As I finish my Kiva fellowship in Tanzania, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to get back to New York with my friends and family but sad to leave the new friends and family I made in Tanzania. I want to share some of my favorite memories / experiences. I feel lucky to have had this opportunity to be a Kiva Fellow at Tujijenge and see microfinance in the field. Below are some of my favorite memories from my Fellowship at Tujijenge Tanzania. 1) Meeting Borrowers One of the reasons I left my job and became a Kiva Fellow was to see microfinance in... Continue Reading >>
Katie is from Lexington, Kentucky and currently lives in New York City. She is passionate about travelling and is always planning her next adventure. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Business, Katie worked in London and Australia and led outdoor adventure trips for teenagers around the globe. Before moving to NYC, she worked at the 2006 Olympics, volunteered in Guatemala on a sustainable development project, and spent a year in France during graduate school. While in graduate school, as part of her dual MBA / Diplomacy degree, she was introduced to microfinance and has been searching for ways to stay involved and learn more. KF22 is the perfect answer! Katie currently participates in the LEADers program with Women’s World Banking and had the opportunity to travel to Ghana in 2011 to meet with the central bank, local regulators, and clients of WWB network institutions. For the last 6 years, Katie has worked at Bank of America focusing the last 3 years on Liquidity Risk. Katie has been to over 50 countries and is excited for a new adventure in Tanzania. She is looking forward to the opportunity to apply her experience to help alleviate poverty.
Fellows Blog Posts by Katie Kerr
Jan 8, 2014
Tanzania
As I finish my Kiva fellowship in Tanzania, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to get back to New York with my friends and family but sad to leave the new friends and family I made in Tanzania. I want to share some of my favorite memories / experiences. I feel lucky to have had this opportunity to be a Kiva Fellow at Tujijenge and see microfinance in the field. Below are some of my favorite memories from my Fellowship at Tujijenge Tanzania. 1) Meeting Borrowers One of the reasons I left my job and became a Kiva Fellow was to see microfinance in... Continue Reading >>
As I finish my Kiva fellowship in Tanzania, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to get back to New York with my friends and family but sad to leave the new friends and family I made in Tanzania. I want to share some of my favorite memories / experiences. I feel lucky to have had this opportunity to be a Kiva Fellow at Tujijenge and see microfinance in the field. Below are some of my favorite memories from my Fellowship at Tujijenge Tanzania. 1) Meeting Borrowers One of the reasons I left my job and became a Kiva Fellow was to see microfinance in... Continue Reading >>
Dec 7, 2013
Tanzania
My first work trip with Kiva started early at 4AM on a Sunday and ended with me flying back to Dar es Salaam 5 days later checking a bucket of fresh fish on the airplane. The goal - train 2 of Tujijenge's branches in the Lake Zone on the Kiva process. The taxi picked me up and 4 AM and I was headed to the Lake Zone for 5 days to train 2 branches on the Kiva process with my co-worker Yessya. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest... Continue Reading >>
My first work trip with Kiva started early at 4AM on a Sunday and ended with me flying back to Dar es Salaam 5 days later checking a bucket of fresh fish on the airplane. The goal - train 2 of Tujijenge's branches in the Lake Zone on the Kiva process. The taxi picked me up and 4 AM and I was headed to the Lake Zone for 5 days to train 2 branches on the Kiva process with my co-worker Yessya. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest... Continue Reading >>
Nov 4, 2013
Tanzania
Navigating Dar es Salaam Our first task of the day was to navigate our way to the south of town to meet with a group of Kiva Borrowers. Getting around in Dar es Salaam is no easy task. For me, it always feels like an adventure. I have great respect for the loan officers, staff at Tujijenge, borrowers, and everyone else that travel great distances each day to do their job. Dar is the 9th fastest growing city in the world and one needs to look no further than the roads to see proof. Continue Reading >>
Navigating Dar es Salaam Our first task of the day was to navigate our way to the south of town to meet with a group of Kiva Borrowers. Getting around in Dar es Salaam is no easy task. For me, it always feels like an adventure. I have great respect for the loan officers, staff at Tujijenge, borrowers, and everyone else that travel great distances each day to do their job. Dar is the 9th fastest growing city in the world and one needs to look no further than the roads to see proof. Continue Reading >>
Oct 4, 2013
Tanzania
One of my favorite weekend activities in New York City is to go out to eat with my husband and try new restaurants. New York has some amazing food and a lot of unique restaurants to visit. When I learned I would be going to Tanzania I was very excited to spend some time in East Africa. I decided that while there I wanted to make sure and sample different local food. So here I am, halfway across the world, ready for my food adventure to begin. Will it be some strange bug or exotic fruit, maybe a rare meat that is only known in this region, or... Continue Reading >>
One of my favorite weekend activities in New York City is to go out to eat with my husband and try new restaurants. New York has some amazing food and a lot of unique restaurants to visit. When I learned I would be going to Tanzania I was very excited to spend some time in East Africa. I decided that while there I wanted to make sure and sample different local food. So here I am, halfway across the world, ready for my food adventure to begin. Will it be some strange bug or exotic fruit, maybe a rare meat that is only known in this region, or... Continue Reading >>