With few exceptions, Kiva borrowers have greeted my visits to their homes and businesses with the sentiment captured in the blog title, that is to say with skepticism and unease.  Visits can start awkwardly and end awkwardly.  But sometimes they inspire; borrowers graciously share their story – their successes and struggles, their hopes and fears – with a complete stranger...

Compiled by David Gorgani | KF17 | Dominican Republic

As our fellowships wind down and as the first batch of KF17 fellows packs up to head home, the time has arrived to reflect on our experiences in the field and on the realities faced on a daily basis by the people living in the countries in which we’ve spent the past 3-4 months.  Whether discussing religious beliefs, economic circumstances, history, or simply...

A long time has passed between my first post (An ordinary borrowers visit: The reality of microfinance) and this one — partially because I have been working very long hours and spending a lot of time on the road, but mainly because my laptop died. Those who have worked in the field know what a huge problem this is, especially when you need the Internet to do your job. I can’t believe I’ve lived without a computer for three weeks!

But I’m not here to talk about my problems. Instead, I’d like to tell you a story.

Compiled by Kate Bennett, KF16 Peru

The sixteenth class of Kiva Fellows has all but left the field- but we’re by no means done talking about our experiences. We’ve collectively spent 422 weeks in the field (just over 8 years!) and worked an estimated 16,650 hours at Kiva field partners around the world.  Needless to say, we’ve got a lot of...