Fellows Blog

Stories from the field

Stories tagged with Peru

Jul 7, 2013 PE Peru
Alright, you caught me. No rivers were forded, nor were any woods traversed. Mostly dirt roads were traveled on and hillsides were (carefully) climbed.

Life in Peru has been wonderfully intense, exciting, tiring, and challenging over the last few weeks. I am not going to dwell on the awesome ceviche and seafood I have been fortunate enough to eat. Nor will I say much about the recent 5.1 earthquake that originated 50 miles off the coast of Lima (or 4.6, depending on where you get your earthquake news from).

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Aug 8, 2012 GO Global Update

A cookstove vendor (and Kiva borrower!) in Burkina Faso – Diana Biggs, Burkina Faso

Through motivating stories, informative videos, intriguing sound bytes and interesting first-hand accounts, this week’s update is quite the smorgasbord of stories from the field.  Through accounts of first business loans and stories about successful community banks, Fellows in Georgia and Peru show us the effects of our loans; through sights, sounds and narratives, Fellows in...

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Aug 8, 2012 PE Peru

Let me introduce you to Carmen, Maria and Lina, from the group “Siempre 10 Al Progreso”. They live in the same neighbourhood in Lima, Peru’s capital, so they have known each other for a long time. But since 2008 they share more than their neighbourhood: they belong to the same “alcancía comunal”.

An “alcancía comunal”, sometimes referred to as a communal bank, is a self-organized group of borrowers who guarantee each other’s loans. Most of the loans at Edaprospo, the organization where I am placed, are...

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Aug 8, 2012 GO Global Update

Muskan and Hussein, ready to ride out to Ol Jabet

It’s once again time for an update from our Fellows in KF-18. This week we have three posts from four fellows, all of whom are busy learning from and making a difference in their respective assignments. From looking for potential Kiva Zip borrowers in Kenya, to crossing a wide swatch of the South Punjab region in order to visit clients, these fellows will do what it takes to get the job done. And best of all, they are...

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Aug 8, 2012 PE Peru

As our new job title appears to have changed to ‘Global Head of Olympics Events Watching’, our often dormant patriotic side comes out with a vengeance ready to shout at or even knock down the TV screen in an effort to support our athletes (I say ‘us’…  is it just me!?). You have had the pleasure of enjoying a unique feeling of celebrating ‘just’ the effort and hard work despite the lack of triumphs (unless you are Chinese or American, then you celebrate stuff like gold medals!) and you have now officially become an expert in...

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Jul 7, 2012 AM Armenia

Compiled by David Gorgani | KF17 + KF18 | Guatemala

Kiva borrower Fareeda and her sewing machine – Anya Raza, Pakistan

It’s official – the Fellows have taken to the field!  This week’s update touches on many different Fellows’ experiences visiting Kiva borrowers in the field and traces the similarities and differences we face in our borrower visits, all with a strong undertone of inspiration.  Let’s face it folks, this is why...

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Jul 7, 2012 PE Peru

By Icaro Rebolledo| KF18 | Peru

Meet my new friend Piero and our new castle! We randomly met whilst I was running by the beach and he was just hanging out; yet we immediately identified a fundamental issue uniting us on that Saturday morning… WE WERE ON A MISSION TO HAVE FUN! After a failed attempt to find a football, I asked…“Do you know how to build sand castles!?”; his eyes brightened and I interpreted that as a clear sign that he was an expert at it! So, excited he replied…“No! But you must know!?!?”. Well…I really could...

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Jul 7, 2012 KH Cambodia

Ceviche and chicharron at a festival on Peru’s National Ceviche Day – Eduarda Carmo Vaz, Peru

As we begin to get a feel for our new placements and our new countries, we Fellows have also begun to ponder items ranging from local business realities to simply why we love what we do.  The nine posts in this update give a great deal of insight into the work of a Fellow, local culture in the locations in which we are placed, and most importantly,...

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Jun 6, 2012 KH Cambodia

by Luan Nio | KF18 | Nicaragua

We think we are all well-travelled, educated and smart, with great interpersonal skills and able to handle difficult situations. But what does actually happen at a Kiva Fellow’s first day in the office?
Most of us have not worked in microfinance before, have never visited their destination country and sometimes don’t speak the local language as well as they might think.

Here are impressions from around the globe during our first day with our assigned Kiva field partner.

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Jun 6, 2012 PE Peru

Eduarda Carmo Vaz | KF18 | Peru

For those of you who have never been in Peru on a 28th of June, you might have missed a very important fact: today is the NATIONAL CEVICHE DAY.

Ceviche, a dish made of fresh raw fish marinated in lemon juice and spices, is without a doubt the most famous Peruvian dish.

So what does a Kiva Fellow in Lima do on such a day? Logically, she goes to a “Ceviche Festival.”

One of the delicious ceviche stands.

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