David Gorgani | KF 17 | Dominican Republic

I’m one of the few Fellows that has been able to cheat and head home mid-fellowship. I’ve got a good excuse though – I’ve been invited to explore the grad schools to which I’ve been admitted. Yesterday, however, as I waited 20 minutes for a bus down 16th St NW in Washington DC, I used my free time to contemplate the many differences in public transportation norms between US cities and Santo Domingo. So after listing the many options for public transportation in Santo Domingo, I’ll finish with the conclusion of yesterday...

David Gorgani | KF 17 | Dominican Republic

Looking at the Kiva Fellows Blog over the past few weeks, one might interpret that the principal role of a Kiva Fellow is to verify that the information on Kiva.org is accurate and that it was shared with the consent of the borrower.  While this is an important part of a Kiva Fellowship, it is one of dozen(s) of tasks assigned to a Kiva Fellow – so why so many posts on this specific deliverable?

1) Importance.  Borrower Verifications (BVs) are undoubtedly among the...

By Marcus Berkowitz, KF16, Ecuador

Institutional birthdays in the US can be fairly stuffy affairs. Seating is often arranged to maximize contact with those in the institution with whom one has never spoken (perhaps for good reason, argue some guests) and they tend to be remembered more for inappropriate comments inserted into otherwise boring speeches rather than for the celebrations that they hope to be but rarely are.

Not so at the Cooperativa San Jose de Chimbo (CSJ). Instead of standing around awkwardly, everyone secretly wishing they were somewhere else, the 47th...

By Eric Rindal – KF16 – Bolivia

Part of my Fellowship here in Bolivia is to complete two Borrower Verifications (BVs) for two Kiva partner microfinance intuitions: Emprender and IMPRO. During the BV, I ask four questions to verify that the borrower is the real borrower, and...