Inadequate business descriptions, and other questionable loans

[Guest]

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[waywardcats]

I am curious as to why two seemingly unrelated people were photographed with the same motorcycle and in the same location.   


Henry is married and the father of five adult children. He is 54 years-old and lives in Guingona, Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines.

To earn a living, Henry is a motorcycle taxi driver. He owns and operates a service-based business providing passenger services in the local community.

He has had this business for over five years. Each month, he earn PHP 10,000.00 from this work. He has requested a loan of PHP 15,000.00 from Kiva partner GDMPC in order to pay the labor cost for motorcycle repair and to purchase tires and spare parts.

Henry has been member of GDMPC for one year. In the future, Henry hopes to gain more profits and purchase another motorcycle.


Luciana is a farmer and, at the same time, a business woman. She owns and operates a business selling fertilizers in her community. She has been in this type of business for over five years. Each month, she earns 10,000 Philippine pesos (PHP) from the business.

Luciana is 58 years old and lives in Guingona, Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. She is married and the mother of six adult dependents.

Luciana has requested a loan of 15,000 PHP from GDMPC to purchase fertilizers to sell. She has been a member of GDMPC for one year. In the future, Luciana hopes to expand her business and gain more profit for the education of her children.

[Alaska Pack]

I am curious as to why two seemingly unrelated people were photographed with the same motorcycle and in the same location.   

Good observation Kerry!  I am wondering if this is a photo meeting spot for motorcycle loans for this area.  You know how some MFIs use the same background shot for their entrepreneurs.  Although at a different angle, the woman has metal bars at the lower right corner on the discolored area which would then make it at a different time when her photo was taken.

Just a thought,
Bernice 

[Diane R]

The bags on the right side of the photos are bags of dolomite, which is a fertilizer.  Those would be stock for Luciana's business, and the motorcycle would be Henry's taxi vehicle.  I think there's a reasonable chance this is a married couple, each funding a loan for their own business (although one says 5 adult children, the other says 6).

--Diane.

[waywardcats]

The bags on the right side of the photos are bags of dolomite, which is a fertilizer.  Those would be stock for Luciana's business, and the motorcycle would be Henry's taxi vehicle.  I think there's a reasonable chance this is a married couple, each funding a loan for their own business (although one says 5 adult children, the other says 6).

--Diane.

I went through exactly the same thought process Diane, though I came to the opposite conclusion because of the different number of children.  I would have thought that it would have been best to highlight the bags in Luciana's photo, in fact, yet the choice was made to place her behind the motorcycle and to frame it prominently in the picture.

 Whatever the answer may be, it is not evident from the loan write-ups, and that is my concern.  Just as has been requested of Aqroinvest who has been found to photograph multiple borrowers in the same location without explanation, I  would like to see all of the Kiva FPs required to provide additional explanation if using one place for multiple borrower photographs, including Gata Daku Multi-purpose Cooperative (GDMPC) in this case.

-Kerry-

[FoxyOxy]

http://www.kiva.org/lend/317009

"Eugenia Auriola is 30 years old, single and she lives with her 17-year old mother. She lives in the enclosed community of El Progreso in the city of Chillanes"

Just a small slip that made me laugh.  Then, when I realized it was her 17 year-old daughter... it made me cry