Posts tagged ‘Zaporozhye’
Along the road
by Jacqueline Gunn, KF13 Ghana, KF14 Ukraine
For the past 7 months I have been roaming the world as a Kiva fellow. I began in the lovely town of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana where I spent my days in the office and my evenings and weekends on the beach. When I applied for a second fellowship, my only request was that it provided contrast to Ghana. Working in an industrial factory city in Eastern Ukraine has certainly delivered that. I arrived in Winter and it was -20 degrees Celsius outside and not much warmer inside.
Before I started on this adventure, I had expectations about what I would learn- microfinance in action, the inner workings of Kiva. I have had so many great opportunities to learn about microfinance, but for me this experience has been so much more as well. Here are just a few of the things I have learned as a fellow.
Get into the groove
Whilst I was in Ghana life felt very easy. I was really fortunate to be visiting clients on field trips once a week, the sun was shining and life by the beach was fun and very relaxing. In February I moved to the Ukraine for Kiva Fellowship number two and I’ll be honest, it was a bit of a challenge. I’m pretty good with changing environments but it was like life was flipped 180 degrees. Then i realised what was missing… Kiva clients!
A Kiva Fellow’s Scrap Book
Today is my last day as a Kiva Fellow. Kiva Fellows Class number 10 (or KF10) took me to Zaporozhye, Ukraine where I worked with Kiva’s field partner HOPE Ukraine; KF11 brought me here to Lomé, Togo, where I work with two different field partners, Microfund Togo and Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social, or WAGES. I can’t think of two countries more different, and I have loved and been challenged by both experiences equally. (more…)
Ukraine is Hot!
By Margarita Salasyuk, Kiva Fellow with HOPE Ukraine in Zaporozhye, Ukraine
Ukraine has been experiencing unusually hot weather this summer, with temperatures regularly reaching a high of 100F (38C). The prolonged heat wave has sparked numerous fires in different parts of the country and will undoubtedly have an effect on this year’s grain harvest.
Continue Reading 10 August 2010 at 09:00 Margarita Salasyuk 4 comments
Meet a Loan Officer!
By Leah Gage, KF10 Ukraine
When you make a loan to a Kiva borrower all the way in Kenya or Cambodia or Ukraine, do you ever think to yourself, “I wonder who took her picture?” Do you ever wonder, “Did someone ask her if she was okay with going up on Kiva?” Have you ever asked the question, “How am I getting repaid on this loan, anyway?”
Frigid Finance: Small Business in Cold Climates, Part 1
Most of Kiva’s borrowers are located within the southern hemisphere, where problems like sleet storms and dzuds (check back Monday!) are nowhere in sight. But in Kiva’s EECA region (Eastern Europe and Central Asia), borrowers deal with a half year and maybe more of bitter cold and all the weather problems that come with it.
Would you buy oranges while standing in the snow?
Today I dragged my glamorous young interpreter, Alina, and loan officer Sergei to the frozen mud of the outdoor markets of Melitopol, Ukraine. I was on a specific mission: to find out how cold weather affects HOPE Ukraine’s borrowers. It snowed in Melitopol today, and I admit that I thought my toes were going to freeze off during one of today’s visits with a borrower. According to weather.com there was a high of 29˚F. (more…)
Lending in Ukraine is Sexy!
When you look at the average photo of a Ukrainian Kiva Borrower, you’ll most likely see a woman about 40 standing in front of retail shelves stocked full of merchandise. Chances are she’s a vendor at one of Ukraine’s many outdoor markets, or Rynok (Рынок).
Meet Alla Slichko, a vendor at an outdoor market in Mukachevo, Western Ukraine. She's currently fundraising - consider lending her $25!
During Kiva Fellows training at Kiva HQ in San Francisco, I learned that Kiva borrowers located in Eastern Europe or Central Asia are often the least popular on the Kiva docket and the last to receive funding. One staffer even suggested that lending in Ukraine isn’t sexy. How could this be?! Perhaps it’s the well-stocked shelves, or maybe the often un-smiling, warmly dressed men and women, that do not illicit immediate sympathy or the thoughts of poverty that lenders often associate with Kiva borrowers? (more…)
