As a young man, Tejan had long dreamed of being a professional soccer player. For fifteen years, he played with one of Sierra Leone’s top teams, the first division Regent’s Olympic. But even as a star defender and captain of his team, his earnings, essentially a portion of what was taken at the entrance gate, were seldom enough to make ends meet. In 2002, deciding to supplement his income, Tejan apprenticed with a local tailor, learning the highly skilled art of making... Continue Reading >>
A native of Ireland, Shane received his bachelors in Marketing and Entrepreneurship in 1993. Relocating to the US shortly thereafter, he has since worked in telemarketing management, community outreach, fundraising, market research and as a volunteer. While challenging and rewarding, these positions helped to augment his primary career aspiration as an actor in the theatre. Getting off the beaten track while travelling in the developing world, he visited outlying tribal regions and poor slums, underfunded orphanages, schools and hospitals. In 2007, he returned to Ireland to study for his Masters in International Peace. Learning about microfinance for the first time, it struck him as a sustainable aid model that favors the empowerment of people over the creation of dependency. Shane is ready to immerse himself wholly in this new adventure and is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve with the distinguished members of the Kiva team and KF22. He hopes to learn a lot from the experience and eventually build a full time career in the service of the greater good. He is particularly animated by small, local businesses that are both financially and environmentally sustainable while enriching the local community.
Fellows Blog Posts by Shane Fahy
Apr 16, 2014
Sierra Leone
As a young man, Tejan had long dreamed of being a professional soccer player. For fifteen years, he played with one of Sierra Leone’s top teams, the first division Regent’s Olympic. But even as a star defender and captain of his team, his earnings, essentially a portion of what was taken at the entrance gate, were seldom enough to make ends meet. In 2002, deciding to supplement his income, Tejan apprenticed with a local tailor, learning the highly skilled art of making... Continue Reading >>
As a young man, Tejan had long dreamed of being a professional soccer player. For fifteen years, he played with one of Sierra Leone’s top teams, the first division Regent’s Olympic. But even as a star defender and captain of his team, his earnings, essentially a portion of what was taken at the entrance gate, were seldom enough to make ends meet. In 2002, deciding to supplement his income, Tejan apprenticed with a local tailor, learning the highly skilled art of making... Continue Reading >>
Apr 14, 2014
Global Update
Freetown’s narrow, dusty and often unpaved streets seem to squeeze life through them at an intensity that is difficult to imagine in a ‘western city’. Rivers of people and goods spill over from makeshift sidewalks into oncoming cars and motorcycle taxis that weave in and out of each other amid an endless din of beeping horns. Hawkers hiss and suck their teeth to get your attention. Loudspeakers on an endless loop announce, “Voucher, Voucher, Top-up, Top-up, Afri-cell, Airtel, Top-up, Top-up." A man calls, “Passport photo, passport photo,” in your ear, his camera sitting idle and ready... Continue Reading >>
Freetown’s narrow, dusty and often unpaved streets seem to squeeze life through them at an intensity that is difficult to imagine in a ‘western city’. Rivers of people and goods spill over from makeshift sidewalks into oncoming cars and motorcycle taxis that weave in and out of each other amid an endless din of beeping horns. Hawkers hiss and suck their teeth to get your attention. Loudspeakers on an endless loop announce, “Voucher, Voucher, Top-up, Top-up, Afri-cell, Airtel, Top-up, Top-up." A man calls, “Passport photo, passport photo,” in your ear, his camera sitting idle and ready... Continue Reading >>
Dec 28, 2013
United States
On Tuesday, I attended the first ever Giving Tuesday 'Jamathon' organized by Full Circle Fund. Kiva was one of seven Bay Area non-profits selected for the competition, and our team consisted of my manager Justin Renfro, four members of Full Circle Fund who have been designated as 'rising leaders', and me. We met a couple of times earlier in the week to establish Kiva Zip's main 'pain-point', expanding our lender base. On the night of the Jamathon, we were joined by two additional...
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Nov 4, 2013
United States
As a Kiva Zip fellow, one of the best aspects of the job, aside from helping financially excluded and socially impactful entrepreneurs is the inspiring people you meet along the way. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this ‘goodwill’ amongst people is really infectious. It begins of course with the staff at Kiva HQ, which is right here in San Francisco, but it extends out into the wider community, where on your search for borrowers and trustees, you encounter folks that just feel good to be around. On this particular day, after a twenty minute train ride south from San Francisco, I... Continue Reading >>
As a Kiva Zip fellow, one of the best aspects of the job, aside from helping financially excluded and socially impactful entrepreneurs is the inspiring people you meet along the way. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this ‘goodwill’ amongst people is really infectious. It begins of course with the staff at Kiva HQ, which is right here in San Francisco, but it extends out into the wider community, where on your search for borrowers and trustees, you encounter folks that just feel good to be around. On this particular day, after a twenty minute train ride south from San Francisco, I... Continue Reading >>
Oct 19, 2013
Global Update
When I first learned of the possibility of a fellowship with Kiva, my mind raced with visions of exotic food stalls on bustling streets, colorful people conversing in strange tongues and moped rides through pastoral countryside to conduct borrower verifications. So, when I learned that Kiva wanted me to work, here, in my adopted city of San Francisco, I was a little hesitant at first. Then I heard about this innovative program called Kiva Zip, which had the potential, quite literally, to revolutionize micro-lending across the world. This was a chance to work in a start-up... Continue Reading >>
When I first learned of the possibility of a fellowship with Kiva, my mind raced with visions of exotic food stalls on bustling streets, colorful people conversing in strange tongues and moped rides through pastoral countryside to conduct borrower verifications. So, when I learned that Kiva wanted me to work, here, in my adopted city of San Francisco, I was a little hesitant at first. Then I heard about this innovative program called Kiva Zip, which had the potential, quite literally, to revolutionize micro-lending across the world. This was a chance to work in a start-up... Continue Reading >>