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Stories tagged with Nairobi
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The Kiva partner Sanergy is one organization taking on the sanitation problem in Mukuru and other slums throughout... Continue Reading >>
There’s apparently a proverb that says you can’t wash the dust of Africa off your feet. Looking at my laptop, I realise just how dusty a place Kenya is in October. My camera, my phone, my clothes, my shoes – everything seems to have developed a layer of grime that’s gradually getting permanently worn in.
Nairobi has certainly played its part...
Continue Reading >>It was early Thursday morning, and I was in Kibera on a borrower visit with one of our trustees and two other Fellows. It was around 10AM when I take out my phone to check the time. I see a text from my sister asking if I know anyone in Garissa. Garissa? Why would she be asking me about a random city in Kenya? I shut my phone thinking I’ll respond later so...
Continue Reading >>One of the highlights of the Kiva Fellowship is the opportunity to live somewhere far from home and learn about a new culture. I've met dozens of Kiva Zip trustees and borrowers during my three months in Kenya and unexpectedly forged a strong connection with one in particular. I first met Joseph* when he visited the Kiva office for a trustee interview. Joseph has an extensive background of community development and now continues his work as a pastor in Kenya, providing financial and educational services to his community. As a civic leader, he is a typical trustee that puts a great amount...
Continue Reading >>One of the best parts of the Kiva Fellowship is the anticipation while awaiting the location of your placement, which could be nearly anywhere Kiva loans are available. Wouldn’t it be great to stroll by the Taj Mahal on the way to work, gallop on horseback through the plains of Mongolia, or take in a sunset on a Samoan beach?
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Resourcefulness is perhaps the most essential trait for any entrepreneur. In Nairobi’s Kibera district, the largest slum in Africa, that trait is apparent everywhere you look. In an environment where most residents earn no more than $2/day, resourcefulness is the means for survival, and entrepreneurship a vessel for hope.
Traveling around Nairobi, and Kibera in particular, evidence of this “scrappiness” permeates the sights. Security spikes made of broken shards of glass line the walls of housing compounds. Houses are quickly erected... Continue Reading >>
In 2009, at the age of 15, Joyce and her family fled the war in Umoja, Democratic Republic of Congo in search of safe land. One day they heard on the radio that there was safety in Kenya. After two months of traveling, they arrived in Nairobi, with only enough money for some food, transport and the clothes on their back.
After registering with the United Nation’s High Commission for... Continue Reading >>
After completing Kiva Fellows Training in San Francisco, and moving my last few possessions into storage in Chicago, it was time to make the 8000 mile journey to Nairobi and start my fellowship! With the exception of some visa troubles at the airport in Chicago, the journey went relatively simply and smoothly; I passed the time pretty effectively with a combination of in-flight movies, coffee and snacks in... Continue Reading >>
Nowhere is the spirit of Entrepreneurship more rampant than in Gikomba market. Gikomba is the largest second-hand clothes market in East Africa. This open-air market located near the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi is home to hundreds of traders. The traders are small retailers that sell second-hand clothing they purchase from larger distributers for a small profit. This is a bustling market and on any day, you can hear retailers shouting over each other trying to attract customers to their stall.
Recently the market has been plagued with multiple disasters.... Continue Reading >>