El Salvador
By Andrea Ramirez, KF16, El Salvador.
One of the awesome bands during the Independence Day Parade in San Miguel
Last Thursday, September 15th, we celebrated Independence day here in El Salvador. However, El Salvador was not alone in the celebrations as Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua also had their own festivities on that very same day. It was a colorful day, and I want to share a bit of the fun show that I got to enjoy here in San...
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Paraguay
By Alba Castillo, KF 16 Paraguay
“One can pay back the loan of gold, but one lies forever in debt to those who are kind.”
A cloudy sunrise over Asunción
The other night my landlady, Señora Ada, came up to my apartment with two slices of pizza her husband had just made. We chitchatted while I enjoyed a fabulous concoction of cheese, meats and olives over a flaky thin crust. A few minutes later, as Señora Ada was walking out of my door, I was...
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About 3 weeks ago I arrived in Burkina Faso, ready and excited to work with Micro Start, Kiva’s first partner in the west African country. Micro Start has an amazing mission “to improve families’ living conditions in general, and that of women in particular, by facilitating access to financial and non-financial services” and a conscientious staff who start working at 7:30am to carry it out. This is Micro Start’s Kiva Coordinator (KC) and I at the office during one my first days:
Although I’ve been here only a few short weeks, I’ve already had the...
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Philippines
The phrase “The Circle of Life”, for individuals of my age demographic, typically conjures up images of Timon and Pumba. Hopefully I did not pull you into this blog under false pretenses but unfortunately the title is the only relation to the famous Disney movie. My hope is that you will continue reading in order to find out what “The Circle of Life” has to do with microfinance and Kiva.
First off, let me introduce you to the place, which is not Africa. For this circle of life I will be showing you around the workings of my MFI placement in Manila,...
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Pastries in Usulutan, near one of the offices of Fundacion Campo
Not only are things sweeter and delicious, but there is no such a thing as “light” or “diet” versions of anything (as far as I can tell). The delectable corn products are also sooo good that I could transition into a corn-only-based diet rather quickly. Such diet would include:
Pupusas: Corn patties that usually come filled with cheese, or a combination of...
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Ecuador
By Kate Bennett (KF15)
'Small business owners in Ecuador, like Marcia Suqui in the video above, can use their microloans to move forward with their businesses and improve their quality of life. After all, this is the idea driving Kiva- that small loans can change lives. But not all small loans can improve a business owner’s standing, because the darker side...
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Lebanon
By Heba Gamal - KF15, Lebanon
It is not hard for a Lebanese to detect my disguised Egyptian Arabic accent, so it’s been quite common for me to be asked how long I have been in Lebanon, whether this is my first time, and of course what I’m doing here in Lebanon every time I meet someone. Most recently this happened to me at a local Resto-Pub in Hasbaya after a 10km hike. The Resto-Pub owner, Fayez, and I quickly got to talking and as usual it wasn’t long before I was aked ”What do you do here in Lebanon?” Although, I’m fluent in Arabic...
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Indonesia
It all starts here
By Anne Conlin, KF15, Indonesia
In a past blog post, I discussed how loans from Kiva’s partner Mitra Usaha Kecil (MUK) in rural West Bali, Indonesia are helping women expand the scale of their pig breeding businesses. MUK’s Pig Breeder Group Loan enables women who have long casually raised one pig in their yard to take small loans of 1 – 2.5M IDR ($117 – $263) to formalize their business and raise additional pigs. As part of...
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Cameroon
Basic Needs Test Interview
Faith Garlington, KF15
GHAPE (Grounded and Holistic Approach for People’s Empowerment)
Bamenda, Cameroon
At GHAPE (Grounded and Holistic Approach for People’s Empowerment) in Cameroon, new borrower centers are established only in areas identified as mostly poor. Individual borrowers are also screened using a tool called the Basic Needs Test to determine whether they qualify as potential...
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Science Club from a Local High School
Faith Garlington, KF15
GHAPE (Grounded and Holistic Approach to People’s Empowerment)
Bamenda, Cameroon
In the United States, we see countless images meant to represent poverty in Africa that focus on civil unrest, starving children, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases. The images come from our media, our government, even charities and NGOs working to fight the affects of poverty. But...
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