Posts tagged ‘South America’
Update from the Field: Group Loans, Barriers to Microfinance + How to Visit a Borrower
Compiled by Chris Paci | KF16 & KF17 | Ukraine
A Kiva borrower in Barranquilla with his family - Alex Connelly, Colombia
As regular readers of Kiva Stories from the Field will know, it’s not always easy to extend microfinance services to the people who need them most. Aside from the usual barriers - poor infrastructure that makes it difficult to connect borrowers with an MFI, the difficulty of disseminating information about available services, and the danger of over-indebtedness among those in greatest need - there are sometimes even more intractable political and regulatory challenges that make it very difficult for microfinance to be viable. This week, our fellows have investigated a few of these problems. Read on to learn about the unique challenges that come with owning a farm in the West Bank and the barriers that Turkish microfinance institutions face in trying to expand their services; then, get another window into the Kiva borrower verification process and learn how Kiva Fellows forge connections with the entrepreneurs they visit. (more…)
Loan Officer Spotlight: FODEMI’s Freddy Andrade
Isabel Balderrama/KF-17/Ecuador
The most often quoted fact by Kiva members and enthusiasts is its borrowers’ remarkably high repayment rate of 98.91%. How does Kiva manage to get this vast majority of people, located in all corners of the world, to be this good at repaying back their loans? Is it magic? No, no… The reality is simultaneously simpler, and more complicated than that. It’s a chain really: Kiva relies on its Field Partners to get the job done, and these field partners, in turn, come to rely on their teams of loan officers to interview the clients and to educate them properly on why paying back on time is a must.
I wanted to take some time and recognize one of these keen and valuable loan officers: Ecuador-based FODEMI’s Freddy Andrade.
Dollarization in Ecuador, where 1 = 1
Isabel Balderrama | KF-17 | Ecuador
Even though I’ve only been living in Ecuador for two weeks, I can safely say that I have already learned the three most important things about this country:
1. Ecuadorians love their karaoke.
2. Salty food is a must.
3. “Delfin hasta el fin” is king (look it up… trust me!)
Ok, so those probably aren’t the most important things… let’s just call them fun facts.
One of Ecuador’s adorable “facts.” (more…)
Mud Walls to Mechanical Looms: Borrowers’ Stories
By Megan Bond, KF15, Ecuador
Eight years ago, Manuel told me, their house was very different from the one I was standing in. The walls were made of compressed earth and the roof was constructed out of dried straw. Manuel, his wife Cristiana, and their six children struggled on a daily basis to make ends meet. Looking for a change, they sought their first loan from FODEMI. Eight years and eleven loans later, I stood in their new house/factory. The floors and walls were solidly constructed out of cement and the roof was metal. In the spacious rooms, family members and two hired employees worked at multiple looms weaving thread into cloth.
Blast from the Past: KF7 turned microfinance professor visits Colombia to do field research
What happens to Kiva Fellows once they finish their placement and get released back into the world? This is a question I have asked myself many times as I look ahead beyond my placement in Colombia–luckily I will be part of KF15 and won’t have to make those decisions for a few months! Many of the current fellows will be heading to grad school in the fall, going back to their old jobs, or looking for new jobs in international development. But how many of us get the chance to continue on in the world of microfinance?
Continue Reading 28 March 2011 at 21:35 JohnGwillim 4 comments
Celebrating Carnival in the Andes
Compiled by Geeta Uhl, KF14, Peru
Kiva Fellows celebrate Carnival in the Andes- in Ayacucho and Cajamarca, Peru and Oruro, Bolivia. Check out photos and descriptions of the various celebrations and traditions in South America.
Photos from Carnival de Barranquilla
Forty days before Easter marks a grand occasion in many countries across the world – Carnival. We’re composing this blog during a couple of hours of well-needed downtime from the second largest of them all: Barranquilla, Colombia.
Outside of Carnival season Barranquilla is a relatively ordinary city which doesn’t tend to attract the throngs of tourists that flock to its beautiful coastal neighbours such as Cartagena and Santa Marta. However, for one long weekend of the year there is no more popular tourist attraction than Barranquilla. Hotels are booked out months in advance and the masses flood to town with just one thing on their mind – partying. As it happens, the locals start ‘preparing’ for Carnival about a month before the actual event with, well, more partying.
UNESCO hailed Barranquilla Carnival as one of the ‘Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity’. Whatever on earth that means, it makes it sound fabulously impressive and so, from what I’ve witnessed so far, I’ll go along with it.
The focus of Carnival during the day are the numerous parades that take place around different parts of the city. These can be up to 5 or 6 hours long and feature a continuous stream of floats, dancers and performers strutting their moves in glorious waves of colour and mesmerizing patterns.
When the sun sets and the last of the performers reach the end of the road, the dancing baton is handed to the masses who assume their role with fervent gusto at street parties and open-air nightclubs across the city.
Carnival, while only being a few days long, provides a major boost to Barranquilla’s economy. Prices for food, drink and taxis are inflated but, in the spirit of things, no-one seems to mind. Importantly, Carnival is of great significance to small-scale entrepreneurs such as hat-makers, artisans and food-stall owners. It’s also an important time for Kiva Field Partner FMSD who provide loans to these entrepreneurs so that they can invest in stock to meet the high demand.
Amid a hazy but fantastic blur of dancing, costume, body paint, music, foam, corn flour and the odd Aguila beer, John managed to capture a few photos of this amazing spectacle. Enjoy!
Words by Nick Hamilton, photos by John Gwillim, KF14
Batalla de Flores - Saturday March 5, 2011
The first, and largest, parade of Carnival kicked off on Saturday afternoon.
Warming up before the parades starts
"Hugo Chávez" and "Simón Bolívar" spend some time together before the parade begins
Foam, water, beer, flour--I was covered in all of them while shooting during the parade route.
The crowds were massive! There was opening seating for free, as well as paid seating in chairs and grandstands. Some of the nicest VIP seating included waitstaff and food, but the seats were up to $250 each.
Parada Floclórica Carlos Franco – Sunday, March 6, 2011
A much smaller parade with a more community feel didn’t include the huge floats from Saturday’s parade, but was still very fun and highlighted some amazing costumes and dancing.
Stay tuned to the Fellows Blog this Wednesday to read about more carnival stories from Latina America!!!
John and Nick at the Batalla de Flores
Nick Hamilton is currently serving with Interactuar in Medellín, Colombia and John Gwillim is in Barranquilla, Colombia with Fundación Mario Santo Domingo (FMSD) as part of KF14.
Interested in learning more about Fundación Mario Santo Domingo? Visit their page on Kiva here!
