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...

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...

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...

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...