I dedicated the last few weeks of my fellowship to traveling to rural Haiti and meeting some of Zafèn’s borrowers. Out of the ten borrowers I visited, eight of them were a part of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) which represent the informal micro-finance ...
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While I was in the Dominican Republic, I caught sight of the Haitian border and noticed that I couldn’t see as many trees when looking towards Haiti. My journey to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, confirmed this impression of 2 very different worlds on the same island.
I knew about deforestation but was still taken aback to see it so clearly. Unlike its neighbor the Dominican Republic, which...
Many wonder how much of an impact microfinance has on the lives of people, and particularly whether it does anything to bring people out of poverty. I visited Jackson, a hardworking farmer and businessman who lives in the Kiruhura district of the Western region of Uganda. Jackson has so far taken five loans over the past couple of years, and as a result his business has grown tremendously.
Before he was able to...
I started my fellowship in Indonesia, a vast archipelago known for its volcanoes and dreamy white sand beaches. However, with over a quarter billion people from different ethnic groups, Indonesia is also a dense melting pot and has the largest economy in Southeast Asia.
Yet, despite its rapid economic growth, the country also faces enormous challenges.
Indonesia's GDP per capita is a...
“You can see the self esteem and dignity that they gain,” Shadrack says. Shadrack is a program manager at Hand in Hand Eastern Africa, a Kiva field partner in Kenya. He is describing the impact that Hand in Hand's youth entrepreneurship clubs have on their student participants.
Outside of these entrepreneurship clubs, Hand in Hand Eastern Africa partners with clients who undergo an...
My birthday was fast approaching and I was having an emergency.
I had nothing to wear.
This might seem like a small problem, but here in Colombia, the “rumba” – the party – reigns supreme and if you don’t look fabulous, you might as well stay home. Besides, my birthday was to fall on a Saturday, an astrological phenomenon that cannot be taken for granted. The 23rd of June must be...
While the Dominican Republic is famous for Punta Cana and its pristine beaches, its neighbour Haiti is mostly known for being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but both countries have much more to offer than these limiting stereotypes.
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Doña Micaela sits on the floor, knees on a straw mat and a spool of cotton thread whittled in her hand. Behind her is a display of natural dyes, labeled for tourists. “Can I please take a picture of you?” I ask her in Spanish.
“She doesn’t understand,” her colleague, Doña Elena, answers. Elena translates my words to Tz’utujil, one of the 21 indigenous languages in Guatemala. Micaela smiles and nods.
Micaela and Elena...
Upon arriving in the Dominican Republic, you’re bound to encounter one recurring type of shop…a colmado.
What is a colmado? Well...it's a bit of everything.
A colmado is primarily a local convenience store. It sells staples: from rice and beans to toiletries, cigarettes and alcohol. People can call their local colmado for a delivery. Pretty convenient when you realize you need one more avocado in the middle...
Continue Reading >>ICT4D is an acronym that stands for “Information and communication technologies (ICT) for development.” It refers to the use of software, hardware and telecommunications technologies in pursuit of development and humanitarian aid. In March 2018, I had the pleasure of attending the ICT4D Conference held in Lusaka, Zambia, which brought together representatives from NGOs, the private sector and academia to discuss how ICT...
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