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By Kiva Fellows | KF19 | All Over the World
A Happy Holidays to the Kiva family everywhere! May your celebrations be filled with foods and flavor, smiling faces, natural beauty, light and memories… here are some gifts from around the world courtesy of the Kiva Fellows 19th class:
On the Twelve Days of Christmas my Kiva Fellow gave to me…Day 1: A Turtle Heading Out to...
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By Holly Sarkissian, KF 19, Benin & Togo
In Benin, New Year’s Eve is a BIG HOLIDAY. I recently spoke with two Kiva borrowers about their plans to celebrate. Meet Flaure:
Flaure is currently saving money to celebrate the New Year. She plans to buy pagne (or colorful fabric) to make a new outfit for each member of the family. She will also celebrate by cooking a special meal and dancing with her friends and family.
Meet Romance of the Dieu Est Grand Group (God is Big Group):
Romance is looking forward to celebrating...
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The Kouroumlakiwe Group in Togo received a special credit loan from WAGES. This loan does not have to repaid until after their crop has been harvested.
This Thanksgiving I may not be eating turkey and pumpkin pie, but I have many reasons to be thankful. I am grateful to work with two Kiva Partners in Togo and Benin who go above and beyond to provide services to poor clients who previously had no access to formal credit.
Reaching the Poorest of the Poor...
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Compiled by Allison Moomey | KF16 & KF17 | Bénin
Kiyomi photographs a very blue river at the Aguas Azules Waterfalls in the state of Chiapas, Mexico.
Deep into the world of profile posting, repayment reporting, and borrower verifications, Kiva Fellows have been reflecting on the contrasts between their previous lives and their lives in the field. Kiyomi discovers a new side to neighboring Mexico, Micaela humorously presents the her differing reactions to...
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Allison Moomey | KF16 & KF17 | Bénin
All smiles at destination #1
Remember those scavenger hunts with friends in middle school? I have fond memories of running around the mall following cyptic directions and taking crazy pictures at each newfound destination. The goal was to visit all of the locations as quickly as possible while earning points for the most exciting polaroid shots. Oh polaroids, that’s a nostalgic post for another time....
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Chris Paci | KF16 & KF17 | Azerbaijan
The fellows of KF17 have jumped into their Kiva work with both feet, visiting borrowers and meeting their new coworkers at their host field partners. (Photo of a Béninois borrower by Allison Moomey, Benin)
It’s the beginning of March, and by now, most of KF17 has been out in the field for several weeks. We’ve settled in at our field partners, gotten to know some of our new coworkers, and started to dig a...
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Allison Moomey | KF16 & KF17 | Bénin
Enjoying lunch, conversation, and laughter in Ouagadougou.
One of my favorite aspects of Kiva is the autonomy it gives to partners. While Kiva has strict due diligence standards, the microfinance institution (MFI) partners are the ones who decide what products to offer, what social performance steps to take, and how to execute their plans. This results in a wide range of partners, each with its own unique culture and...
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By Adam Cohn KF14, Rwanda
Rwanda: That Bieber Fever
Poda-Poda, Tro-Tro, Marshrutka, Jitney, Bemo, Bush Taxi. It seems that they have different, funny names in each locale, but they all refer to the same concept: the shared taxi. A share taxi is a vehicle which travels around a fixed route and either departs when it’s totally full, or allows customers to hop on and off wherever they want. In Rwanda, they are also a zeitgeist of what’s hip...
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Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa
Most of the photos for April Fools' Day were ready before we even hatched our plans (Cambodia pictured)
We hope you enjoyed our April Fools post on Friday! While we were entertaining ourselves pulling it all together, we also found the time to attend to some serious matters: coffee in Colombia is no joke (in a bad way), some borrowers are easier to locate than others, and oftentimes Fellows must say goodbye to...
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Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa
This week, take a trip to the field with Kiva Fellows (Mexico pictured)
For many Fellows, this week was about getting back to basics: the borrowers. In between fun facts about Kiva Fellowships, doing database detective work, and reflecting on the internal dynamics of Kiva’s partner microfinance institutions, Fellows found themselves in the field again and again, much to their delight and often to the delight of...
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