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Beirut’s southern “suburbs”
Beirut was recently ranked on top of a New York Times list of places to visit in 2009. The reason, luxury hotels, the nightlife, and Lebanon’s vast historic heritage spanning centuries of civilization....
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Is Kiva respecting the privacy of its borrowers?
When any of us wants to borrow money from the bank, whether it is for a new car or a home, or even to start a business, we expect complete confidentiality from our bank. It’s a private matter between...
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A Glimpse of the Borrowers
By Hanh Tran, KF8 – Fund for Thanh Hoa Poor Women (FPW) – Vietnam Visiting borrowers during the past three weeks has taught me that interviews can take place just about anywhere– standing in the middle...
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On Buoyancy
by Joel Carlman, KF8 As I enter the final week of my Kiva Fellowship here in Kisumu, Kenya, I find myself thinking about what my time here has taught me. Kenya is so different from any place that I’ve...
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Typical
by Joel Carlman, KF8 As a parting shot from my Kiva Fellowship, I put this short video together to represent what a “typical” Kenyan woman’s life is like. It doesn’t even begin to do justice to any of...
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Filipino Values Pt 1: Bahala Na
When I was in grade school, we would start every year of Pilipino class with a lesson on what the Filipino traits were. The ones I particularly remember are: bahala na, pakikisama, hiya, mañana habit,...
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Are Microfinance Borrowers “Borrowers” or are they “Entrepreneurs”?
By Tamara Crawford, KF12, Samoa So back to the question - What is microfinance for? What is it supposed to be doing? Are borrowers just borrowers looking for access to financial services, or are they...
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Bolivian Kiva borrowers: buying a cow, selling food, acquiring sewing...
In this second blog of Clara Vreeken, you can meet the Bolivian borrowers of Kiva’s field partner IMPRO: Pascuala and Santos buying a good-quality dairy cow, Maria selling food and renting small...
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Video Blog: The Kiva Story
By Nila Uthayakumar, KF 14, Uganda Nila is a Kiva Fellow living in Kampala, Uganda. She looks forward to working with several Kiva partner MFIs in Uganda and Kenya over the next few months. Filed...
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Walking a Mile in Her Shoes
Actually, we trekked and climbed about 5 miles to visit Eunice’s farm, and our path was much easier than her typical route. Eunice is a GHAPE borrower and a farmer. She grows potatoes, corn, and beans....
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Mud Walls to Mechanical Looms: Borrowers’ Stories
By Megan Bond, KF15, Ecuador Eight years ago, Manuel told me, their house was very different from the one I was standing in. The walls were made of compressed earth and the roof was constructed out of...
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Bafut by Foot
At GHAPE, new borrower centers are established only in areas identified as mostly poor. Individual borrowers are also screened using a tool called the Basic Needs Test to determine whether they qualify...
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Meeting “My” Borrower
By Megan Bond, KF15, Ecuador Kiva provides a new lens through which we can view global problems and solutions. Just contemplating a concept like “world poverty” seems like an insurmountable task. It is...
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Too Crude? Or, Just Reality.
Common Latrine in Northwest Cameroon This photo may not be recognized immediately as a toilet, bathroom, or water closet. Or, it may be considered indecent for publishing on a civilized blog such as...
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Ica’s Next Top Chef
The challenges of rural and agricultural microfinance are many: the least of which, in the case of Kiva Field Partner Caja Rural Señor de Luren, is living in the middle of the Sechura Desert. But Caja...
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A Fellowship in Photos (Part 2)
By Kate Bennett, KF15 Ecuador / KF16 Perú After my first placement in Ecuador, I thought I knew living and working in South America- three months in Ica, Perú proved me wrong. New (and delicious) food,...
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Who are these handsome devils?
Previous to the Kiva Fellowship, I worked for the Canada Revenue Agency, Canada’s federal tax department. It was the only job I’ve ever had where I was reluctant to tell people what I did for a...
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It all started with a bijouterie workshop
Eduarda Carmo Vaz | KF18 | Peru Let me introduce you to Carmen, Maria and Lina, from the group “Siempre 10 Al Progreso.” They live in the same neighborhood in Lima, Peru’s capital, so they have known...
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