boyhood village. Gerardo’s artisan talents are also used to turn “carretas” (ox-drawn wooden carts) into rolling works of art, for the proud farmers in and around his village.
Danny Zuñiga: Loan Officer 3
Danny Zuñiga (far right) with his proud parents in the family sugar cane fields - Pilar, Costa Rica.
Like his counterparts, loan officer Danny Zuñiga has always had a deep desire to remain close to the land, and the people who tend it.
As a small child, Danny’s mom jokes that it was hard to get him excited about school, since he preferred spending time with dad in the family sugar cane fields.
True to his passion, Danny enrolled in an agriculture-based vocational school program. From grades 7-12, Danny bussed his way to Colegio Tecnico Profesional de Platanares, which has a working coffee farm, and livestock farm full of cows, pastures, pigs and rabbits. Just like his colleagues, Danny’s favorite part of the job is being out of the main office, and in the field with borrowers. As such, Danny is especially proud to help serve client needs with his agronomy training, both in theory and in practice.
In addition to informal cultivation guidance provided by loan officers, FUDECOSUR borrowers also benefit from community and business development courses funded by FUDECOSUR profits. Free technical training and education are provided to increase crop and cattle yields, improve community health and sanitation, and expand alternative job opportunities. Course themes are requested by the Village Banks, and are coordinated by the FUDECOSUR director and loan officers – who source experts in each field of training (such as technical college agronomists for crop cultivation or livestock care courses, or information technology instructors for computer training courses). Village bank communities in need have benefitted from detailed courses combining theory and practice, such as:
- Livestock Health Care and Output Optimization
- Coffee Cultivation and Output Optimization
- Hydroponic Farming Capacitation (to optimize more environmentally-friendly, and disease-free farming)
- Food Handling and Sanitation (to improve community health and support start-up food service businesses)
- Computer Training (MS Office for children and adults)
- Sewing/Clothes Making
- Community Recycling
- Water Purification
FUDECOSUR provides these free courses not only as a form of long term community development, but also believes that such courses are responsible for client loyalty and very low default rates (2% reported for 2010). The more involved FUDECOSUR is in the village bank communities, the greater affinity clients feel for FUDECOSUR as a member of their community, and the more willing and able clients are to repay loans (per FUDECOSUR’s philosophy).
Furthermore, borrowers who are taught methods to improve production, make stronger clients and business partners in the future, since they’ll eventually have more income resources.
In The Village Banks: Loan Officers Serving as Financial Operations Partners
Working “carreta” painted by FUDECOSUR Loan Officer Gerardo Barrantes.
Beyond working to provide agricultural communities with formal and informal business development guidance, FUDECOSUR loan officers also train farmers to run village banks, which operate in the communities where farmers reside.
With dedicated mentoring and guidance from loan officers, FUDECOSUR’s Village Banks (also known as Credit Committees) are run by 5-7 dedicated volunteers, who are elected every 2 years by members of their community. Partnering with FUDECOSUR’s loan officers, Credit Committees are responsible for assessing and approving loan requests, disbursing loans to borrowers, collecting loan payments, documenting all credit requests and exchanges, and monitoring borrower progress. Credit Committees are also charged with educating their community members on FUDECOSUR rules and requirements for soliciting, receiving and repaying loans.
Geiner Gonzáles Marín (right) inspecting and gathering coffee beans for Kiva borrower Rigoberto Garro Godinez - La Sierra, Platanares.
Given their intimate knowledge of the land, FUDECOSUR loan officers are deeply respected and revered by clients as fellow farmers, who bring much-needed credit funds and education to underserved communities.
“Geiner is one of US!” Village bank members of Cedral de Cajón exclaim (referring to the Chief Loan Officer).
Since agricultural communities are commonly excluded from traditional financial services, the introduction of FUDECOSUR funds and training has given clients a renewed sense of hope, pride, and excitement.
Many FUDECOSUR clients recant tales of suffering through intimidating, confusing and lengthy application processes for traditional bank loans.
After losing money to travel costs, and crops left unattended for multiple visits to national banks, farmers are often left disheartened by rejection at the end of the process.
After struggling unsuccessfully for years to obtain national bank loans to support his farm, Antonio Vargas Hernandez, is now Vice President of FUDECOSUR’s village bank in Cedral de Cajón.
“After being rejected for loans with national banks time after time, I never imagined I’d actually be running a bank!” Antonio is radiant with warm pride and enthusiasm. “I’m so proud to be able to help my community move forward with affordable loans that can be obtained right here!”
Geiner Gonzáles Marín descending into the valley of La Sierra, Platanares to reach a Kiva borrower’s coffee farm.
The complexity of the national bank loan process, plus the constant rejection of farmer applications, made many farmers feel inadequate and incompetent when seeking credit. In contrast, FUDECOSUR has taught clients that they are not only valued borrowers – they are also essential, competent and capable financial services partners.
As farmers with intimate knowledge of the land, and personal experience with members of their community, Credit Committees are well-suited to decide which business proposals are most apt to thrive from a micro-loan. If an unprofitable business proposal is presented (such as planting crops in areas not conducive to successful crop production), the hands-on farming expertise of Credit Committees is leveraged, to help prospective borrowers come up with alternative proposals, which will generate positive growth, and help borrowers thrive.
Because of FUDECOSUR’s inclusive village banking model, farmers who formerly perceived themselves as financially illiterate, have become highly functional village bank operators who now beam with confidence.
“Loan officers like Geiner make us better people” says Arrelio Arías Brellas – President of FUDECOSUR’s village bank in Cedral de Cajón. They’ve made credit processes easy to understand, and loans fast and easy to obtain. Because of their time and dedication, we are now equipped to help our community improve their businesses, and make life easier.”
Miguel Mora Vargas, Treasurer of Cedral de Cajon’s village bank, explains how loan officers lead by example, and are a great source of inspiration for village bank officers, who are also borrowers themselves.
“Geiner’s hard work makes us want to work harder every day to help our community succeed. Loan officers like Geiner are always punctual, and they stay after hours to ensure all credit exchange tasks are understood and complete. Their knowledge and expertise becomes our knowledge and expertise, and we learn more every day. Our community is stronger because of FUDECOSUR.”
Thumbs-up and smiles from a proud coffee farmer - La Sierra, Platanares, Costa Rica.
As village bank operators express their gratitude for FUDECOSUR’s inclusive and educational community development model, monsoon rains often thunder down outside, making a mighty rap-a-tap-tap chorus of sound, which mimics roaring applause.
Cedral de Cajón is just one of many communities expressing deep thanks for FUDECOSUR credit services, and the Kiva loans that help make them possible.
Time and again, I have the pleasure of seeing borrower hardships converted into eventual successes through Kiva loans, and I redefine the concept of wealth every time.
Most FUDECOSUR borrowers, due to their isolated location, have never had a relationship with a national bank, and therefore, don’t even have savings accounts. They are subsistence farmers who don’t become financially rich with Kiva loans, but who are able to maintain crops and cattle for more consistent production, or grow their businesses when weather and market conditions are optimal.
With each new loan received (after years of exclusion from traditional financial services), FUDECOSUR borrowers feel that their work is valued and more important than ever. With each successful harvest supported by Kiva loans, farmers stand taller. Single mothers raising pigs which give birth to litters of 6, or chickens producing piles of healthy eggs, radiate with a newfound belief in themselves as capable and successful providers for their children. Sons producing more abundant coffee beans or corn with nutrient-rich fertilizers, beam with pride, as they are able to care for aging parents, and feel confident about supporting a future family of their own.
What price tag can you place on the renewed sense of life, optimism, enthusiasm and excitement that comes from feeling valued, confident, competent, capable and hopeful?
The value, in my humble opinion, is priceless.
And though life is not easy for these hardworking borrowers, they are growing wealthy in many ways human beings should be, thanks very much in part, to generous Kiva lenders.
Past Blogs:
- Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof: Making Non-Profit Microfinance Sustainable
Upcoming Blogs:
- Kiva Borrower Stories and Thanks from The Field
- Jungle Journals – Adventures in the Wilds of Región Brunca
How YOU Can Help:
- Lend to a Kiva entrepreneur today!
- Apply for the Kiva Fellows Program!
- Join the FUDECOSUR lending team!
Julie Kerr is Kiva Fellow serving in San Isidro, Costa Rica. She currently supports FUDECOSUR (Foundation for the Development of Southern Communities). FUDECOSUR is a non-profit microcredit provider, dedicated to empowering Southern Costa Rica’s disenfranchised agricultural sector.
Visiting an HIV-Clinic in Guayaquil (Part II)
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF16, Guayaquil (Ecuador)
One of the great joys and privileges of being a Kiva Fellow is to go along with loan officers when they are meeting Kiva borrowers and new clients. One of my most memorable outings was a visit of an HIV-clinic in a public hospital in Ecuador´s largest city Guayaquil. In the first part of this blog post I recounted how I drove with Nahin Alvarado from Banco D-MIRO´s headquarters on Guayaquil´s Isla Trinitaria to the HIV-clinic at Hospital Abel Gilbert. Nahin is the bank´s loan officer specializing in HIV-positive and/or disabled clients who have the right to receive a discount micro-loan. And Banco D-MIRO is the only micro-institution in all Ecuador to provide financial products especially for these two long-excluded client groups.
Nahin is talking to a patient outside of Guayaquil´s HIV clinic
While Nahin is presenting the bank´s special loan products to the patients in the HIV- clinic´s crowded waiting room, Franklin walks towards me. A strong man in his forties, Franklin is the leader and community organizer of FUSAD (Frente Unido por la Salud y los Derechos – in English: United Front for Health and Rights), a self-help and support group for HIV-positive people, based at the hospital and well known for the professional education courses they provide to their members.
Continue Reading 15 November 2011 at 12:00 Emmanuel von Arx 4 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
Microinsurance in Indonesia: What are the Options for Kiva Borrowers?
By Laurie Young, KF16, Indonesia
According to the World Bank of Indonesia, more than 50% of Indonesians live on less than $2 US per day/per person and more than 80% live on less than $4 US per day/per person. In addition to this, they estimate that greater than one-third of households don’t have access to any formal financial services and microinsurance in the market is negligible. To put this in perspective, the population of Indonesia is estimated at around 245 million and, “in Indonesia today, about one third of the population, or about 77 million people have no financial protection or savings cushion.”
So what type of access do VisionFund Indonesia Kiva borrowers have to microinsurance in Indonesia? Additionally, what is being done to improve the marketplace as a whole in order to increase access to insurance for the poor? I will try to answer these two questions in this two-part blog.
Continue Reading 8 November 2011 at 00:00 laurie4485 6 comments
Visiting an HIV-Clinic in Guayaquil (Part I)
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF16, Ecuador
“Don’t be scared to shake the hand of a client with HIV or to drink out of his glass. You cannot get infected that way.” This was the message that Nahin Alvarado repeated over and over during a training session in September with a group of twelve new and somewhat incredulous loan officers of Banco D-MIRO, when I first met him. A loan officer himself, Nahin has been with Banco D-MIRO for over two years, focusing on two very special client groups who – not just in Ecuador – have long suffered from discrimination and lack of access to financial services: micro-entrepreneurs who are HIV-positive or disabled. The moment I heard Nahin so forcefully speak up on behalf of HIV-positive clients, I knew that I wanted to spend a day with him in the field.
Continue Reading 2 November 2011 at 08:00 Emmanuel von Arx 3 comments
La Réalité de L’Afrique
By Allison Moomey, KF16, Burkina Faso
I spent last weekend in a small village about 10km outside of Banfora (a small city about 6.5 hours from where I live in Ouagadougou) with some incredibly welcoming and generous Peace Corps volunteers. As often as I get annoyed by bugs, heat, and unreliable internet, I live a pretty charmed Burkinabé life in Ouaga. Staying in a village without electricity or running water was a wake-up call to the realities of life here. I didn’t do any of the hard work like getting water or biking products to market that most residents do each day. I lived like a pretty privileged guest. But I was still exhausted after just 48 hours. I can’t even begin to imagine what life would be like as a resident with only tôt (nutritionally empty starch) to eat, daily trips to the pump for water, and a dirt floor to sleep on every night. Although not as rural, these same challenges are a daily reality for many of Micro Start’s borrowers. The weekend was full of lessons, and recognizing my lack of hardcore-ness was only the beginning.
- The lack of infrastructure means gorgeous nature is still intact!
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
What´s Easier Than Getting Robbed in Guayaquil?
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF 16, Ecuador
As much a therapy session as a blog entry, this is the narrative of a recent robbery incident in Guayaquil: It happened two hours ago and my co-workers and I can still feel the shock in our bones. This day had begun like a normal day: At 7.30am Rubi Chaca – the Kiva Coordinator of Banco D-MIRO -, her 16-year old intern Joel Kenny Matias, and I had met outside of the bank´s headquarters, where we were picked up by Roberto, the official driver of the bank. He drove us to the branch office of Guasmo where we gave a training session to the local loan officers, reminding them about Kiva and explaining to them why it is so important that they keep finding micro-entrepreneurs who agree to be listed with their name and photo on Kiva´s website.
Continue Reading 18 October 2011 at 16:00 Emmanuel von Arx 9 comments
High-tops in The Commercial Jungle: The Life of a Shoe Salesman
by Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua
Marcial Salvador selling high-tops
Mercado Oriental spans 60 city blocks and is the largest in Central America. The market is a jungle of stalls, pushcarts, alleyways and low hanging clothes, fruits, and shoes. It’s a full sensory experience that is almost numbing in its frenetic energy. Flies on meats next to sexy new hair products, car parts and phone calls from the same vendor, sweet smells of fresh baked bread and shoe polish, this is where Marcial Salvador sells shoes.
Marcial Salvador has been working in this market in varying capacities for the last 45 years. He is a model borrower at AFODENIC and is on his 4rth Kiva Loan! (more…)
Say a Little Prayer for the Portfolio: 5 Questions about Christian Microfinance in Rwanda
By Kathrin Gerner and Whitney Webb, KF16, Rwanda
Before coming to Rwanda, we both had no idea what it meant to work for a Christian bank. Islamic banking, yes, that is something we had heard about before. But Christian banking?
To find out more, we interviewed the staff at our host microfinance institutions, Amasezerano Community Banking, Vision Finance Company and Urwego Opportunity Bank, and asked them five questions.
Continue Reading 10 October 2011 at 03:00 Kathrin Gerner 5 comments
Stuff Kiva Fellows Like
Compiled by Jim Burke, KF16, Nicaragua
We are Kiva Fellows. This is the stuff we like. Here is an insider (often critical, or satirical but always true!) view of what it means to be a Kiva Fellow and promote access to financial services around the world. From alpaca fur to FSSs to ziplock bags, these are the things we like and thrive on.
#1 Being the first foreign person that somebody has ever seen in their life
Dave Weber, KF16, Cambodia
Few life experiences will measure up to the one where a Kiva Fellow is told that he or she is ‘the first foreigner that somebody has ever seen in their life’ (TFFPTSHESITL). This experience often comes with having ones hair and skin touched, which people in our home countries don’t find nearly as interesting. KFs know that their image will forever be bored into the mind of the Latino/African/Asian/MidEastern borrower since we assume they ‘never forget their first one.’
A Kiva Fellow will react to being TFFPTSHESITL in several ways. They will utilize social media to get the word out to 500 people in their friend list and possibly even engage the Stories from the Field blog to get the message out to potentially hundreds of thousands. It will also be the first story they tell supporters and people back home. Kiva Fellows will also often use the phrase, “I’m pretty sure I was the first foreign person to ever go there” when referring to locations, even if they’re talking about Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat or the running of the bulls or the Washington Monument.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend my holiday evening at a Cambodian air conditioned movie theater which I’m certain no foreign person has been to before and I will be TFFPTSHESITL to at least half of the moviegoers there to engage in the revelry entitled Cowboys vs. Aliens. (more…)
Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof: Making Non-Profit Microfinance Sustainable
One of FUDECOSUR’s 45 Village Banks - Pueblo Nuevo, Región Brunca, Costa Rica
Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump, Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump, Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump WHUMP!!!
So goes the rockin’ and rollin’ commute to remote villages along dirt roads – speckled with basketball-sized boulders, and craters large enough to swallow a small man (that’s where the “WHUMP!” comes in).
Maneuvering these roads with a grin and gusto are FUDECOSUR’s dedicated loan officers: Geiner Gonzáles Marín, Gerardo Barrantes and Danny Zuñiga. Our destination for each turbulent trip is one of FUDECOSUR’s 45 village banks – which provide the only source of much-needed credit most clients have ever had. THANK YOU to all Kiva lenders who help make this possible!
As we zig-zag along winding roads trying to avoid the mammoth “WHUMPS!”, we run into traffic. Blocking our path is a fearless bull unspooked by our roaring engine. He stares us down as if to say: “This is my road, buddy, and I refuse to moooooove”. As we inch forward, gently nudging his bum with the bumper, he finally decides to amble on. Then our ascent is blocked by a bulldozer shoveling landslide debris off of the road.
While we wait, I savor the warm sounds of humming insects, and whispering laughter from palm leaves rustling in the wind. I take in the views of lush, green valleys and farmland terraced along the hills and rising mountains. Coexisting with carefully planned crops of fire red coffee beans, sugar cane, corn, and legumes, are patches of wild, unclaimed land full of sweet lemon trees (yes – the lemons here are sweet), bright fuchsia bananas (which are mostly eaten by the birds) and miniature yellow bananas (which humans find sweet and delicious). Wild avocado and coconut trees can also be found, and like the sweet lemons and baby bananas, they are free to those who wish to indulge. Have I landed in Heaven??
Our vehicle lunges forward, and I’m whisked out of my glassy-eyed daydream of staying here forever. We pass pristine waterfalls tumbling down the mountain, across the road, and down into whitewater rivers which snake through the valley below. Aaah… slipping back into my daydream again… I’ve grown so accustomed to the rhythm of the roads that the “Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump” now serves as my lullaby.
WHUMP! We arrive at the village bank.
Perched on a verdant plot of land amidst pastures of feeding cattle, or rising food crops stretching toward the sun, are many of FUDECOSUR’s village banks. Some village banks are simple one-room structures with a burning tin roof shading us from the elements. Other village banks operate out of a farmhouse kitchen or living room. All village banks are a part of FUDECOSUR’s mission to bring financial support to the doorsteps of disenfranchised populations.
Due to the isolated nature of the farming communities we visit, most residents have never had a savings account. The absence of national banks in these remote areas has excluded much of the agricultural sector from financial savings and borrowing opportunities. In order to qualify for a loan, national banks often require costly cash deposits – which most farmers can’t pay, since they rarely have savings accounts. Without access to savings accounts, farmers often purchase a pig or a cow with remaining cash. These animals serve as the farmers’ insurance plan, and are sold when large sums of money are needed for emergencies (such as unexpected medical expenses). While farmers are able to subsist without access to credit, it is extremely difficult, at best, to increase living standards or to recover from natural disasters (such as floods or blight) or major health emergencies.
Filling this vast credit void is FUDECOSUR (Foundation for the Development of Southern Communities) – A non-profit microcredit provider, dedicated to empowering Southern Costa Rica’s agricultural sector.
Besides providing loans for expansion of crops and livestock, FUDECOSUR also provides Family Well-Being loans, which cover medical, educational and home renovation expenses. Such loan diversification ensures that struggling farmers are not forced to sacrifice one essential need (such as money to purchase seed and fertilizer) for another (such as money to pay for life-saving medical treatment).
To facilitate easy repayment based on agricultural development and sales cycles, FUDECOSUR offers loan terms of up to 3 years, with annual rather than monthly principal repayment terms. Loan terms are also restructured to help borrowers overcome crop and cattle losses from natural disasters (such as floods and blight), and financial losses due to health emergencies.
To ensure credit services are easily accessible, affordable and sustainable, FUDECOSUR literally brings banks to remote villages in need. Leveraging dedicated volunteer networks, existing social infrastructure and building facilities, FUDECOSUR maintains low operational and servicing costs, and minimal environmental impact, while building community cohesion, and opportunities for community members to thrive.
How The Village Banks Operate: Volunteer Power!
Village Bank operations in action: Santa Elena, Región Brunca, Costa Rica. Tables to the left serve clients repaying interest, while tables to the right serve clients soliciting or receiving money for new loans.
FUDECOSUR’s Village Banks (also known as Credit Committees) are run by 5-7 dedicated volunteers, who are elected every 2 years by members of their community. Partnering with FUDECOSUR’s loan officers, Credit Committees are responsible for disbursing loans to borrowers and collecting loan payments.
As farmers with intimate knowledge of the land, and personal experience with members of their community, Credit Committees are also charged with deciding which business proposals are most apt to thrive from a micro-loan. If an unprofitable business proposal is presented (such as planting crops in areas not conducive to successful crop production), the hands-on farming expertise of Credit Committees is leveraged, to help prospective borrowers come up with alternative proposals, which will generate positive growth, and help borrowers thrive.
Where The Village Banks Operate: Mi Casa Es Tu Casa!
Village Bank in Cedral de Cajón, Región Brunca, Costa Rica
To ensure zero resources are spent on office construction, rent or maintenance, Village Banks operate out of existing community structures, such as a tin-roofed central market shelter, or the homes of Village Bank (Credit Committee) members.
And, since Village Banks operate in villages where borrowers reside, clients avoid costly money and time expenditures, required for travel to distant towns or cities (where national banks reside). In short, the proximity of the village banks to clients ensures unprecedentedly easy and consistent access to credit services.
When The Village Banks Operate: After The Cows Come Home!
Kiva borrower traversing the farmland he works: Administración, Región Brunca, Costa Rica
To accommodate the demanding work schedules of agricultural borrowers, Village Banks meet every 2 weeks, on recurring set dates (i.e.: every first and third Tuesday of each month). Bank meeting times start in the late afternoon (2pm, 3pm or 4pm) to allow borrowers to meet essential crop cultivation and livestock care demands. As such, borrowers are able to access credit services without sacrificing critical production tasks and wages.
At each meeting, debt principal and interest payments for existing loans are collected, while money for new loans is solicited and disbursed.
Homeward Bound:
Road to Cedral de Cajón, Región Brunca, Costa Rica
After the 3-4 hour bank meeting ends, we bid warm farewells, with new loan profiles and hopes for better futures in hand (thanks to the generosity of Kiva lenders).
By the time the loan officer and I reach home (FUDECOSUR headquarters in San Isidro), a 10-13 hour day will have passed.
Once I reach my cozy, tin-roofed apartment, echoes of “Bump-duh-duh-thump-thump WHUMP!!!” serenades will lull me to sleep, and ring out again at the start of my next adventure.
Other Blogs:
- Village Banks BY Farmers FOR Farmers: A Micro Credit Labor of Love
Upcoming Blogs:
- Jungle Journals – Adventures in the Wilds of Región Brunca
- More Than Microfinance – FUDECOSUR’s Free Community Development Courses
How YOU Can Help:
Home to a New Adventure: Hoş Geldiniz Maya!
Unlike some of my KF 16 fellows classmates, I did not have to rush to the bookstore to read up on the country where I was about to be posted, figure out if my cell phone would work overseas, or learn about internet capabilities because Istanbul has been my home for about the last 12 years. I am lucky that I already have an apartment, know how to get around, know how to order what I want to eat and even knew where my MFI was located. No panic attacks about my new location but lots of panic about blogging and about what my first blog should be on.
Continue Reading 30 September 2011 at 05:00 act4impact 1 comment
Borrower Verification–Part II (Mom, I Don’t Feel So Well)
“80% certainty is pretty good”, I thought, as I sent the information to Kiva’s home office in San Francisco.
“Yea, pretty good. But is it good enough?”
Would it be good enough for you?
(excerpt taken from Part I of Borrower Verification)
In a word….no. That is, it wasn’t good enough. Again, it’s not that anyone was making unfounded accusations or looking for something that wasn’t there. I say this because although Kiva does make a great effort to avoid any association with activities ranging from “less than 100% honest” to “blatantly fraudulent”, there’s really not a culture of doubt, suspicion or looking for fraud under every rock. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s just that in the Borrower Verification, there’s no room for uncertainty, and although 80% isn’t so bad for a junior high math quiz, it just doesn’t cut it for an official audit.
So with that, I headed back to the beginning. Data was gathered, details were compared and facts revisited to ensure consistency. Camera? Check. Loan details? Check. Photo of borrower? Check. Snack, small amount of cash, sun block and rain jacket? Check. Check. Check. Check.
Continue Reading 25 September 2011 at 07:00 Jason Jones 8 comments
Borrower Verification–Part 1 (Locked Out)
Borrower Verification. Anyone who considers them-self to be a regular visitor to the Kiva Fellows Blog has most likely come across this topic on more than one occasion. It’s a common task to check off on the official TO-DO LIST of the average Fellow, and I, as a current member of the group, am no exception. Since most of us cringe ever so subtly at the sound of such titles as “auditor” or “microfinance cop”, however, we seem to try to put a more positive spin on the whole idea. After all, who wants to dwell on the shady side of the industry? As a collective group, we’re typically strong believers in the economic growth and productivity associated with supporting entrepreneurship on a micro level, as well as the benefits that come from supporting a “bottom-up” approach to development, one that provides struggling entrepreneurs with a way to lift themselves out of poverty. It’s that whole idea of “hey, stop your whining and pull yourself up by your bootstraps!” mixed with a softer-socially conscious-love your neighbor- peace, my brother-spread the wealth-fight the man-can’t we all just get along-teach them to fish-mentality. Ahhhh……such a harmonious blend.
Continue Reading 24 September 2011 at 07:00 Jason Jones 8 comments
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
Of Chinese Proverbs and Gambian Donkeys
by Tim Young, KF15, Senegal
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give a man a donkey and you feed him for at least five years, providing the donkey is well treated and doesn’t get sick.
On a recent trip to the Gambia, Kiva Fellow Tim Young visited a fascinating project, which has for the last 10 years or so has been fighting poverty, by helping the local people help their working animals.
Continue Reading 31 August 2011 at 10:44 letimyoung 3 comments
Isabukuru Nziza, ACB! A Kiva Field Partner in Rwanda Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
By Kathrin Gerner, KF16, Rwanda
Birthdays are celebrated around the world, and Rwanda – the tiny East African country of 1000 hills wedged between the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi – is no exception.
For its 5-year anniversary, the staff of Kiva’s field partner Amasezerano Community Bank (ACB) left its offices in Kigali for the shores of beautiful lake Kivu (unfortunately not named after Kiva) at the Congolese boarder. The trip was an occasion to remember key events in ACB’s history – mostly joyous, sometimes somber – but above all to celebrate.
Continue Reading 31 August 2011 at 08:19 Kathrin Gerner 11 comments
Possunt quia posse videntur
In this post, Kiva Fellow Tim Young, fortiter in re, suaviter in modo, shares some observations from a Fellow’s work in the field.
Continue Reading 25 August 2011 at 10:18 letimyoung 4 comments
“What do I do here in Lebanon?” you ask
“What do I do here in Lebanon?” people ask me all the time. I usually struggle a bit; I take a deep breath and I start explaining what micro-credit and micro-finance is. I tend to throw in words like: “lack of access to the banking system”, “Mohamed Yunus” and “giving the poor financial stability”. But even after a little bit of explaining, I still don’t know if I’m getting the point across. And I often find that when I say “loan” people immediately ask “How can I get one for my business?” So, I turned to Al Majmoua to see how local Microfinance Institution (MFI) in Lebanon is addressing this on a daily basis?
Continue Reading 3 August 2011 at 10:00 Heba Gamal 3 comments
