Stories tagged with Liberia
Coffee options in Monrovia are limited. Nescafe is typically the go-to option. Coffee grounds are sold at supermarkets, but they don't come cheap. There is one store with local Liberian beans, but then you have to grind your beans before making coffee. Who has time for that?
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Liberia is not particularly well known for its food. It’s a shame though. Trying Liberian food has been a valuable extension of my experience. The dishes are spicy, sweet, and salty; starchy, but full of various meats; and oh so exquisitely prepared and seasoned. Where else could... Continue Reading >>
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Compiled by Philip Issa | KF17 | Palestine
We’ve all had these moments: Trying to impress a native speaker with our ability to speak their language, we compose an elegant sentence in our minds, open our mouths, and… proceed to swallow our feet whole. Indeed, we Kiva Fellows have had no shortage of these incidents – we’ve twisted and tortured whole phrases so that they come out no better suited than to embarrass and offend.
So here are a few stories of us Fellows shattering our carefully constructed, professional identities with a spectacular...
Continue Reading >>Compiled by Michael Slattery | KF17 | Togo
Despite the often upbeat tone of fellows’ posting on the blog, I’ll be the first to admit that the position entails some universal hardships. There is the occasional social isolation that leaves you Saturday night at home with a book and bottle of the local plonk, despite apparently leading a life of swinging exoticism and sun-drenched adventure. There’s is a lot of driving around, waiting, driving some more, and then getting told some tall tales by people who look at you like you’re definitely one of those foreign imbeciles that...
Continue Reading >>Ryan Cummings | KF 17 | Liberia
It’s no secret that microfinance institutions provide a variety of beneficial services to communities beyond just loans. In addition to micro-credit services, BRAC Liberia also runs a community health program and an agricultural program to improve the quality of life for its borrowers and the community as a whole.
The agriculture program provides...
Continue Reading >>Chris Paci | KF16 & KF17 | Azerbaijan
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...
Continue Reading >>Ryan Cummings | KF 17 | Liberia
All too often, when people talk about the positive impact of micro-credit, they focus exclusively on borrowers. While they are obviously a significant beneficiary of micro-credit, I have a dirty little secret for you: many other people benefit from micro-credit too.
There is an entirely different group of people who are having their lives changed for the...
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