Posts tagged ‘microfinance’
Campus Kiva Students Provide Inspiration and Rejuvenation!
Nessa E. French | KF 17 | Kenya
“An adventure!”
“…Efficient- it gave me an easy time to study.”
“…giving me a chance to complete my studies…”
“…it gave me hope to know that people were believing in me…”
“…made our dreams grow further…”
“Thank You”
These are just a few of the responses that the students at the Campus Kiva meeting gave when I asked them what they thought about Kiva so far. These were 7 of the first 19 Strathmore students to receive funding for a partial tuition or laptop loan through Kiva. Many of the students who had received partial tuition loans expressed great relief for now being able to continue and complete their educations at Strathmore. The students who received laptop loans expressed excitement at how fast they were working and how much easier it was for them to study for their exams and write their papers. (more…)
Update From The Field: Finding Epiphanies, Sharing Wisdom + Standing Up to Sassy Nigerian Mamas
Compiled by Chris Paci | KF16 & KF17 | Azerbaijan
Alex Connelly offers us a typically "light" Colombian "snack."
The 17th class of Kiva Fellows was turned loose into the field on January 27th, nearly two months ago – and how long ago it seems! By this point, our intrepid fellows are really starting to get the hang of their placements, forming routines, powering through their workplans, and learning the ins and outs of the national cuisine. But a few members of KF17 have been living in their host countries for even longer, collecting wisdom and digging deeply into local life, and this week we’ve heard from several of them. Read on to gain insight into microfinance, poverty, and everyday life from our fellows in Colombia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Once you’re back, come sail around Samoa to discover the difficulties of life in the South Pacific, then jump on the back of a Togolese motorbike to learn about the complexities and challenges that loan officers deal with every day. (more…)
Who are these handsome devils?
Loan officer AMETEPE Kafui, who waited patiently for the foreigner while he made pretenses to know what he was doing with the camera.
Previous to the Kiva Fellowship, I worked for the Canada Revenue Agency, Canada’s federal tax department. It was the only job I’ve ever had where I was reluctant to tell people what I did for a living. While working for the Agency carries with it a certain stigma, the job itself can be described as people management; you learn to understand and quickly read your fellow citizen and how best to communicate with them, all the while recalling that you’re there to serve their best interests.
If it is Wednesday, it must be Eskişehir + Eskişehir Entrepreneurs
By Kimberly Strathearn | KF 16/17 | Turkey
In previous blog posts, I have introduced the Maya Istanbul office, the Sakarya branch office, and the Izmit branch office. This blog will highlight the Eskişehir branch office, introduce Nermin Akar and Serpil Altıntaş and provide an update on three entrepreneurs.
From left to right: Nermin Akar and Serpil Altıntaş
Glitz and Glamour, Oil Wealth, and the Left-Behind of Baku
Chris Paci | KF16 & KF17 | Azerbaijan
We Kiva Fellows are a lucky bunch. Not only do we do truly consequential work in the field to turn Kiva’s social mission into reality – we also get to travel to places we never could have imagined, experience brilliant flashes of cross-cultural connection, and come back with stories our friends in the developed world can’t match. But here in Baku, Azerbaijan, I’m having an experience few other Kiva Fellows have: I am working to alleviate poverty while surrounded by wealth as far as the eye can see.
Update From The Field: a New Perspective from Mexico, Second Chances for Borrowers + a Microfinance Medical Mission
Compiled by Allison Moomey | KF16 & KF17 | Bénin
Deep into the world of profile posting, repayment reporting, and borrower verifications, Kiva Fellows have been reflecting on the contrasts between their previous lives and their lives in the field. Kiyomi discovers a new side to neighboring Mexico, Micaela humorously presents the her differing reactions to office problems in Mozambique vs. New York, and Allison learns that directions are not the same where streets have no names. Jamie discovers that medical missions don’t look quite like Grey’s anatomy, and DJ discusses the more limited options for rejected borrowers in Georgia.
Continue Reading 12 March 2012 at 09:00 Allison Moomey 4 comments
(VIDEO BLOG) This is Definitely Not “Grey’s Anatomy”: Microfinance Medical Mission on Pitogo Island
By Jamie Greenthal | KF 17 | Philippines
While watching TV medical dramas over the years, I often fantasized about being a perfectly coiffed doctor who miraculously cures patients in under an hour (including commercial breaks) without breaking a sweat, and always remembers to flash a pearly white smile before the credits roll. While it seemed glamorous on TV, I knew, from being a patient myself, that the TV doctor exists only in Hollywood.
Continue Reading 11 March 2012 at 08:00 jlgreenthal 17 comments
Second Chances (Part 2)
Due to the threat and risk of rejected loan applicant’s falling prey to predatory lenders, Credo is launching an innovative new program to bring Kiva Loans to these most vulnerable borrowers. With the development of Credo’s Poverty Score Card, a complex matrix of variables are measured to define an individual client. If it is determined the client’s application was recently rejected primarily due to an absence or lack of business income and their repayment capacity; they may yet qualify for a loan with Credo.
My Favorite Kind of Scavenger Hunt… The Borrower Verification
Allison Moomey | KF16 & KF17 | Bénin
Remember those scavenger hunts with friends in middle school? I have fond memories of running around the mall following cyptic directions and taking crazy pictures at each newfound location. The goal was to visit all of the locations as quickly as possible while earning points for the most exciting polaroid shots. Oh polaroids, that’s a nostalgic post for another time.
I spent the past Monday and Tuesday feeling like I was back to my 12 year old self, except I’ve aged quite a few years, the mall is now a West African city, and the destination is a client’s grain storage shed instead of American Eagle. I met Finadev’s driver Monday morning to start my borrower verification (BV), the process of meeting borrowers and documenting field data to ensure that profiles posted on kiva.org are entirely accurate. I really enjoyed my first BV with Micro Start, so I was excited to start the second with Finadev. We learned just before leaving that the driver and I would be searching for clients using the directions written in each client’s folder at headquarters, as the employee who was familiar with the route was unable to come. Let the adventure begin.
Continue Reading 7 March 2012 at 09:00 Allison Moomey 4 comments
Getting to Know The Real Mexico
Kiyomi Beach | KF17 | Mexico
When I found out I was being placed in Mexico, I was not exactly thrilled. I wanted to go someplace exotic, and far from home. Living in California, I’ve had lots of exposure to Mexican culture, so I thought that I wasn’t going to feel that I really got away.
The truth is, however, that I had never been to Mexico, outside of visiting a few resorts with my family, and I (not surprisingly) discovered that the mission district in San Francisco, where I live, and beach resorts are not proper representations for the “real” Mexico.
I want to share my experience travelling around the country meeting with borrowers of Fundacion Realidad, A.C. (FRAC).
Continue Reading 6 March 2012 at 08:45 kiyomibeach 12 comments
Update From The Field: Inspiring Field Partners, Cultural Adjustments + Girl Scout Cookies (No Wait, That’s Not Right)
Compiled by 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 little deeper into the societies of the countries we now call home. Many of us have already traveled out into the field to visit the borrowers at the heart of the Kiva model. Check out this week’s posts and join the fellows of KF17 as they discover the quirks of Samoa, reflect on Benin’s distinctive culture, and observe extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic. Then keep on reading to learn about a devoted loan officer in Ecuador, the money management techniques of microfinance clients in Togo, and the surprising opportunities that Liberian microfinance institutions can create.
Micro-Credit’s Dirty Little Secret
Ryan Cummings | KF 17 | Liberia
Cynthia and Maroline with their Bangladeshi host
All too often, when people talk about the positive impact of micro-credit, they focus exclusively on borrowers. While they are obviously a significant beneficiary of micro-credit, I have a dirty little secret for you: many other people benefit from micro-credit too.
There is an entirely different group of people who are having their lives changed for the better by the micro-credit movement. Who am I talking about? (more…)
The Sums of a Social Performance Certificate
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.
Here we are at WAGES' headquarters in central Lomé. From left to right is M. AFO Kossi, Program Director, then M. NASSIROU Ramanou, Director General of WAGES, M. HOFFER Carine, Kiva Coordinator, the author with Canadian winter tan, and M. ASSANI-BENTHO Nasser, Projects Manager.
The certificate reflects two badges awarded earlier this year, Entrepreneurial Support and Facilitation of Savings, which recognize the services provided to WAGES’ clients that have specific social-economic impact.
Modernity in the Dominican Republic: La Capital vs. El Batey
By David Gorgani, KF17, Dominican Republic
In Santo Domingo, locally referred to simply as “La Capital,” it is an understatement to say that luxuries from back home are readily available. But this wonderland of IKEA, the Blue Mall, luxury car dealerships and international cuisine is the exception as opposed to the rule when viewed in the greater Dominican context.
Same Same but Different
Allison Moomey | KF 16 & KF17 | Bénin
One of my favorite aspects of Kiva is the autonomy it gives to partners. While Kiva has strict due diligence standards, the microfinance institution (MFI) partners are the ones who decide what products to offer, what social performance steps to take, and how to execute their plans. This results in a wide range of partners, each with its own unique culture and take on how to best serve the microfinance market in their respective areas of operation.
Having started my second Kiva fellowship a month ago, it has been fascinating to compare and contrast the work culture at each MFI. During KF16, I served as a fellow at Micro Start in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. I am currently in Cotonou, Bénin working with Finadev. Although the countries share a border, the people, language, and culture are very unique.
Continue Reading 28 February 2012 at 09:06 Allison Moomey 11 comments
Update From The Field: Client Visits In Bethlehem, A New Partnership In Cameroon + A Peek Into A Loan Officer’s World
Compiled by Allison Moomey | KF16 & KF17 | Bénin
KF17 fellows have now made their way into the field, which means new workplaces, new countries, and new cultures for us all. Even more importantly it means fascinating new blog posts from every corner of the globe for you. Check out this week’s posts and join fellows as they observe microfinance in action Palestine, share about a great new partner in Cameroon, visit a village bank in Peru, and adjust to life in Togo. Then continue reading to learn about a cricket-raising business in Indonesia, microsavings in Mozambique, Senegalese politics, an apartment search in Mongolia, and a loan officer training in the Philippines.
Continue Reading 27 February 2012 at 02:56 Allison Moomey 5 comments
“Training Day”: Denzel’s Got Nothing On These Filipino Loan Officers
By Jamie Greenthal | KF 17 | Philippines
In keeping with the transformation theme (see From One City to Another: A New Yorker in Tagbilaran), I am proud to say that I recently graduated from Kiva trainee to Kiva trainer. The setting was Corella, Philippines, a bucolic and verdant village on the island of Bohol, where 30 young Filipinos, most of whom had recently graduated from college, were undergoing intensive training to become microfinance loan officers.
Continue Reading 26 February 2012 at 17:41 jlgreenthal 9 comments
Microsavings in Mozambique: How MFIs can help clients save
Micaela Browning | KF17 | Mozambique
“A penny saved is a penny earned”
Ah, this old adage; the bane of the average American adolescent’s existence. My mother, in particular, constantly sung the praises of fiscal responsibility and self-discipline. By the age of eleven, I had my own ATM card and bank account (my meager savings consisted of reluctantly deposited babysitting money and crumpled wads of birthday cash). Though young, I generally understood that the bank would “guard” my money until I wanted to spend it, much like my best friend would “guard” my swing at recess until I returned from the bathroom. I also had a vague concept of a nebulous character called “interest” which would wave a wand and magically transform my $43.28 into $43.34 by the year’s end.
Although my consumption-hungry preteen self could not appreciate it at the time, I was exceedingly lucky to grow up in a country in which I could begin saving – safely – at an early age. Truthfully, I had never considered what it would be like to live somewhere where saving was implausible, impractical, or insecure. Until now.
[caption id="attachment_34803" align="aligncenter" width="368" caption="Senhor Mavimbe frequently prepays his Kiva loan, which he has used to expand his home (pictured) to accommodate his growing family."]
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Continue Reading 25 February 2012 at 10:00 gringacarioca 6 comments
Lomé La Belle
Michael Slattery | KF17 |Togo
A constant breeze flows across Lomé, day and night, alleviating the tropical heat. It is a near constant 30 degrees Celsius at every moment of the day; only around the middle of the day when the sun is highest does the temperature rise. At this moment, people grow languid, traffic abates, eyelids droop, and it is time for the daily nap.
Solving the ills of social inequality requires a thoughtful environment.
Alternately, the beach beckons and seats under the palms fill with all sorts: office workers take off their jackets and sit next to dozing street vendors and down-and-outs while young couples eat together in intimate silence; all the while the breeze covers us in calm. (more…)
Out of Cusco: Day in the life of a loan officer
Carrie Nguyen | KF17 | Peru
On Friday, I accompanied a loan officer to visit one of her 19 village banks just outside of Cusco, Peru, in the Andean highlands. On this occasion, we were providing the bank’s eighth loan disbursement since its formation in 2008. Despite a long-standing relationship with Asociación Arariwa, the group still had many organizational issues to iron out. This became evident as our routine meeting, which should have taken one hour, stretched into an all-morning affair.
By the end of the day, I had a much greater appreciation for the hectic schedule that loan officers face, and the numerous risks and obstacles involved in performing their jobs.
Our meeting room was all set up, but where were the borrowers? (more…)
Microfinance in Palestine: Some things are the same, some things are different
Philip Issa | KF17 | Palestine
Halaa from Palestine! This past Tuesday, I spent the day at microfinance nonprofit FATEN‘s branch office in holy Bethlehem and made my first round of borrower visits. Visiting three borrowers, each in a different phase of their enterprises, I was afforded a broad look at the realities of microfinance in Palestine. Read on about Noor, a young father who just started his business; Johny, a successful barber; and Imad, a mechanic whose garage is located just 200 meters from the Israeli Separation Barrier.
Noor, and his start-up
Fundraising for his first enterprise. (more…)
An Ordinary Borrower Visit: The Reality of Microfinance in Honduras
Santiago Cortes | KF 17 | Honduras
I’ve just arrived in Tegucigalpa after my first trip to one of Kiva field partner Prisma‘s branches. I left Prisma’s headquarters on Wednesday on the back of a pick-up and drove to Danli, home to the nearest branch. My main goal with this visit was to test some policies I want to implement across Prisma. I hope to change all the processes related with Kiva, so I used this branch as a sort of “pilot branch.”
I didn’t know what to expect, Honduras being one of the most dangerous countries in the world. After a couple of hours heading south with an entire family in the back of a pick-up Toyota, I arrived in Danli in southern Honduras late at night.
The pick-up that took me from Tegucigalpa to Danli. (more…)
From One City to Another: A New Yorker in Tagbilaran
Jamie Greenthal | KF 17 | Philippines
The bustling streets of Tagbilaran City.
I wonder if you’re thinking the same thing I was not that long ago. I often thought about what it would be like to live and work on the other side of the world in a culture that is different from what I’ve grown accustomed to. After picturing myself in a faraway land, most of the time I would spin back around in my chair, refocus on the task at hand, and shrug off the daydream. But after doing this for over 10 years, the call became too loud and I had to act.
That faraway land is the Philippines. The work is with a microfinance institution Community Economic Ventures (CEV), in Tagbilaran City (TC) on the island of Bohol on behalf of Kiva as part of its Fellows Program. I used to live and work in New York City. This blog is about my experiences working in microfinance and living in the Philippines. There’s an open seat on my tricycle (see below). I hope you come along for the ride!
(more…)
Preservation Hall
Charlotte Makoff | KF16 | New Orleans
It’s hard to imagine a dingier, more neglected looking space than Preservation Hall in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The tall windows facing the street are shuttered and have not been washed in years, maybe decades. Paint, in the areas that are or were painted, is blistered and peeling, but most of the walls are covered with ancient pegboard stained a myriad of browns and grays by an accumulation of dust and tobacco smoke. (more…)
Junk Food +1,300 Chefs + Edirne-Style Liver + Maya Food Entrepreneurs
Kimberly Strathearn | KF 16 | Istanbul, Turkey
Although you will find many familiar fast food restaurants in Turkey, I have never understood why they are popular. Turkish food is just too darn good. When I first started living in Turkey in 1998, there was very little western fast food, very little packaged junk food, and very little prepared foods (i.e. bottled sauces, frozen vegetable, mixes and other packaged foods). I used to bring back lots of food items when I visited my family once a year. Now I only bring back chili powder for when I occasionally make tacos (don’t have to bring tortillas back anymore, Turkey now grows avocados, and I substitute fresh yogurt for sour cream).
Gigantic Lay's billboard
Fast food glore
Secrets of the ELA Sisterhood (Part I)
Andrew Huelsenbeck| KF16 | Kampala, Uganda
Life is not easy for a lot of young women in Uganda. Many girls in poorer urban areas and in rural villages are regularly confronted with sexual assault, unwanted or unintended pregnancies, HIV, and the list goes on. These girls are also commonly forced to drop out of school early because they can no longer pay fees or because they need to help support their families. With these kinds of hardships, young girls are often trapped in poverty with few, if any, opportunities to develop independence and improve their lives.
Enter BRAC. Four years ago, BRAC Uganda began to address some of these problems by implementing what they call the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescence Program (ELA Program). The program is designed specifically “to improve the quality of the life of vulnerable adolescents by organizing them, creating spaces of their own and helping them develop a set of skills so that they can live and grow as confident, empowered and self reliant individuals contributing to change in their own families and communities.”
Because it is set up to achieve so many ambitious goals, the ELA program can seem fairly complex at first glance. In this blog post, I want to outline how the program is organized and talk a little bit about some of the social components of the ELA clubs. And in the next blog post, I’ll talk more about the finance components of the ELA program and about the impact of the program overall.
General Organization of ELA
Meet Barbara. She works extremely hard to train ELA staff and to develop materials for the program. She has also been with the ELA program from the beginning and has an excellent grasp on how the program functions and on how far it has come. In the video below, I asked her about what she’s currently working on and about some of the major changes she has seen in the program over the years. Check it out:
As Barbara said in the video, the ELA program has expanded significantly in the past few years and as a result, has become much more decentralized. A colleague at BRAC once joked with me: “anyone who says they understand everything that’s going on with the organization is crazy.” Yet somehow, the program functions with uncanny efficiency.
ELA Management
Each ELA girl is a member of a local club, which is organized and managed by a mentor. There are currently a total 785 clubs, which are located all across Uganda. In general, clusters of about 10-15 clubs are linked to Branch Offices based on proximity. Each branch office has a Project Assistant who is responsible for supervising all of the clubs associated with the branch and for helping the clubs to strengthen their relationships with surrounding communities. The Project Assistants report directly to the Area Coordinators, who are responsible for overseeing a handful of Branch Offices in a specific district. Area Coordinators report to Regional Coordinators, who then report to the Uganda Program Manager. The program manager is responsible for overseeing all big-picture aspects of the program and is stationed mainly at the BRAC Country Office in Kampala.
Microfinance Staff
The ELA microfinance, which is recent addition to the ELA program, requires some additional staff members. At the branch level, there are Credit Officers, who are tasked with overseeing all the financial components of the program. ELA microfinance also has its own set of Area Coordinators, who are responsible for managing microfinance at multiple branches and must be present at all loan disbursements. The microfinance Area Coordinators also report to the Regional Managers and to the Program Manager. Every month, all of the Area Coordinators meet with the Program Manager at the Country Office to review the performance of their clubs and to discuss how to improve the program.
Club Houses
The space used for the program consists mainly of extensions of community member’s houses, or of public buildings rented by BRAC from local governments. This is the main space where club members and mentors meet six afternoons per week. The clubs also use community sports fields for certain athletic activities.
How to Join
The requirements to join a club aren’t strict at all. Any girl between 13 and 21 years old, who is a permanent citizen of Uganda and who can pay the 2,000 UGX (~$0.80) admission fee can join. All she really has to do is approach the local club’s mentor and ask.
The Social Components of ELA Clubs
Community Participation
One thing that is emphasized over and over again when discussing the ELA program with BRAC management is community involvement. From what I was able to gather, this happens in mainly two ways. The first way is called a mothers forum. Once, every two weeks or so, the Project Assistant from the branch will get together with the mothers of club members to discuss the club programs and things that the mothers can do to help empower their daughters. Another way that the community is involved with ELA clubs is through community leaders’ workshops. These are events where prominent female figures from the community visit a club to talk to the girls about sexual health, life challenges or a host of other topics.
Life Skills Based Education
The ELA program also provides girls with resources to learn more about life challenges and how to overcome them. The clubs focus on a wide range of topics including reproductive health, menstruation, familial and community responsibility, leadership, bride price, early pregnancy, STIs, family planning and rape. Mentors will normally focus on one aspect of one of these topics every day, and occasionally guest speakers will come to the clubs to give presentations to the girls. BRAC has also published books on each of these topics consisting of general advice and collections of stories from the lives of ELA girls.
Just below is a kind of introductory story from BRAC’s book on family planning. It’s called “Tough Times,” and is mainly about a young, 20-year-old woman named Stella and her struggle through her second pregnancy. It emphasizes the importance of leaving time between births.
Last year, in 2009, I got married to Mike, a bicycle cyclist. I’m now five months pregnant. I was forced into marriage because my parents never wanted to stay with a pregnant woman. I had long stopped studying due to lack of finances at home.
Mike stayed in a remote village. Once in a while, when a vehicle passed, every one waited in anticipation of their relative. City people are claimed to be rich since they always carry with them so many gifts. In the village the main source of livelihood is agriculture and most of the farming done is for consumption.
As it was my first pregnancy, I lacked knowledge on how to care for myself. Friends, however, encouraged me to visit the health centre for checkups.
Throughout the pregnancy, I visited the health centre only once. The long distance discouraged me form frequenting the place. I also lacked the money to receive the medical attention I needed. As a result, a traditional birth attendant helped me to give birth to my first child. She was easily available and cheap.
Much as Mike tried so hard to meet every need of the family, the poor man failed. To make matters worse, I conceived again after ten months. This also affected our daughter so much. She was ever sick and crying. I also stopped breast feeding her since e I was down with morning sicknesses and the general discomfort that comes with pregnancy. Eating also became a problem since we could only afford one meal a day.
When it reached birth, Mike was able to gather some money to transport me to the health centre. I delivered with the help of the nurse, but I faced severe complications. I almost bled to death. I was weak and anemic. My baby looked so sick that I doubted his survival. My daughter was stunted. Having two children in a couple of years was too much for me and it also strained my husband a lot.
The nurse advised me to go back for postnatal care, with my husband. She later explained that child birth was the most risky incidence and a threat to the woman’s health and that of her baby. She emphasized the need for birth spacing if we were to take good care of our children’s health and needs.
When the nurse had finished talking, it surprised me that I was so ignorant about family planning methods and birth spacing. Use of contraceptives would give me enough time to properly heal and properly take care of myself and the children before getting unexpected pregnancy.
Since then, I have learned to use contraceptives. I plan on waiting for my two children to properly grow before I conceive again. It is also important that I get a job so that I can supplement on Mike’s income. This will help us to properly take care of our family and keep it happy.
Club Activities
To me, the club activities are in a big way the heart of the ELA program. They afford the ELA girls a daily opportunity to take a break from adversity, to talk about their experiences and to learn from one another.
Towards the end of my fellowship, I was lucky enough to visit the Kanyanya Club in the Zanna district in Kampala. Just before lunch one day, I hop on the back of a boda boda and speed just a few kilometers up the road to the main traffic hub in Zanna. I pick up two oily, floury pancakes called chapattis for lunch, then march off of the main road, back into the Zanna “slums” to find the Branch Office. I get a little lost on the winding backroads, but am only a few minutes late – Uganda style.
Once at the office, I am greeted warmly by the Project Assistant and an Area Manager I’ve met before. The three of us travel up about two kilometers of steep, dusty roads in the hot afternoon sun. It would have been much easier to take a boda boda, but the project assistant had recently been in an accident and really didn’t want to take any more chances. Just as I think I am running out of steam, we reach the top of a huge incline, descend down a short lane with lots of tree shade, and finally arrive at the club house.
It’s around two o’clock, and more and more girls filter in over the next hour. Many of the members aren’t around because they’ve gone to visit family in the villages for the holiday, and many of the girls that show up are also a bit drained from the intense heat of the sun. We still have a great time playing board games and dancing. Fortunately, I have my Flipcam and am able to grab some great footage of the club house and of the girls. Enjoy!
Andrew Huelsenbeck is a Kiva Fellow who worked in Kampala with BRAC Uganda. To learn more about BRAC, please visit their Kiva Partner Page. If you are interested in helping to empower one or more of BRAC’s many wonderful entrepreneurs, you can join the Friends of BRAC Uganda lending team or check out new BRAC Uganda loans on Kiva.org. Happy lending!
To Connect People Through Lending To Entrepreneurs Across the Globe
“To Connect People Through Lending to Entrepreneurs Across the Globe” is one of Kiva’s best tag lines. Indeed, “Connecting” is key to Kiva, to microfinance loans and to repayment, especially in this high tech world of Twitter, Facebook, Groupon and the Worldwide Web. All of the Kiva borrowers in New Orleans are online, from the youngest in her twenties to the oldsters in their 60s. A lot have smart phones to check their email and Facebook pages. Unlike the Kiva borrowers in developing nations, there is no need to explain “the internet.” When I meet with a prospective client I walk them through the Kiva website. I go to Kiva.org and explain “crowd sourcing,” i.e. that their loan will actually be funded by around 250 people from different parts the world who want to loan and connect with them after reading their Kiva profile. The response is always positive and many of the borrowers want to make a connection to the lenders. One borrower, Renee, specifically asked me to write all of her lenders a thank you note and a progress report on her loan. The Kiva site is built so that the borrowers cannot directly write to the lenders. This is what I wrote on Renee’s behalf:
Continue Reading 2 February 2012 at 12:26 charlottemakoff Leave a comment
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
Celebrating the Epiphany in New Orleans
I expected Christmas to be different in New Orleans and I was right. The people of New Orleans celebrate everything with flourish and style and of course Christmas is no different. So what’s so different about Christmas? Well, it’s the King Cake tradition. It involves a special cake, a tiny baby and a party. The tradition of having King Cake Parties has evolved through time, but no one in New Orleans ever remembers a time when there weren’t King Cake parties after Christmas. The tradition started in New Orleans, no doubt, with the French Catholics. It celebrates the twelfth night after Christmas, January 6th, the Day of the epiphany. The Epiphany is the revelation that the baby Jesus Christ is the son of God who was born as a human being.
Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of pastry dough (brioche to be exact) with a small amount of colored sugar as decoration. Inside the original King Cakes was a tiny porcelain or gold baby, representing Jesus. If a person received a piece of cake with the baby they were declared King for the day. Over time, people were choking or breaking teeth on the baby, so the baby has become a little larger and plastic, and instead of being baked inside, the baby is is inserted into the cake after baking. The top of the cake is then covered with sugar icing in traditional Mardi Gras colors: Green, purple and gold. In recent years, bakeries have been improvising and making different cream cheese flavors and fruit filled King Cakes. There’s one bakery in New Orleans, Antoine’s, that makes up to 3,500 cakes per day running their bakery 24 hours and hiring additional employees, during what they term as King Cake season. .
If you go to a King Cake party and get the piece of cake with the baby, beware! You are not just the King for the day, you are now required to bring the next King Cake to the next party. Because of this tradition, some offices and schools have King Cakes every day until Mardi Gras season ends. I first heard about King Cakes at an office meeting at Kiva’s Community partner, Good Work Network. Since I first heard I have been carefully watching the bakery section at Rouse’s and Winn Dixie. I have also been eyeing the cases at the local bakeries. I couldn’t wait until after Christmas to buy my first piece of King Cake, so I went to Antoine’s on Carrollton where they sell King Cakes all year round. They actually had pieces of King Cake for sale, so I dove in head first.
Okay, it tastes and smells like a really good cinnamon roll. In fact, the whole experience reminded me of the chain restaurant, Cinnabon. Am I wrong? Would someone from N’Awlins disagree with my assessment? I googled cinnamon rolls and King Cake and got a multiplicity of hits all of which indicated that somewhere along the way, the original brioche style King Cakes have morphed into a coffee cake similar to a Cinnamon roll. In fact, some easy recipes suggest using ready made cinnamon roll dough to make a King Cake.
Perks + Atatürk + My hero
Cookıe samples = Perks!
