I am writing from Buffalo NY upon the completion of my three month commitment as a Kiva Fellow in Uganda. I want to use my final post on the Kiva Fellows Blog to thank the people who made this one of the most significant and rewarding experiences of my life.
KIVA.ORG: First, thank you Matt and [...]
Farewell Uganda!
February 26th, 2008 — Drew Kinder, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Post-Conflict Education in Uganda
February 20th, 2008 — Drew Kinder, P2P Lending, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Kampala, Uganda “Poverty reduction is a three legged stool balanced on income generation, savings, and education” according to Mr. Knondoker Ariful Islam, BRAC Uganda Country Manager. “Take one leg away and the stool tips over.”
While Kiva social lenders are focused on the income generating leg of poverty reduction, this discussion pertains to the education leg; [...]
“Double Bottom Line” Loans
February 15th, 2008 — Drew Kinder, P2P Lending, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Kampala, Uganda A loan funded by Kiva social lenders benefits the Microfinance Institution (MFI), the lender, as well as the poor borrower. The MFI potentially earns gross profit from the loan to sustain its business and, in the case of a MFI structured as a for-profit company, to generate a financial return for the owners.
Where [...]
Kiva Friends Donate $4,430 to Mirembe Youth Development Projects
January 30th, 2008 — Drew Kinder, P2P Lending, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Kampala, Uganda. On Saturday, January 26, 2008 I had the honor and pleasure of presenting a check in the amount of $7,389,750 Uganda Shillings (US $4,430) from Kiva Friends to Florence Kaluuba and the Mirembe Youth Development Projects.
The purpose of this blog is to report back to the generous donors at http://www.kivafriends.org/ who contributed [...]
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Continue reading → Kiva Friends Donate $4,430 to Mirembe Youth Development Projects
One Day in the Life of a Microfinance Branch Manager
January 21st, 2008 — P2P Lending from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Nabwire Carolyn, Manager of BRAC Uganda’s Kalerwe Branch, awakens at 5:30 each work day. A devoutly religious person, she spends the first half hour of each day in prayer. Next she prepares her two children for the day. Joshua, age 4, attends pre-school and Ester, age 2, goes to day care. Carolyn prepares breakfast for [...]
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Regina
January 19th, 2008 — Drew Kinder from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
How does a 48 year old widow in Uganda with no job, no savings, very little education, and no business training provide for eleven orphans, ranging in age from 9 to 17?
One answer is to take out a US $180 micro-loan from BRAC Uganda and work very hard to establish and operate two successful small [...]
Christmas in Uganda
December 21st, 2007 — Drew Kinder, P2P Lending, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Gifts are on my mind as Christmas approaches.
I won’t be home on December 25 so I’m not thinking of material gifts, like the ones we wrap and place under the Christmas tree. I’m thinking of the gifts Ugandans share with each other every day of the year.
Here are some of the unique gifts I will [...]
Mirembe Youth Development Project
December 11th, 2007 — Drew Kinder, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Kampala, Uganda Florence Kaluuba is a soft spoken 50 year old school principal who won’t accept no for an answer.
As a teenager she was a brilliant student, excelling in mathematics. At a time when she ranked 8th out of 160 students, her uncle refused to allow her to enroll in the next higher grade level, [...]
FAQ’s
December 10th, 2007 — Drew Kinder, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Friends and family have asked about the mundane details of my life as a Kiva Fellow in Uganda. “Where do you live?”and “What is your job?” are two frequently asked questions (FAQ’s).
Where I live: I am a resident of the Kolping Guest House on Bombo Road in the Bwaise neighborhood of Kampala. The Kolping is [...]
Microfinance Plus-Plus
December 10th, 2007 — Drew Kinder, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Kampala, Uganda I’m learning there is more to microfinance than simply loaning money to poor people. My boss at Share an Opportunity (SAO) took me on a field trip to Ngogwe, a village about 40 miles outside of Kampala, to show me what he calls “Microfinance Plus-Plus”.
The elements of SAO’s “Microfinance Plus-Plus” are;
1. Rural Development. [...]
Rose Kasoma, Ugandan Entrepreneur
December 3rd, 2007 — P2P Lending from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
I first met Rose Kasoma at the office of Share an Opportunity (SAO) Microfinance, Ltd in Kampala, Uganda where she came to pay the monthly installment on her $1,200 loan funded by Kiva lenders. We talked briefly and I asked permission to visit her.
On November 30, 2007, accompanied by Stuart Tamale, a young college [...]
Meet Samuel “Sam” Mayanja Ssekajja, Manager of Share an Opportunity Micro-finance Ltd, Kampala, Uganda
December 1st, 2007 — Drew Kinder, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
David Groves is a hero. I will probably never meet him, but if I do, I will shake his hand and thank him for boarding an airplane in Australia bound for Kampala, Uganda in 1991, armed with nothing more than the name of the author of an article published in the Baptist Union General Society [...]
Related StoresArrival in Uganda
November 26th, 2007 — Drew Kinder, P2P Lending, Share an Opportunity Microfinance Ltd., Uganda from Drew Kinder @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
My name is Drew Kinder. I am a Kiva Fellow from Buffalo, NY assigned to Share an Opportunity (SAO), a Micro-Finance Institution (MFI) headquartered in Kampala, Uganda.
Although my future postings will be about the borrowers I meet in Uganda, this first blog answers the question of how I ended up in Uganda volunteering for three [...]
