I interned at the Kiva Headquarters in San Francisco for six months. If you have six months to spare this is a very worthwhile experience. Never had I met so many great people working toward a common goal. And being an unpaid intern was one of the most satisfying things I have ever done. Kiva depends on teams of volunteers, and it is very appreciative of its teams and expresses it on a daily basis. Sure, I did some collating and copying, but I also was invited to brainstorming sessions, wrote country memos, wrote articles for the Kiva Fellows Alumni newsletter, vetted Fellows’...
Continue Reading >>Stories tagged with KF16 (Kiva Fellows 16th Class)
Not every Kiva Fellow is from the United States. So there is a chance that being placed as a Kiva Fellow In New Orleans, Louisiana, USA will be an opportunity to travel to a foreign country. For me that isn’t the case, but I am relishing living here for the next three months in all of the Southern Comfort that NOLA has to offer. If you are an American, you don’t need a passport, a visa, shots, malaria meds, Medex insurance or to register with US Embassy upon your arrival. Everyone here speaks English, there’s electricity, running potable water and good Internet...
Continue Reading >>By Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador / KF16 Perú
After my first placement in Ecuador, I thought I knew living and working in South America- three months in Ica, Perú proved me wrong. New (and delicious) food, a drastically different (and drier) climate, and wonderful new friends, coworkers, and chicha-vending Kiva borrowers showed me another side of South America’s many amazing countries and cultures. As I phase out of my second fellowship back into the real world, I want to share these photos, and photos from my first placement in Ecuador, with you lenders and give thanks...
Continue Reading >>By Kiva Fellows in Africa, KF16
Compiled by Tejal Desai, Sierra Leone
Ow de body! Are Sierra Leone and Rwanda still danger zones? What challenges do Ugandans most commonly face? Kiva Fellows from KF16 bring you another unique perspective from the diverse and vast continent of Africa! We patched together an overview of each of our placement countries that includes: basic socioeconomic stats, common stereotypes (and to what extent they are true or false), greatest challenges, most common loan products at our respective field partners, and the borrowers’ most common use of...
Continue Reading >>Compiled by Laurie Young, KF16, Indonesia
I know! We can’t believe it either! Our Kiva Fellowships, as the 16th class, have come to an end. So what’s in store for us once we return to our homes? Or perhaps, stay in the field for another fellowship? Read on for the next chapter in the lives of some of the 16th Class of Kiva Fellows Alumni.
I am returning to San Francisco after working around Latin America for the past year. Apparently, it’s time to go home and get ‘a...
Continue Reading >>By Kiva Fellows in Africa, KF16
Compiled by Tejal Desai, Sierra Leone
Where might you find muzungu hunting? Where do Kenya’s elite runners hail from? And what do most borrowers in Burkina Faso use their business profits for? Kiva Fellows from KF16 bring you a unique perspective from the diverse and vast continent of Africa! We patched together an overview of each of our placement countries that includes: basic...
Continue Reading >>Compiled by Kate Bennett, KF16 Peru
The sixteenth class of Kiva Fellows has all but left the field- but we’re by no means done talking about our experiences. We’ve collectively spent 422 weeks in the field (just over 8 years!) and worked an estimated 16,650 hours at Kiva field partners around the world. Needless to say, we’ve got a lot of...
Continue Reading >>By Eric Rindal – KF 16 – Bolivia
Before I volunteered as a Kiva Fellow in Sierra Leone (May of 2011) and Bolivia (September 2011), I was living in Santa Barbara, California. Imagine: Santa Barbara beaches saturated with color, mansions with the smell of jasmine twisting through the air, and a pace of life only to be set by the sun. While there, I was working for a de jure artist and took up the ranks as a de facto artist myself. Life was pretty easy, and moving to a developing country and working with microfinance seemed a million miles away. Leaving it all made...
Continue Reading >>By Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador / KF16 Perú
My first placement in Ecuador was my first time in the country. Turns out that Ecuador is every bit as incredible as the guide books say, and more. I was continously struck by the warmth and openness of the Ecuadorian people (and their passion for politics!), the beauty of the mountains, jungle, and countryside, the richness of Ecuadorian food, the strength of the Kiva borrowers I met there, and my persisting inability to salsa as well as my coworkers. These are a few of my favorite photos of my time there. Stay tuned for my next...
Continue Reading >>By Marcus Berkowitz, KF16, Ecuador
Institutional birthdays in the US can be fairly stuffy affairs. Seating is often arranged to maximize contact with those in the institution with whom one has never spoken (perhaps for good reason, argue some guests) and they tend to be remembered more for inappropriate comments inserted into otherwise boring speeches rather than for the celebrations that they hope to be but rarely are.
Not so at the Cooperativa San Jose de Chimbo (CSJ). Instead of standing around awkwardly, everyone secretly wishing they were somewhere else, the 47th...
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