December 3rd, 2008 — , Abby Gray, Agouti, Frozen Animal, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Togo, Uncategorized, WAGES, africa, microfinance from abbygray @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Most people reading this blog already agree that microfinance is a promising way to help people work their way out of poverty in a dignified manner. I agree, obviously, or I wouldn’t be here in Togo. It is heartwarming, and we should be inspired by it. But we should also be critical of it, to [...]
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December 1st, 2008 — , KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), MLF MicroInvest, MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan, Rob Cavese, Tajikistan from Rob Cavese @ Kiva Stories from the Field
It was a typical Sunday in Khujand. I slept late until 9am and wandered out for some breakfast and tea. I haven’t quite mastered the art of making instant coffee (ground coffee is non-existent) so I just don’t bother. I’ve had it in restaurants and with the right mix of crystals, sugar and water [...]
Related StoresNovember 19th, 2008 — , Josh Bull, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, edaprospo, human capital, peru from joshtoro @ Kiva Stories from the Field
With 7 weeks past and 8 weeks to go, my Kiva Fellowship is moving right along. As my colleagues around the world, from Cambodia to Uganda to Peru can attest, much of the Kiva Fellow’s life is spent in motion. Already I have had two days where the number of hours spent on buses to [...]
Related StoresNovember 13th, 2008 — , Abby Gray, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Togo, Uncategorized, WAGES, africa from abbygray @ Kiva Stories from the Field
This is my first post from the field, and, unfortunately, I’m not writing to share an inspiring microfinance success story or even a heartwarming cross-cultural anecdote, as I was hoping I would be. I am writing to tell about a conversation that threw an uncomfortably bright spotlight directly on the basis of my being here [...]
Related StoresNovember 13th, 2008 — , KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan, Microinvest, Rob, Tajikistan from Rob @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Having researched Tajikistan’s economy prior to arriving here, I had a difficult time reconciling the numbers. It has a literacy rate of 95% and fairly high costs of goods like a developed country yet exceptionally low per capita incomes of some $340 similar to those of the poorest in the world. How does an educated [...]
Related StoresNovember 8th, 2008 — , Ankush, BRAC, BRAC South Sudan, Dhupar, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, Sudan, Uganda, africa, juba from ankushdhupar @ Kiva Stories from the Field
ankush.dhupar@fellows.kiva.org
November 3rd, 2008 — , Josh Bull, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, edaprospo, peru from joshtoro @ Kiva Stories from the Field
When you spend 7 hours a day on buses to visit only a handful of clients, an over-ambitious Kiva Fellow may start to feel like his dream of unprecedented productivity is slipping through his fingers. Sometimes all it takes is a 30 minute conversation with a kindly grandmother to change that misperception.
I visited EDAPROSPO branches in Huaycan [...]
November 3rd, 2008 — , Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Milena Arciszewski, Women for Women International, Zene Za Zene, Zene za Zene International (Women for Women) from milena08 @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I made a video to capture a borrower visit in Bosnia. Learn about sheep reproduction AND witness an attempted dog attack!
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October 29th, 2008 — , International Micro-Loan Fund (IMON), KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Tajikistan, Uncategorized, carrie ferrence, cotton, imon, kiva fellows 6 from Carrie Ferrence @ Kiva Stories from the Field
It’s easy to tell when cotton season has arrived in Tajikistan, not because of a change in temperature or rainfall but because university students start disappearing from the city. Each Fall universities throughout Tajikistan come to a standstill as hoards of students are sent to do unofficially mandatory labor in the cotton fields. They are [...]
Related StoresOctober 23rd, 2008 — , ECA (Eastern Europe & Central Asia), KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Khujand, MLF MicroInvest, MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan, Rob, Tajikistan, Uncategorized from Rob @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Tajiki ’standing, that is. If I’ve learned anything in my 36 hours in Khujand, Tajikistan, it’s that trying to understand the local culture, language and history is like drinking from a firehose. The challenge is muted, however, by the extreme kindness of the people here and their willingness to make you feel at home. Here [...]
Related StoresOctober 18th, 2008 — , Josh Bull, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, Uncategorized, edaprospo, peru from joshtoro @ Kiva Stories from the Field
If ever there was a time that underscored the importance of trust in economics, now is it. Readers of this blog from the United States can attest to the financial ruin that awaits us when banks suffer not only from a deficit of wealth but also a deficit of trust; it turns into a vicious [...]
Related StoresOctober 17th, 2008 — , Dominican Republic, Esperanza, Housing Loan, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kalie Gold, Uncategorized, esperanza international, housing, microfinance, women from kaliegold @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Thursday, Oct 16th
Santo Domingo
At 2:30pm yesterday I watched the Caribbean ocean rush past the airplane windows as we descended towards the Santo Domingo tarmac. After a quick bustle through customs, an exchange of US dollars for pesos (oh and no lost bags!) I was quickly collected by two Esperanza International employees. Tricia, (Esperanza intern coordinator), [...]
October 14th, 2008 — , International Micro-Loan Fund (IMON), KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Tajikistan, carrie ferrence, imon from Carrie Ferrence @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I have to be honest, I was slightly terrified to become a Kiva Fellow, to travel halfway across the world to a place I had to look up on a map. Don’t get me wrong, I signed up for all the right reasons: I really believe in the way that Kiva operates, I wanted to [...]
Related StoresOctober 12th, 2008 — , KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Tanzania from jhaber @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Hello Kiva Fans,
A little more than a week ago I was sitting on the plane for the last hour of what had been a 36 hour journey – Boston, New York, Zurich, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam. I watched as the computer generated plane tracker moved across the Kenya/Tanzania border and tried to steady myself for [...]
October 7th, 2008 — , BRAC, BRAC Uganda, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uganda, bill brick from Bill Brick @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I came across a flier this morning that I found as humorous as I did frightening. I wanted to share it with you, perhaps deepening your insight into just one of the many day-to-day rituals of being a Kiva Fellow in the field. This is a sequel, of sorts, to my earlier blog. I promise [...]
Related StoresOctober 6th, 2008 — , BRAC, BRAC Uganda, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uganda, bill brick from Bill Brick @ Kiva Stories from the Field
The 41 km road from the airport in Entebbe to Kampala is an endlessly spreading slum, the road choked with traffic and with boda-bodas and minibuses that serve as public transportation and which obey a vague set of driving rules. The banks of the road are littered with broken-down vehicles and garbage, and burning piles [...]
Related StoresOctober 3rd, 2008 — , Josh Bull, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), peru from joshtoro @ Kiva Stories from the Field
My week has been one of experiencing the meaning of the word ‘between’ (Not to be confused with the town of Between, GA which lies exactly between my parent’s house in Atlanta and my most recent house in Athens). I have experienced and relished the state of being between, which I have conveniently organized into paragraph [...]
Related StoresSeptember 18th, 2008 — , Bosnia, KF6, Kiva Fellows, Milena Arciszewski, Sarajevo, Uncategorized from milena08 @ Kiva Stories from the Field
My name is Milena Arciszewski and I will be serving as a Kiva Fellow for a full year in Bosnia, Kenya and possibly Tanzania and Cambodia. My first placement is in Zene za Zene in Sarajevo, which targets women affected by the genocide of the 1990s.
I have to say… I am so excited to be [...]
September 18th, 2008 — , Adam Grenier, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Salone Microfinance Trust, Sierra Leone from adamgrenier @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Everyone can breathe easy again. After a brief hiatus between Kiva Fellow rotations, you will be experiencing again soon the joys of reading fresh, new blogs from the field in Sierra Leone. Hi, I’m Adam Grenier and I’m your new Kiva Fellow heading to Sierra Leone, Africa. You will witness this exciting adventure thru my [...]
Related StoresSeptember 18th, 2008 — , Azerbaijan, Baku, Jonathan Buser, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uncategorized, garry kasparov, islam, mark bulliet, mongolia, oil, soviet from kivamark @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I’m the only fellow headed to Azerbaijan from Kiva Fellows 6, so I’m pretty excited to bring word of this fascinating region to those of you who make Kiva such a success. I’ll be visiting each of Kiva’s partner microfinance institutions in the region to assist them in any way I can, support Kiva, journal [...]
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