As I get ready to start a new chapter in Nairobi, Kenya with the Kiva Labs team, I can’t help but reminisce on the last 6 months abroad as a Kiva Fellow in the Philippines and Timor-Leste. Although it was not always easy to be on my own, I’ve grown so much as a person because of all the “Yeses” I reluctantly agreed to. 'Treat every day as an adventure,' was the phrase I reminded myself every time I felt lonely, or was stuck in unexpected and uncomfortable situations. One blog is definitely not enough to share all the great adventures I experienced, but hopefully the 3 lessons below can...
Continue Reading >>Stories tagged with Philippines
"We cannot survive without rice.” “Rice is the reason why we work.” “I can have a meal with just rice.” “Rice is life.” “When there is rice, there is no hunger.”
These are some of the quotes I gathered when I interviewed my colleagues at Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (CEVI), a Kiva Field Partner, about what rice means to them. Rice plays a big role in the Filipino culture as well as for most other Asian countries. My dad would be the first one to agree that without rice, he is not full.
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It’s no surprise that people around me don’t fully understand why I left the comfort of my job and life in the United States to go to the Philippines to become a Kiva fellow. Friends and family often ask, “What do you do, exactly, for Kiva?”
... Continue Reading >>On a hot and humid Santa Maria afternoon, it seemed only fitting to visit Domingo, who is an ice cream maker in the Philippines. We left the van on the road and walked down the dirt path, navigating mud puddles enroute to his neighborhood. Along the way, there was colorful laundry hanging on fences, neighbors washing up and kids playing while curiously...
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Please note: the following blog post was scheduled prior to Typhoon Haiyan. For the latest updates on our borrowers, Field Partners, field staff and Kiva Fellows in the region, please see our blog post here.
Please note: the following blog post was scheduled prior to Typhoon Haiyan. For the latest updates on our borrowers, Field Partners, field staff and Kiva Fellows in the region, please see our blog post here.
Please note: the following blog post was scheduled prior to Typhoon Haiyan. For the latest updates on our borrowers, Field Partners, field staff and Kiva Fellows in the region, please see our blog post here.