Earlier this month, two of my colleagues from Kiva HQ in San Francisco visited me in Phnom Penh as a part of their annual Kiva Staff Partner visit. The purpose of the Kiva Staff Partner visits is to allow...
Continue Reading >>Stories tagged with Cambodia
Oct 10, 2016
Cambodia
Cambodia
Coming into my fellowship, I was quite aware of some of the challenges of running microfinance operations. I knew that interest rates from certain microfinance institutions can be too high for borrowers to sustain repayments and that it takes a lot of manpower to disburse loans, perform loan assessments, and conduct verifications. But I only...
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Aug 8, 2015
Cambodia
Cambodia
In Australia (where I'm from), we start learning about money early. From lessons about compound interest in mathematics to budgeting for a meal in home economics, financial "know-how" is considered a survival skill.
The hope, it seems, is that when we start earning money we’ll be able to spend it wisely, save it and even invest it.
Some of us are more successful than others.
The point is that handling personal finances... Continue Reading >>
The hope, it seems, is that when we start earning money we’ll be able to spend it wisely, save it and even invest it.
Some of us are more successful than others.
The point is that handling personal finances... Continue Reading >>
Jul 7, 2013
Cambodia
Tragic History
The Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia is still fresh in the collective memory of this country. Few other places have seen the very fabric of society ripped apart so thoroughly in such a short period of time. In the wake of the Khmer Rouge and a protracted civil war that lasted until 1993, an... Continue Reading >>
Cambodia
A tree at one of the hundreds of "Killing Fields" in Cambodia, where the Khmer Rouge orchestrated a mass genocide from 1975-1979.
Tragic History
The Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia is still fresh in the collective memory of this country. Few other places have seen the very fabric of society ripped apart so thoroughly in such a short period of time. In the wake of the Khmer Rouge and a protracted civil war that lasted until 1993, an... Continue Reading >>
Jul 7, 2013
Cambodia
In a country with approximately 20% of the population living on less than 1 dollar per day, and over 80% rural, how do you define and target the more “vulnerable” groups? This is the challenge faced by the Vulnerable Services Unit at KREDIT Microfinance Institute, Kiva’s oldest field partner in Cambodia.
One way to create the parameters of this definition is to focus on borrowers and... Continue Reading >>
Cambodia
A vibrant rice paddy during the start of the rainy season.
In a country with approximately 20% of the population living on less than 1 dollar per day, and over 80% rural, how do you define and target the more “vulnerable” groups? This is the challenge faced by the Vulnerable Services Unit at KREDIT Microfinance Institute, Kiva’s oldest field partner in Cambodia.
One way to create the parameters of this definition is to focus on borrowers and... Continue Reading >>
Feb 2, 2013
Cambodia
Cambodia
Ever since I found out I was accepted to the Kiva Fellows program, I've felt very fortunate. Fortunate to volunteer with an organization that does incredible work in the mission to alleviate poverty. Fortunate to be based in Hanoi, Vietnam, one of my top choices for country placement. Fortunate to spend three weeks in Cambodia (prior to Vietnam) in order to interview actual borrowers and hear about the...
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Jul 7, 2012
Cambodia
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
Cambodia
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.
... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2012
Cambodia
Cambodia
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...
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Apr 4, 2012
Cambodia
Cambodia
Jen Truong | KF17 | Cambodia
Poverty is terrible. It is unfair and merciless—I am certain many can agree to that. Often times people are born into it, other times poverty hits them out of nowhere, but the worst is when it oh so gradually creeps up into the lives of people absolutely undeserving of such a life. As my fellow KFer, Adria, mentioned in an earlier post regarding poverty, there are “different ways to be poor,” and after living in Phnom Penh for almost three months now, I can say that I agree to that statement completely. It is so obvious here that people are not...
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