After completing Kiva Fellows Training in San Francisco, and moving my last few possessions into storage in Chicago, it was time to make the 8000 mile journey to Nairobi and start my fellowship! With the exception of some visa troubles at the airport in Chicago, the journey went relatively simply and smoothly; I passed the time pretty effectively with a combination of in-flight movies, coffee and snacks in... Continue Reading >>
Stories tagged with Lending
Jul 7, 2014
Kenya
After completing Kiva Fellows Training in San Francisco, and moving my last few possessions into storage in Chicago, it was time to make the 8000 mile journey to Nairobi and start my fellowship! With the exception of some visa troubles at the airport in Chicago, the journey went relatively simply and smoothly; I passed the time pretty effectively with a combination of in-flight movies, coffee and snacks in... Continue Reading >>
After completing Kiva Fellows Training in San Francisco, and moving my last few possessions into storage in Chicago, it was time to make the 8000 mile journey to Nairobi and start my fellowship! With the exception of some visa troubles at the airport in Chicago, the journey went relatively simply and smoothly; I passed the time pretty effectively with a combination of in-flight movies, coffee and snacks in... Continue Reading >>
Jul 7, 2014
Kenya
Kiva Zip is all about human connections. Three weeks in Nairobi and I am just amazed to witness the direct impact the Kiva Zip model is having on their borrowers and the strength of this bond of trustee-borrower-lender relationships.
This week, I met a Kiva Zip borrower, Esther. She loves and is proud of her little shop “Facebook Cereal” in TOI market area of the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Starting from ground zero twice in the last 10 years due to internal Kenya riots and personal medical...
Jun 6, 2014
Benin
Over the past month, I have been working with Kiva partner Alidé in Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. I recently visited Henriette, one of Alidé’s long-standing clients. Henriette started out selling beverages on the side of the road, eventually opening a small shop in her home. After her husband died, she needed to find a way to expand her business so that she could continue to support her two children and her adopted nephew.
Henriette... Continue Reading >>
Henriette... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
Ghana
When it comes to soccer, few countries can compare with the intensity and enthusiasm Ghanaians show for the sport. When Ghana’s national team (the Black Stars) plays, everyone and I mean everyone is following the match and a contagious optimism permeates the air - no matter who the team is playing.
As one of Africa’s best known teams there is tremendous support all around the world for the Black Stars. Ghanaians know the special place the Black Stars hold in world soccer and take a special pride in all things Black Star related. And, as the World... Continue Reading >>
As one of Africa’s best known teams there is tremendous support all around the world for the Black Stars. Ghanaians know the special place the Black Stars hold in world soccer and take a special pride in all things Black Star related. And, as the World... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
Uganda
Meet Agnes. Agnes is a huge fan of Kiva. She's currently repaying her 6th Kiva loan and enthusiastically states that it likely won't be her last.
An outspoken mother of four children, Agnes describes living with four children as "chaos" - but pride is evident on her face as she rattles off their achievements. Her eldest daughter recently finished a business degree, her second eldest is studying IT at university, and the two younger ones are currently excelling in high school.
Agnes lives in a suburb of Kampala where she used to be a member of a borrowing... Continue Reading >>
Meet Agnes. Agnes is a huge fan of Kiva. She's currently repaying her 6th Kiva loan and enthusiastically states that it likely won't be her last.
An outspoken mother of four children, Agnes describes living with four children as "chaos" - but pride is evident on her face as she rattles off their achievements. Her eldest daughter recently finished a business degree, her second eldest is studying IT at university, and the two younger ones are currently excelling in high school.
Agnes lives in a suburb of Kampala where she used to be a member of a borrowing... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
Kenya
It’s 3pm, heading to the office, after back to back meetings since early morning with mostly dairy farmers. We've been talking to Kiva borrowers, for borrower verification, hours away from the main business districts in the green region of Nkubu in Kenya. Now we're waiting with the loan officer for a boda boda (moto taxi) to drive us on the bumpy roads before jumping into a matatu (microbus) to our final destination, looking for some shade and freshness away from the... Continue Reading >>
It’s 3pm, heading to the office, after back to back meetings since early morning with mostly dairy farmers. We've been talking to Kiva borrowers, for borrower verification, hours away from the main business districts in the green region of Nkubu in Kenya. Now we're waiting with the loan officer for a boda boda (moto taxi) to drive us on the bumpy roads before jumping into a matatu (microbus) to our final destination, looking for some shade and freshness away from the... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
United States
If you ever get the chance to visit Richmond, you will most likely spend some time in an area called Carytown. Strolling down West Cary Street you can linger at restaurants, and shop in one of the many locally owned establishments on the street. You will also see not one, not two, and not even three, but four grocery stores all within a few blocks of one another. There is certainly no shortage of access to fresh food in this area.
Other areas of Richmond aren’t as... Continue Reading >>
Other areas of Richmond aren’t as... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
Kenya
I will never forget the day I faced this existential question for the first time...
As a Kiva fellow, I was questioning Florence, an energetic farmer in her fifties, about her family, business, during borrower verifications in the tea plantations of Nkubu in Kenya.
Although she initially thought about buying dairy goats with her Kiva loan, she eventually decided to increase her existing cow productivity and her kids’... Continue Reading >>
I will never forget the day I faced this existential question for the first time...
As a Kiva fellow, I was questioning Florence, an energetic farmer in her fifties, about her family, business, during borrower verifications in the tea plantations of Nkubu in Kenya.
Although she initially thought about buying dairy goats with her Kiva loan, she eventually decided to increase her existing cow productivity and her kids’... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
Kenya
Nowhere is the spirit of Entrepreneurship more rampant than in Gikomba market. Gikomba is the largest second-hand clothes market in East Africa. This open-air market located near the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi is home to hundreds of traders. The traders are small retailers that sell second-hand clothing they purchase from larger distributers for a small profit. This is a bustling market and on any day, you can hear retailers shouting over each other trying to attract customers to their stall.
Recently the market has been plagued with multiple disasters.... Continue Reading >>
Nowhere is the spirit of Entrepreneurship more rampant than in Gikomba market. Gikomba is the largest second-hand clothes market in East Africa. This open-air market located near the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi is home to hundreds of traders. The traders are small retailers that sell second-hand clothing they purchase from larger distributers for a small profit. This is a bustling market and on any day, you can hear retailers shouting over each other trying to attract customers to their stall.
Recently the market has been plagued with multiple disasters.... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2014
Kenya
Over 4 million people die prematurely from illness attributed to the household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels. An estimated 25% of global CO2 emissions are generated by the rural poor – accounting for significantly more than all global transportation-related emissions combined. To address these problems, organizations such as EcoZoom, a Kiva Zip trustee in Kenya, bring clean-burning cookstoves (and other ecological products) to people in...