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Inlägg för Rawan (30e december 2012)

Rawan has used the loan to bring the missing raw material that she uses to make the fake flowers. By increasing her productivity she was able to make some profits that helped the business and the family finances. The only challenge she faces is time management between working on her hobby and her study at the university to become a nurse. Now Rawan has put her business on hold since she has graduated and start working in the field being a nurse, unfortunately it will stay on hold till she can manage her time and shifts at work.

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Inlägg för Mpara Hiv/aids Prevention And Support Group-Kyenjojo (31e oktober 2011)

On the face of it, Joyce come across as a purposeful, amiable, resolute and good humored business woman. Joyce lays such great store on her food sales business and its evident in the way she goes about her daily trivial round. Joyce is one who rises with the lark, says her prayers, tends to her kids, draws up her work plan before she gets to work. This is all done in a short duration. Being under the supportive auspices of her husband has been an invaluable tower of strength. Joyce makes a clean breast of the fact that had it not been for her supportive spouse, she would not have made as much progress as she has. Joyce likes to go against the established societal grain. The drift behind that being that she is partial to the idea of shared responsibility in a home. For long, she has made common cause with her husband in shouldering most of the family related responsibilities. Needless to say, the earnings from her business have impacted alot in that regard. Joyce sells in high favor foods such as beans, peas, cabbages, bananas, cassava, etc. Food sales businesses in the west of Uganda are all the rage. Joyce says the fact that she envisaged a great future in this trade spawned the idea to request for this kiva loan. With the loan proceeds, Joyce embarked on bulky purchases of staple foods such as beans, bananas, cabbages,and fresh foods. The means to her ends here was to resell more. With more to resell, her weekly gross sales returns have doubled. Joyce is over joyed that her business is driving a much stronger roaring trade as of now. To all the lenders, she says thanks.

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Inlägg för Nodira Marufova (28e juli 2011)

Nodira has requested a loan of 7500 TJS and has repaid it successfully. The loan was helpful for her and she purchased new items of jewelry like earrings, rings, bracelets, and chains. She increased the range of goods and expanded her business. Nodira is thankful to Kiva and all Kiva lenders for their support and kindness.

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Inlägg för Benkan Group (20e maj 2011)

Elle a effectivement payé les condiments avec les grossistes de Fana pour ensuite les revendre sur place à domicile et au marché de Fana. La cliente du groupe Benkan s'est tirée d'affaire avec l'octroi de ce prêt en payant le maximum de condiments et d'avoir la capacité de servir ses clients à tout moment. Selon KADIA, elle a gagné plus de bénéfices que prévus et cela lui a permis de mieux s'occuper de l'entretien de ses enfants. Avec le bénéfice elle envisage d'épargner pour faire face aux dépenses de ses enfants et consolider d'avantage son activité lucrative.

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Inlägg för Leonita Isla (16e december 2010)

Leonita manages a general store. She wanted to thank ASKI and KIVA lenders for lending her the additional capital that she used in purchasing different merchandise to sell in her store. Having more products to offer to her customers resulted in income increased. Her income is carefully budget for the immediate needs of their family and as school allowance of their children. She is happy and feels that their life enlightened since started doing the business. She hopes to borrow for another loan in the future so she can further strengthen her business and provide her family with a progressive living.

About ASKI:

ASKI's Vision:
A God-centered, model microfinance organization committed to serving the needy in Luzon through socio-economic development and holistic transformation.
To see ASKI borrowers who are currently fund raising on Kiva click Here
To read more about ASKI visit their partner profile page Here
If you would like to read more about what it is like to be a Kiva Fellow check out our blog Here
Support ASKI and their staff and join the ASKI lending team Here

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Inlägg för Leonita Isla (24e november 2010)

By John Rauschkolb III, KF12 Philippines

Salamat (thank you) from the Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI), Inc. family. I am writing to you from the colorful city of Cabanatuan, which is located in the Philippines, about four hours north of Manila. You are receiving this as you are one of the many generous lenders to a borrower in the Luzon district of the Philippines who are being served by ASKI.

In order to understand the success and growth ASKI has achieved, I met with the Executive Director, Rolando B. Victoria. Rolando, more commonly known as 'Boss Roly', is a very kind and compassionate leader. Honest, friendly, and inviting, he speaks modestly about his and ASKI's achievements: "In mid-2009, we confidently launched our Big Audacious Goal (BAG) called 3 by 14, where the number three (3) stands for a three billion Philippine peso loan portfolio which we target to release to 250,000 clients, and the number fourteen (14) represents the year 2014, in which we hope to achieve our goal." He enjoys talking about the growth and innovation ASKI is embracing, saying, "In 2009 we opened four new branches in marginalized municipalities and have nine more branches currently in the start-up phase bringing us to a total of 37 branches currently in operation." To better serve the rural clients, he explains: "ASKI became an authorized outlet of Nationlink to issue e-money cards to clients" so they can have easier access to capital. This growth of almost 30% in the number of ASKI branches over two years, coupled with the possibility of e-money banking, is setting the pace for ASKI to achieve the BAG by 2014.

I have also been able to meet with many of the Kiva borrowers during my travels to remote areas in the Luzon district within Region Two. During one such visit I was lucky enough to meet Yolanda Gonzales from Banquero, Reina Mercedes, Isabela. Yolanda runs a small general store outside her home where she sells everything from soap and shampoo to cigarettes and alcohol as she primarily sells to local farmers. With her 5,000 Philippine Peso (php) loan she was able to buy additional products to sell and increase the inventory of her store. Her number one product is a local beer, Red Horse (my favorite). Prior to the loan she was only able to purchase three cases of Red Horse for 1,023 php per trip to the market, but after the loan she is now able to purchase 6 cases. This has doubled her sales and decreased the costs associated with transportation to and from the market. With this additional income, she is saving and providing funding for her children's education as her son wants to be a doctor and her daughter a nurse. When asked why she chose ASKI & Kiva, she stated the low interest rates and great staff who care about the borrowers. Her large family was extremely friendly and brought us into their home to enjoy a marienda (afternoon snack). During the snack Yolanda amazed me with her knowledge of business: net vs. gross profit, fixed vs. variable costs, selling on credit and accounts receivable. She is a testament to successful micro-finance in action.

Another ASKI leader I am fond of and to whom I have had the privilege of speaking to on numerous occasions, is Maria "Mary" Calling, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. She is 70 years young with a spirit and energy that surpasses my own. Each time we chat she continues to amaze me with her love and compassion for helping others. During one such interaction, she spoke of her visit to an environmentally deprived area after a typhoon, where she recalled a conversation with a borrower: "When I think of that day, I can only remember the pain and utter helplessness… I wanted to go to the hospital, but we were in a sea of flood… I was in pain and could only pray to God for comfort." She had the entire table, including myself, on the brink of tears. She is truly a leader with self-less ambitions.

ASKI is doing many things for its borrowers and the community. Partnerships with Western Union, Crop Insurance, and Philhealth Insurance Philippines, allow ASKI to provide better services to their clients. Their adoption of Social Performance Management contributes to poverty outreach, client satisfaction, and client retention. Investment in internal programs such as ASKI MBA (Mutual Benefit Association) provides insurance to borrowers; ASKI Foundation provides social and environmental services free of charge to the indigenous (native) people; and ASKI Skills and Knowledge Institute offers basic, management, and specialized training to employees and borrowers.

ASKI's commitment to progress envisions a God-centered microfinance organization committed to serve the needy in Luzon through socio-economic development and wholistic transformation. Through the people and services, they are able to put mission into practice every day. During my short time at ASKI, I can say I have never worked with such positive and friendly people. They are truly one big happy family.

Nagmamahal (with love),

Kiva and the ASKI Family

Watch this video for a brief overview of ASKI.

To see ASKI's borrowers who are currently fund raising on Kiva click here

To read more about ASKI, please visit their partner profile page here

Support ASKI and their staff by joining the ASKI lending team here and the ASKI Facebook page here

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Inlägg för Rosa Esmerencia (23e oktober 2010)

The purpose of this message is to update you on how Kiva funds are being used by Fundación D-MIRO work to serve low-income men and women who live in marginalized urban areas and to inform you about recent political events in Ecuador. Fundación D-MIRO has been one of Kiva´s field partners for 1 year. This means that in October of last year, D-MIRO began posting some of its clients on the Kiva website to raise funds for their loans. To date, you and other Kiva lenders have funded 931 clients, lending a total of $802,250.

As a Kiva Fellow for the past three months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to spend 6 weeks working with the energetic staff at Fundación D-MIRO´s office in Guayaquil, Ecuador to strengthen their work with Kiva and ultimately enable them to post more borrowers to Kiva. To help achieve this goal, I spent two days training loan officers in Playas (officially called General Villacamil Playas) to carry out Kiva processes and start posting more of D-MIRO´s clients to Kiva. Click here to see a short video about this experience.

Fundación D-MIRO Mision Alianza's mission is to be a microfinance institution that contributes to the improvement of the quality of life in marginalized areas of Ecuador, providing agile and opportune services that reflect confidence in its clients. Most of D-MIRO`s clients live in peri-urban, marginalized areas of the city. It is estimated that 40% of Guayaquil's ~2,100,000 inhabitants live in such conditions. This means that D-MIRO's services are in high demand, but it also means that their work can be very challenging. Check out this blog, which explains the difficulty of carrying a camera to get a borrower picture.

Working in this context is indeed not easy and I have the utmost respect for the staff at D-MIRO and their tremendous efforts to further their mission and provide loans to hardworking individuals.

As you may be aware, the political situation in Ecuador has received significant media attention over the past month. Ecuador has a long history of political instability; the country has had eight presidents since 1996. On September 30th, police protests brought Ecuador's major cities to a halt – some say this amounted to an attempted coup, others maintain it was a police protest over changes in their wage structure and nothing more. None of Fundación D-MIRO's offices were affected in the events of September 30th and as far as we know none of D-MIRO's clients were negatively impacted. While the security situation deteriorated rapidly that day, it also turned around equally as rapidly and most people were back at work in Guayaquil and Quito the following day, including the staff at D-MIRO. The protests, however, called attention to many of the social and political reforms enacted by President Correa over the past 4 years. From declaring some foreign loans illegitimate, to reducing the cost of higher education, his policies have won him both many allies and many adversaries at home and abroad. If you'd like to read more about Ecuador's political reforms over the past several years, check out this article from the Economist or this recent article from the BBC.

Especially in light of Ecuador's political changes, it is more important than ever for low-income individuals to have reliable access to credit through microfinance institutions like Fundación D-MIRO.

To search for currently fundraising D-MIRO loans on Kiva, click here.

No currently fundraising clients? Please check back soon! In the meantime, you can join D-MIRO's Kiva Lending Team!

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Inlägg för Anonymous (7e oktober 2010)

This loan has been refunded for the following reason:

This loan has been refunded for the following reasons:
As you may be aware each business on Kiva’s website is posted by one of Kiva’s 100+ field partners. Kiva’s field partners are responsible for screening each entrepreneur, posting their profile to Kiva and collecting repayments. Kiva routinely monitors our field partners to ensure your loan is being dutifully administered and that the organization is financially and operationally sound.On August 24, 2010, Kiva reduced CEPRODEL's risk rating from four to two stars and added alert text to CEPRODEL's fundraising loans. This was the result of a deterioration in CEPRODEL's loan portfolio due to a number of reasons, as discussed in our previous update.

Prior to Kiva's learning of this deterioration, CEPRODEL had increased their postings to Kiva's website. Approximately $100k in additional loans were made after this deterioration had occured, but before Kiva had become aware of the issue and adjusted CEPRODEL's star rating and fundraising limit.

Once we became aware of the issue, Kiva paused the settlements procedure as a precaution. This was done in the event that we needed to refund loans to lenders who had lent new funds after Kiva became aware of the deterioration, but had yet to decide on a course of action. As a result of the settlements pause, on September 1, 2010, CEPRODEL's delinquency rate increased to 40.38%.

During this time, we carefully reviewed the options that would best protect our lenders while simultaneously not putting CEPRODEL (and ultimately other lenders' funds) in jeopardy. After reaching out to CEPRODEL to discuss these issues, we decided to proceed with the refund to the affected lenders. This was done because at the time these lenders made these loans, they did not have the same information on CEPRODEL's portfolio deterioration as Kiva itself had. Also, in this particular situation, we wanted to make sure not to increase Kiva's overall exposure at CEPRODEL.

Once the refunds have been issued and settlement has been reactivated, the high delinquency ratio expressed on the Kiva website should fall from its current level of 51.59%.

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Inlägg för Anonymous (7e oktober 2010)

This loan has been refunded for the following reason:

This loan has been refunded for the following reasons:

As you may be aware each business on Kiva’s website is posted by one of Kiva’s 100+ field partners. Kiva’s field partners are responsible for screening each entrepreneur, posting their profile to Kiva and collecting repayments. Kiva routinely monitors our field partners to ensure your loan is being dutifully administered and that the organization is financially and operationally sound.On August 24, 2010, Kiva reduced CEPRODEL's risk rating from four to two stars and added alert text to CEPRODEL's fundraising loans. This was the result of a deterioration in CEPRODEL's loan portfolio due to a number of reasons, as discussed in our previous update.

Prior to Kiva's learning of this deterioration, CEPRODEL had increased their postings to Kiva's website. Approximately $100k in additional loans were made after this deterioration had occured, but before Kiva had become aware of the issue and adjusted CEPRODEL's star rating and fundraising limit.

Once we became aware of the issue, Kiva paused the settlements procedure as a precaution. This was done in the event that we needed to refund loans to lenders who had lent new funds after Kiva became aware of the deterioration, but had yet to decide on a course of action. As a result of the settlements pause, on September 1, 2010, CEPRODEL's delinquency rate increased to 40.38%.

During this time, we carefully reviewed the options that would best protect our lenders while simultaneously not putting CEPRODEL (and ultimately other lenders' funds) in jeopardy. After reaching out to CEPRODEL to discuss these issues, we decided to proceed with the refund to the affected lenders. This was done because at the time these lenders made these loans, they did not have the same information on CEPRODEL's portfolio deterioration as Kiva itself had. Also, in this particular situation, we wanted to make sure not to increase Kiva's overall exposure at CEPRODEL.

Once the refunds have been issued and settlement has been reactivated, the high delinquency ratio expressed on the Kiva website should fall from its current level of 51.59%.

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Inlägg för Norita (29e september 2010)

With the loans provided by ASHI and KIVA Norita Balanoyos were able to increase her capital in buy and sell, buy new tools for her business, and most of all put up three houses for rent. She uses her income in buy and sell, and house rental to finance the schooling of her children. She bought 3 cell phones and a laptop for them to use. Aside from the schooling she bought television set, speaker, amplifier and two cabinets for their house. She is now a proud mother because her income can now sustain the daily expenditure of the family and support her husband in raising their family. But Norita still dream and wish to expand their business and teach her children to manage it so that it will continue to prosper and experience a much better way of living. She wanted to buy a new motorcycle in the future for additional income and wish ASHI and KIVA people will still support her on her plans and dreams. She wants to take this opportunity to thank the people behind ASHI and KIVA for her success.

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Inlägg för Estefania Lesly Soria Illanes (2a augusti 2010)

My name is Alexis Guild and I have had the privilege of working with the staff of IMPRO over the past three months as a Kiva fellow. As you may know, all entrepreneur profiles on Kiva's web site are posted by local field partners (microfinance institutions) such as IMPRO, which are organizations that lend to the working poor to help lift themselves out of poverty.

You are receiving this e-mail because you have made a Kiva loan through IMPRO and we thought you might be interested in learning more about this Kiva partner.

IMPRO is a small, family-run NGO (non-governmental organization) that works in the cities of La Paz, El Alto and the surrounding rural areas. The partnership with Kiva, which began in 2007, has allowed IMPRO to expand their services while maintaining low interest rates. Bolivia, which is known for its expansive and relatively successful microfinance sector, is a competitive marketplace. IMPRO has been able to distinguish itself through its customer service and varied loan products beyond microenterprise such as health and education loans. The most distinctive and perhaps the most successful loan product offered by IMPRO is their "Mejoramiento de Habitat y Vivienda" (Housing and Living Conditions Improvement) program.

What distinguishes this program from other loan products is that the lead loan officer, Enrique, is also a trained architect. He dedicates himself exclusively to the "Mejoramiento de Habitat y Vivienda" program. Beyond credit consultation and monitoring of the loan, Enrique also offers his professional services advising the clients on such issues as design as well as the type and cost of materials.

Meet Eufracio Mita, one of IMPRO's housing loan clients (pictured, in the red jacket). He used his loan to start construction on a bathroom in the house he lives in and to repair the bedroom walls of a second house he rents out. While he encountered some difficulties due to the increased price of labor, he has been able to complete this construction. In describing his relationship with IMPRO, he thanked Enrique for his advice and help as he gathered the necessary materials. The repairs allowed him to improve the quality of life of his family. Not only did the value of the houses increase, but he also was able to ensure the continued additional income of the house he rents out. In the future he hopes to continue with the construction of his home, building a second story to create more living space. Eventually, he told us, he hopes his children will be able to live in the house he currently rents out.

Eufracio's relationship with Enrique is not unique at IMPRO. The loan officers and other dedicated staff, many of whom have worked with the organization for more than 10 years, pride themselves on their high quality of customer service. I have continually been impressed with the commitment of the staff to their clients. On numerous visits with various loan officers, I have seen the warmth and trust built in the relationship with the client. To the clients, the IMPRO loan officers are also friends.

My experience over the past three months has shown me that microfinance is about more than providing loans – it is about providing opportunities and building relationships. You, as a Kiva lender, play an important role in this relationship (hopefully you have received or will receive an update on a loan you supported). Each time I explained Kiva to a client, they were impressed and honored by the wide breadth of support from all over the world. Some even asked for the web site address so they could see Kiva for themselves. Your impact is tangible.

On behalf of the IMPRO loan officers and staff, I would like to thank you for your continued support. Please consider joining the Friends of IMPRO lending team to keep up with currently fundraising loans and to connect with other IMPRO lenders.

It has been an honor working with Kiva and the entrepreneurs in Bolivia.

Saludos,
Alexis Guild
KF11, Bolivia
alexis.guild@fellows.kiva.org

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Inlägg för Gladis Daysi Quintero Zelaya (5e maj 2010)

As a Kiva Fellow, one of my main roles has involved meeting with borrowers, primarily for the purpose of writing journals to update lenders on the progress of their borrowers and the loans they have. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to meet over 80 of the borrowers whom you and your fellow lenders have supported through Kiva. Most of these borrowers live in or near Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, but I have also traveled to Juigalpa, another city about three hours away. Sixty percent of AFODENIC's Kiva borrowers live and work in Managua, while the remaining 40 percent come from Juigalpa or Nueva Guinea, where the institution's third major branch office is located. In December, AFODENIC reached the two-year mark in its partnership with Kiva, and so far Kiva lenders have lent a total of $1,784,300 to AFODENIC borrowers. For more information about AFODENIC and the great work the organization is doing, visit the field partner page on the Kiva site.

In several senses, a theme of my time working as a Kiva Fellow has been the unpredictability of microfinance. Just as my personal experience has been unpredictable – I didn't know exactly what to expect when I left home for Nicaragua – it quickly became clear to me that many borrowers, and thus the microfinance institutions that lend to them, have to contend with the effects of unpredictability on an everyday basis. Julia Maria Vega, for one, took out a loan intending to purchase construction materials to replace her front wall, currently made of wood, with cement blocks. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Julia's pulpería – a general store that is often run out of the front of the owner's home – is her source of income, and she uses that revenue to pay back the loans she takes out for construction. But when business is bad in the store, Julia can't purchase more items to sell and if she doesn't have items to sell, she won't be able to repay her loan. When Julia requested her loan, she couldn't predict how bad business was going to be and so didn't know she wasn't going to be able to use the loan in the way she wanted. Other borrowers I've met have experienced other unpredictable misfortunes, like robbery or major medical expenses within the family that they did not anticipate.

I have also seen the impact of some unpredictable forces that work on a larger scale. When I asked borrowers how their businesses were doing, those who told me that things were not going so well often cited "la situación" or "la crisis" as the reason, referring to the ongoing global economic downturn. The economic crisis, another unpredictable turn of events, has not been kind to Nicaragua, which is the poorest country in Latin America and has the second lowest per capita income in the entire Western Hemisphere, after Haiti. Several borrowers were even able to put exact figures on the downturn their own businesses are experiencing. Jorge Orozco Sanchez, who sells bread in his neighborhood, told me he has lately been making about 150 sales per day whereas he used to sell around 250 items on a good day. Similarly, Marvin Jose Sandoval said that sales are low in his pulpería because of the state of the economy; when he first started taking out loans from AFODENIC, he was bringing in about 2,000 cordobas on a daily basis, equivalent to just under $100. Now, he makes 700 or 800 cordobas' worth of sales in a day, about $35 or $40.

Like the economic crisis, another unpredictable large-scale "evento inesperado" (unexpected or undesirable event) plagued the country during this past rainy season: a drought. In Nicaragua, the rainy season, known as winter, runs from May to October or so, while the dry season, called summer, lasts from November to April. But in 2009, the rainy season was not quite so rainy. Many of AFODENIC's borrowers work in agriculture, cultivating crops such as pineapple, rice, beans, plantains, tomatoes, squash, pitahaya, and more. Maria Auxiliadora Bermudez requested a loan for her restaurant but gave it to her husband instead to invest in his squash crops, thinking it would prove to be a more beneficial investment. He ended up losing the entire crop this year as a result of the drought.

I want to end on an optimistic note. As I look back over the borrowers I've mentioned here, many of them fall into the category of borrowers I met who were having a tough time, those whose sales had fallen or who had been affected by some sort of unpredictability. And these borrowers do indeed make up a significant portion of the recipients of microloans from AFODENIC. But there is another group too, borrowers like Isolda Adilia Bravo Ruiz and Iccel Amanda Martinez Suarez who told me with confidence that sales are good, that their businesses are doing well. In thinking about the microfinance work that Kiva, AFODENIC, and other microfinance institutions are doing in Nicaragua, the borrower who is feeling the effects of the economic troubles in the country and the world and the borrower whose business is doing well are both part of the complete picture—and that's one thing we can predict.

Sincerely,

Victoria Kabak, Kiva Fellow

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Inlägg för Ataa (16e mars 2010)

Dear Kiva Lenders,

My name is Maia Pelleg and I'm a Kiva Fellow working with Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT) in Ghana. I completed my first placement as a Kiva Fellow in Kenya in January, 2010 and was thrilled to embark on an experience with Kiva and microfinance in the new context of West Africa. The initial goals of my posting in Ghana included implementing a repayment reporting system, facilitating a process that enables SAT to provide journal updates to lenders, and making necessary changes to increase efficiency.

I arrived in Kumasi and quickly ascertained that Ghana's reputation for tremendous hospitality stems from reality. The staff of SAT welcomed me warmly and graciously offered to acquaint me with various aspects of Ashanti society.

Unfortunately, as I discovered the kindness of SAT staff, I also found that SAT's existing Kiva system was extremely flawed and lacked proper management. A close look revealed that many loan amounts and terms published on the Kiva website were incorrect. Additionally, the presence of multiple duplicate loan postings was concerning.

Kiva took immediate action and paused SAT for fundraising on Kiva.org. We have evaluated many aspects of the SAT partnership, and I am confident that operational weaknesses can be corrected and adequate management information systems can be utilized.

I have spent the last few weeks designing a new decentralized Kiva system and have already begun implementing changes. Including loan officers from around the country in Kiva processes serves as an additional check as well as enables SAT to provide journal updates and scale in the future. Central to the new Kiva platform is an internal data system that will verify loan details and automate frequent and accurate repayment reports. Additionally, a senior regional manager will be stepping in as Kiva Coordinator at the end of this month.

I am working directly with SAT leadership and staff to execute identified changes. Just this week I trained two branches and several loan officers in how to collect borrower information and photographs for Kiva's site. I can attest to SAT's commitment to a strong Kiva partnership based on integrity and honesty. I am confident that we are able to bridge any gaps that existed in SAT's process of raising funds on Kiva.

This experience serves as a reminder of how seriously Kiva takes transparency and accountability. I hope you will share my ongoing confidence in SAT and more generally in microfinance. Sinapi Aba Trust makes a real difference in the lives of low-income entrepreneurs and I am excited to be a part of enabling them to continue their lending footprint.

Sincerely,
Maia Pelleg

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Inlägg för Talaleu Toafa (1a oktober 2009)

Dear Lender,

Thank you for lending to an entrepreneur with South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) in Samoa.
My name is Athan Makansi and I am the current Kiva Fellow for SPBD. During the past 10 weeks, I have greatly enjoyed chatting with the Kiva borrowers you have funded, and working with the wonderful staff at SPBD. Meeting all these fantastic people has been a tremendously inspirational experience.

I can tell you that the SPBD workers all work very hard to take care of the borrowers you have funded. All staff work from 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM every day, and some work on Saturdays. They spend all that time making sure women all over Samoa have the privilege of accessing financial services. A privilege that you, in part, make possible through your loans. Some days I work in the office helping the administrators and Kiva Coordinator at SPBD develop new, more efficient ways to post Kiva business profiles and journal entries. Some days I head out into the field to interview borrowers. Meeting the women borrowers in their villages and home settings is always exhilarating. These are my favorite days.

I accompany an SPBD center manager on his or her rounds to collect loan payments. At the designated time, the center manager stops at each village center, where the borrowers from that village are waiting. At these collection centers, I mingle with the women and talk with them about their loan, business, and life in Samoa. Jokingly, the women often ask me if I’m single. My reply of “yes” always evokes a chorus of giggles. Sometimes the group of women surprises me by breaking out in song and dance. Surrounded by such joyous people, I cannot resist the urge to dance too. For a more in-depth view of a center manager’s daily work, view my video and blog post here: http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/07/14/taking-care-of-business/

The structure of SPBD works well with the village system of Samoa. Each village has one center where all the women gather on their designated day to make loan payments. One of the most interesting things about Samoa is the strength of the village system. This affects Kiva borrowers in a few ways. Sometimes the matai, village chief, shows up at the SPBD center meetings to formally greet the loan officers. Often, villages sternly enforce the borrower’s repayments. The strictest chiefs have a rule that if the women don’t pay back their loan, they are fined. A village’s reputation is extremely important. The matai does not want his village’s reputation tarnished by a delinquent borrower. Although this is a harsh rule, it does teach the borrowers good financial stewardship. I’ve noticed in these villages, the meetings run very smoothly, because the loan officers don’t have to chase after irresponsible clients.

Before I came to Samoa, I was most excited about talking to the women borrowers about their lives and stories. After 10 weeks here in Samoa, that is still my favorite part of my job. Every lady graciously shares her story. I feel humble every time. Here are two of my favorite stories from my stay in Samoa.

Like many Samoans, Tumua Senituri learned how to sow crops from her parents, who were farmers. Tumua inherited 3.5 acres of land from her father. But she was never able to use the land at all, because she didn’t have the resources to buy seeds, fertilizer, harvesting equipment, and other supplies. For a long time, the land was unused. Even today, Tumua only uses 2.5 of her 3.5 acres. Tumua has plans to expand her plantation over the next few years to include the last acre. Now that her business is doing well, Tumua hopes to be a role model for the other women by continuing to expand her own plantation. Using her own experience as a successful entrepreneur, Tumua advises the women on their businesses and budgeting skills. See Tumua’s full journal entry here: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=119129.

Tasi Rasch raises and sells cows to other Samoans for weddings, birthdays, and other large celebrations (called falavelaves in Samoan). These celebrations often include an entire village, so an entire cow is cooked to feed the many celebrants. Her loan from SPBD has allowed her to expand her business activities to include a small plantation, which gives her a more stable income. See Tasi’s full journal entry here: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=99924. You can view more pictures of Tasi and other SPBD borrowers on Samoa’s image gallery: http://www.kiva.org/about/imagegallery/#samoa.

On behalf of Kiva and SPBD, thank you again for your continued support of entrepreneurs in Samoa.

SPBD has a new Kiva lending team. Please join the team: http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=8375.

Cheers from Samoa,
Athan Makansi
Kiva Fellow

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Inlägg för Queen Kamaka (31e juli 2009)

Dear lenders,
Mambo (Greetings!) from Dar es salaam, Tanzania and from SELFINA! Thank you for your loan through Kiva to Queen Kamaka, a SELFINA client and micro-entrepreneur. The purpose of this journal is to update you on Queen and the status of her business.
As you know, your generosity helped Queen obtain a loan of $875 in Oct 2008. She is running a cafe business or local restaurant or mama lishe in Tanzania and used the loan to purchase additional cooking supplies and renovation.
She works hard at her business and she is assisted by three employees. Since she took out the loan, her business has been doing well and Queen was able to pay bills, buy food for family and meet other expenses.
In the future, she is planning to expand her business, on the personal front, her family is doing well. As you may remember, she is married and has four children. SELFINA aims to continue to assist Queen and other women like her, and empower them towards financial security and increased confidence through microloans. Thank you very much for supporting Queen! To continue to support women like her and lend to SELFINA borrowers, please click here:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=90&status=All&sortBy=New+to+Old&_tpg=fb
Asante tena (thank you again) for your support!

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Inlägg för Juana Francisca Caceres De Condori (11e juni 2009)

As Kiva Fellows, we are happy to give you an update on the effect of your loan on a Manuela Ramos/CrediMujer client. The entrepreneur profiles on Kiva’s Website are posted by local field partners, which are microfinance institutions that lend to the working poor to help them lift themselves out of poverty. For the past three months, we have been working with Kiva’s field partner, Manuela Ramos. The role of the field partner is to screen each entrepreneur, post his/her loan request on the Kiva Website, disburse the loan, and collect repayments.

Manuela Ramos is an organization dedicated to the advancement of Peruvian women. Founded in 1978, its programs include educating women, primarily in the rural areas of Peru, about gender equality, domestic violence, women’s rights and environmental awareness. It now has programs in fifteen locations throughout Peru, with seven regions operating microfinance programs. The microfinance program on which we worked, CrediMujer, assists groups of 15-30 women to come together, form a community bank, and take out a loan to use in their individual businesses. This is where Kiva comes in, by providing interest-free capital for Manuela Ramos to lend.

By supporting an entrepreneur who works with Manuela Ramos/CrediMujer, you are also supporting the progress of women living in the poorest regions of Peru. Although the loan amounts offered by Manuela Ramos are small (between $100 and $1,000), they make an impact on these women’s lives by providing them with the necessary capital to start and, sometimes, to expand their businesses.

Entrepreneurs partake in different businesses depending on the regions in which they live. Our experiences as Kiva Fellows in the field have also been influenced by the diverse geography in Peru. In the San Martin region, which is located in the Amazon basin of Peru, Diana encountered not only some very hot days, but also the warmth and generosity of its women, who would often give her treats like coconut water, fresh oranges, and cold soft drinks to help her cool off after a long day walking under the sun. Because San Martin's primary economic activity is agriculture, Diana visited many entrepreneurs with businesses related to agriculture or food production and sales. Growing cocoa, selling plantains, preparing local dishes like juanes (a mixture of rice, chicken, eggs, olives, and spices, wrapped in "bijao" plant leaf) and anticuchos (grilled meat on a skewer), and selling basic foods, were the most common business activities in this area.

In the city of Puno, nestled in the Peruvian Andes, Emily experienced the bitter cold and intense sun that the region is known for and saw the economic benefits that the tourism industry has brought to the area. Puno is located on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, and attracts many tourists who buy Peruvian tapestries, embroideries and alpaca sweaters, scarves and hats to keep warm. In addition to creating these artesian goods to sell to tourists, many Manuela Ramos entrepreneurs work in businesses that fatten livestock and operate small kiosks or general food stores.

Although we have been working separately in two different Manuela Ramos offices, we have focused on the same type of work, primarily writing journals for Manuela Ramos’s Kiva entrepreneurs. While the borrower profiles on Kiva’s site present information about how the entrepreneur plans to use the loan, journals provide follow-up information about how that loan was used and the effect it has had on the entrepreneur’s life. Although Manuela Ramos has employees and Kiva Fellows like us working hard to increase the number of journals written, financial and logistical constraints make it very difficult to produce a journal for each entrepreneur. Whether or not you have received a journal about the Manuela Ramos entrepreneur to whom you gave a loan, we hope that you will enjoy the story of Gloria, one of these entrepreneurs.

Gloria lives in the city of Tarapoto, the main commercial hub of the San Martin region. She makes “salchipapas,” a dish consisting of French fries and hot dog links, often accompanied by coleslaw or other variations, depending on the cook's particular style. Gloria's love for her business shows not only in the quality of her service and the food she serves, but also in her loyal customer base. Gloria has been a member of her community bank for quite a few years and her most recent loan of 1,000 soles (approximately $300 USD), was financed through Kiva by lenders like you. With this loan, Gloria bought tables, chairs and other supplies. This investment allowed her to better serve her customers and provide them with a more comfortable environment. However, Gloria's plans for her business don't end there. As an enterprising woman, she is thinking about the future of her business. To hear more about these plans from Gloria, see this short video interview (scroll all the way down):

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=64373&_tpos=1&_tpg=1&_te=mj

Thank you for supporting entrepreneurs like Gloria and helping Manuela Ramos work on behalf of Peruvian women!

Best Regards,

Emily Sweeney and Diana Rodriguez
Kiva Fellows 7th Class

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Inlägg för Arafsho Isoeva (1a maj 2009)

Dear Kiva Lender,

My name is Boris Mordkovich and I'm a volunteer from New York who has spent the last two months working at a Kiva field partner in Tajikistan: MLO HUMO & Partners. Kiva has been working with HUMO for over a year in order to reach borrowers in Tajikistan. Through this critical partnership, lenders like you can lend funds directly to entrepreneurs in this region to help them improve their businesses and their standard of living.

The Borrowers

Kiva lenders have supported more than 5,600 borrowers in Tajikistan, more than 1,500 of whom have received assistance from HUMO. For many of them, starting their own business is the only way to support themselves and their families. Job opportunities are scarce, and even if people do find full-time work, their salaries are usually not enough to cover living expenses. For example, a teacher in Tajikistan makes about 280 Somoni (about $75) per month, while it costs at least $300 to 500 per month to feed and support a family in the city.

If you'd like to view some of their stories, I invite you to visit the “Stories of Five Micro-Finance Borrowers”:

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/03/26/the-stories-of-5-micro-finance-borrowers/

Current Economic Crisis

Due to a lack of developed infrastructure and industries, the country's economy has been supported primarily by remittances sent by migrant Tajik workers, who are based primarily in Russia. However, as the world's economic crisis worsens, many of these migrant workers are now unable to find work abroad, just as the situation is getting more dire in Tajikistan itself.

Access to micro-credit is becoming more important than ever in order for people to sustain their businesses and themselves during these difficult economic times. Many of the bigger banks have stopped their lending activity altogether or have significantly increased their rates. Smaller micro-finance institutions, such as HUMO and others, remain one of the few reasonable options for the low-income population.

If you want to find out more about the impact of the economic crisis in Tajikistan, visit:

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/02/10/impact-of-the-economic-crisis-in-tajikistan/

How Does Your Involvement Make a Difference?

Over the two months I've spent at HUMO, I've wound up explaining how Kiva works to dozens of people. Most of them were aware of the organization, but not everybody fully understood how it worked. When they learned about the hundreds of lenders that were behind all of these loans, they were often amazed and impressed by people’s generosity and their desire to help. On behalf of Kiva, HUMO, and its borrowers, we thank you for supporting our work.

To see current fundraising loans from HUMO on Kiva.org, please check:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=63&status=fundRaising&sortBy=Old+to+New&_te=mj

If you have any follow-up questions or comments, feel free to contact me at boris.mordkovich@fellows.kiva.org and I'd be more than happy to try to address your concerns.

Signing off from Tajikistan,

Boris Mordkovich [Kiva Fellow, Class 7]

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Inlägg för Estefania Lesly Soria Illanes (17e november 2008)

Estefania finished her classes and she doesn´t have to go to summer school. Just in case, she re paid 36 dollars of the loan.The payments are registered in our system but our system is not matching wiht the kiva´s (for now).

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