Fellows Blog

Stories from the field

Stories tagged with blogsherpa

Apr 4, 2013 US United States

By: Abhishesh Adhikari

One of the best parts about my Kiva Fellowship has been the opportunity I get to meet and interact with entrepreneurs. During the 4 months that I spent in Kyrgyzstan, I helped Bai Tushum (Kiva’s partner MFI) launch a new Startup Loan Product and met a wide variety of entrepreneurs all across that country. After I got back from Kyrgyzstan in January, I have been working on a new Kiva project called Kiva Zip, trying to expand it here in Chicago.

Kiva Zip is a new initiative to make interest-free, small business loans to entrepreneurs in...

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Apr 4, 2013 MN Mongolia

Spring has arrived in Mongolia! That means warmer weather (afternoons creeping closer and closer to the double digits)… and, of course, baby animals!

I had the opportunity to travel to Selenge ...

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Apr 4, 2013 DO Dominican Republic

by Rose Larsen | KF20 | Dominican Republic

One of my first tasks upon arriving in the Dominican Republic was to visit 10 borrowers, chosen at random from all of the borrowers with ASPIRE (Kiva’s partner MFI), to verify data and find out how they are doing on their loan. This was an exciting but challenging introduction to daily Dominican life, as I navigated Santo Domingo and the surrounding areas via shared taxis, public buses, motorcycles, the metro and my own feet. I traversed bustling neighborhoods in the center of Santo Domingo, small towns in...

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Apr 4, 2013 GO Global Update
In early February, I interviewed female borrowers in rural Guatemala. Fresh in the field, I was intimidated by seasoned farmers, leathered hands, and weathered grins. My pleated khakis seemed out of place.  We bounced through conversation enjoying the novelty of unfamiliar company.

 ... Continue Reading >>
Apr 4, 2013 ID Indonesia, TL Timor-Leste
Usually when I've been in places that I declare to be "artificial" I am thinking of a Disney theme, or a place like Cabo San Lucas or Cancun - southern California or Florida transported to Mexico - a place which bears little resemblance to what it would be like if it weren't for the tourist dollars it was created to attract. Of course, Las Vegas is the archetype for turning a desert into a sweet water oasis, of sorts.

The Jesus statue from the hills above Dili.

Dili, the capital of...

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Apr 4, 2013 CL Chile

49 years ago marks the anniversary of the original 9/11, when in 1973 the widely supported nationalist regime of Chilean President, Salvador Allende was overthrown by militant leader Augusto Pinochet.

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Apr 4, 2013 GO Global Update

Bob in Cambodia

My favorite magazine in the world is Esquire magazine, primarily for the interviews that they publish.  When I learned that Bob Harris was publishing a book on his experiences in micro-finance called “The International Bank of Bob,” I saw my chance.  The challenges to getting a coherent interview to take place were many.  1:  As much of a fan as I was of the “Esquire” style interviews, I am just that, a fan and not a journalist. 2:  Trying to... Continue Reading >>
Mar 3, 2013 MX Mexico
"Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting.  We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value." - R. Buckminister Fuller

"No hay desechos, solo recursos" - Sistema Biobolsa slogan
 
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Mar 3, 2013 MN Mongolia

Munkhbayar, the Kiva Coordinator, promoting Kiva loans at Transcapital

Last week I started visiting some of Kiva’s borrowers with Transcapital, one of Kiva’s field partners that I’m working with here in Mongolia. While it was really encouraging to see Transcapital’s enthusiasm for Kiva at the head office as well as its various branch offices around Ulaanbaatar (UB), the new insights I’ve gained on urban poverty—both from these visits as well as just day-to-day life here—have...

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Mar 3, 2013 CL Chile
Empanadas de pino
 
 
 
Carolina Agurto is a 25 year-old native to Cauquenes (two hours outside the city of Chilian). In college she studied Social Work, because “that’s what I felt I was meant to do” she explains. "For me there was no other carreer."

Carolina has been a loan officer in Fondo Esperanza since 2011, and although she admits the work is tiring, she loves it, “no other position allows... Continue Reading >>

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