Its been 10 months since I left my previous job in Los Angeles and had the privilege to become a Kiva Fellow. I began working in beautiful Kenya and am now in colorful Colombia. Though geographically far apart, there are more similarities between the two countries than one might think.
Stories tagged with Lending
Its been 10 months since I left my previous job in Los Angeles and had the privilege to become a Kiva Fellow. I began working in beautiful Kenya and am now in colorful Colombia. Though geographically far apart, there are more similarities between the two countries than one might think.
As I approach the matatu stage I feel a bout of irritation. Completely empty. I am the first passenger to arrive, which undoubtedly means waiting for an indefinite amount of time until it is full and ready to head out. I quickly text the Kiva borrower I am to visit to tell her I may be late. Having been in this situation many times before, she messages me back with an understanding, “Don’t worry, you still come!” I get in, pick the best seat, buy a few... Continue Reading >>
On a recent trip out of Nairobi, we arrived in Eldama Ravine, a small town of around 15,000 people in Kenya's Rift Valley Province. On our arrival we were greeted by Benson, the local loan officer for SMEP Microfinance Bank, who proudly walked us down Eldama Ravine's main street, into a building containing a general store and an education center, and up two flights of stairs to a small office overlooking the busy local... Continue Reading >>
Traditionally, Kenyan women have not been in the business of beekeeping. Beehives were historically kept very high in trees requiring the beekeeper to undertake a somewhat dangerous climb in order to service or retrieve the hive. Culturally, this was not considered an activity fit for Kenyan women. Now, with modern beekeeping techniques and tools, colonized hives can be managed from the ground.
For the first half of my Kiva fellowship I was placed with Honey Care Africa, an organization that gives Kiva loans to farmers for beehives and apiary materials. I attended a Honey Care...
Continue Reading >>Recently, I got to visit Kone Mory who is from Côte d’Ivoire, a country in west Africa. Kone is a... Continue Reading >>
The purpose of this adventure was to meet with eight borrowers scattered around the countryside so that I could listen to their stories and verify that the information posted on Kiva was accurate. I’m pleased to report that the trip was successful on all counts!
The most touching... Continue Reading >>
It was 8 in the morning; I was sitting in front of a group of five staff members from MicroKing’s Gokwe branch, about to start my Kiva training. Gokwe is a small town in a rural area of Zimbabwe. It takes a four-hour bus ride and a two-hour car ride (or a Kombi ride - tiny local buses that lengthen the journey by another 2 hours), which may be why they have never had a Kiva...
When I first applied to the program, I warned my family and friends that I would most likely be very “out of reach” for four months. Meaning that I would be working in a faraway place in a distant time zone- think Samoa, Togo, Bangladesh, or maybe even some country that I had barely heard of or knew very little about.
It was much to my surprise after finding out I was accepted to be a Kiva Fellow that I was to be placed in Los Angeles working with Kiva Zip. I’m slightly...
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Sometimes it is better to share your challenges after they happened not while they are happening, so here it goes:
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