Blog posts tagged with women

May 5, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Passport Series: Rwanda overcomes a brutal history & paves the way for gender equality By Emily Wakefield
No larger than the state of Maryland, Rwanda is a small landlocked nation in the heart of Africa. Full of lakes and very mountainous, it is a beautiful country with just over 12 million inhabitants.



Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history.

1994 GENOCIDE

Unfortunately, when one thinks of Rwanda perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is its tragic history of genocide. Prompted by decades... Continue Reading >
May 5, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
This Mothers Day, show your mom how good you are! By Emily Wakefield
Mothers are incredibly powerful. Not only do they give life, they give their children the foundation they need to live healthy, successful, happy lives. When you give a mother the tools she needs to do these things, there’s no limit to what she can accomplish.



Did you know that outside of the agricultural sector, in both developed and developing countries, women on average still earn less than 78% of the wages paid to men for the same work? This is a gap that refuses to close in even the most developed countries -- leaving millions of women... Continue Reading >
Apr 4, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Passport Series: Kiva partners in Gaza and the West Bank go the extra mile to empower borrowers By Emily Wakefield
Providing loans in the Palestinian Territories is clearly very challenging. The people who live there face both high levels of poverty and scarce employment opportunities. Given this environment, we at Kiva are pleased to work with responsible and effective partners to deliver loans in both the West Bank and Gaza.

Today, we work with two of the most impactful microfinance institutions in the region, and Kiva lenders have made over $5 million in loans to more than 2,800 borrowers with their help. Noman (pictured below) is one of them who was able to improve his livelihood.
... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Happy World Water Day! By Emily Wakefield
Water is at the root of everything. Our environment, socio-economic development, poverty reduction, and the fulfillment of the most basic human needs all depend on it.

Yet in 2013, about one-ninth of our world’s population -- 780 million people -- lack access to clean water. And about 3.4 million of these people die annually as a result.



So ten years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 as World Water Day -- a day for the whole world to focus attention on the importance of clean, accessible water.

Each year... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Passport Series: Kiva partners make great strides in Lebanon By Emily Wakefield
Decades of intermittent unrest and reconstruction have left Lebanon's economy deep in debt and relatively unstable. We're proud that Kiva's presence in the country has helped -- even in just small ways -- to rebuild the economy via small business growth. 

To date, Kiva lenders have made nearly 7,500 loans totaling over $9.5 million in Lebanon via two local microfinance partners.

The Al Majmoua Lebanese Association for Development is the leading microfinance institution in Lebanon in terms of the number of clients it serves. One reason that it was... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Happy International Women's Day from Kiva! By Emily Wakefield
International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s -- with the first “National Women’s Day” held in the United States in 1909, before women even had the right to vote.

Today, it's become an official holiday in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Laos, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Zambia -- just to name a few. In many of these countries, IWD is celebrated like Mother’s Day and children give small gifts to their mothers or grandmothers.



While... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Passport Series: Building a stronger Lebanon, empowering women By Emily Wakefield
Set on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and bordered by Syria and Israel, Lebanon is a small country with big implications for the Middle East.

The smallest mainland country in the region (even smaller than Connecticut), it is also one of the most diverse countries -- both culturally and religiously.

Originally home to the Phoenicians, what is now Lebanon was at one time or another also occupied by the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottoman Turks, and the French (who ruled until Lebanon declared independence in 1943) -- all of which... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Week in Review: Happy Women's History Month! By Emily Wakefield
International Women’s Day is coming up on March 8 -- but we're celebrating all month long with Women's History Month, and talking about all the ways microfinance helps women make a difference in their lives, families and communities.



A Kiva loan helped 12 women in the Annapurna Baba Nilakantheswar Shg Group in India increase their sugarcane production.

One of Kiva's main priorities it to give women access to the tools they need to succeed. While they may not be celebrated in history books like Mother Teresa,... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
New Field Partner: Empowering women and out-of-school youth in Uganda with YICE By Amniya Shahbozova
We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Youth Initiative for Community Empowerment!

In Uganda, as is the case in many African countries, women face a wide range of challenges including discrimination, low socioeconomic status and often violation of basic rights. Discrimination reduces their chances of becoming educated and economically self reliant. Moreover, women often become reliant on abusive men at home.

The same situation is seen among young women -- they become exposed to sex at an early age either for economic survival or for other reasons, and... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Week in Review: Kiva loves One Billion Rising By Emily Wakefield
This year, Valentine's Day wasn't just about sappy cards and fancy dinners. It was about a revolution. 



Last week, thousands of women all over the world “rose” -- demanding an end to violence against women.   

Founded by Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues and founder of V-Day, One Billion Rising is a global movement to end violence against women once and for all.

The movement gets its name from the staggering U.N. statistic that one in three women will be raped... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Lending to eradicate child marriage By Emily Wakefield


Despite the many efforts and programs in the developing world, girls are still largely disadvantaged. In general, they tend to have less access to education and fewer social and economic opportunities than their male counterparts.

One significant indicator of the well-being of adolescent girls is child marriage. While this is an issue that can also effect boys, it's impact on girls is hugely disproportionate.

Reasons for child marriage range from economic to social. In many cases, girls are married off at an early age to reduce the... Continue Reading >
Jan 1, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Investing in girls is paying off BIG in Uganda (thanks to BRAC!) By Camille Ricketts
We're passionate about empowering young women to reach their full potential.

Last year Kiva started offering loans to girls through BRAC Uganda's Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) Program. In addition to credit for older participants to become entrepreneurs, this program includes training in life skills, support groups and clubs, business development training and more. Today, more than 1,000 ELA clubs reach over 40,000 woman.



So we were thrilled to spot a recent post on BRAC's blog about some of the incredible impact... Continue Reading >
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