Ebony Foundation - Gabriel Ndegwa Kiarie

[Guest]

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[azkwest]

I am one of 10 lenders funding a taxi service operated by Gabriel Ndegwa Kiarie in Nakuru, Kenya and am deeply troubled by the recent unrest that the country has witnessed.  While I was please to see a recent communication from Ebony Foundation, its message painted a picture of destruction, displacement and destitution.

While I eagerly hope to hear that Gabriel and his loved ones are safe, I'd like to ask if the 9 other Kiva members that funded Gabriel's loan would be willing to forgive their portion of the outstanding balance on the loan made to Gabriel through Ebony Foundation.  I would hope that if we all agree to do so we will be able to work with Ebony Foundation to expedite the process.

Further, I would like to offer a grant to Gabriel and others to help them secure themselves and their families.  If I find sufficient interest, I will see what I can do to work with Kiva, Ebony Foundation and other Kiva Partners to make to facilitate the effort.

Regards,
Karl

[azkwest]

The following appear willing to forgive Gabriel Ndegwa Kiarie's loan...

  Karl, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
  Janice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
 

[Diane R]

There is an on-going discussion here about the Kenyan situation, following the mail from EbF.  You can read through it here:

http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1632.0.html
EDIT:  Colette's post # 18 from that thread is especially thought-provoking:
http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1632.msg20147.html#msg20147

There is also some discussion in the Mark Agwonah Fund thread
http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,682.0.html
(starting at post # 256  http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,682.msg20117.html#msg20117  )

concerning the pros and cons of forgiving a loan completely.  While it is a common immediate reaction to want to forgive the loans, it may be premature to suggest that.  As some of these wise members are noting, the MFI may not deem it appropriate to forgive a loan *unless the individual was directly affected*.  It may be worth waiting to hear from the MFIs on each individual client before determining whether to forgive their loan or not.  (Some clients may not be affected at all, and forgiving their loan would undermine the MFI's ability to function in the future, for instance.)

The suggestion has been made that in addition to waiting to hear from the MFIs, who will be evaluating all their clients on a case-by-case basis, we may want to contribute to the MFIs themselves, so they can better fund the work they now have to do.  Just some other ideas to consider...

--Diane.

[azkwest]

Thanks for the referral.

I agree that it is prudent that accommodations should be considered only where there was direct impact.  If we hear that Gabriel was not among those impacted, then great!  Still, given the data provided by Ebony Foundation, I expect that many if not most businesses in Nakuru were impacted and we should be prepared to make some accommodations.

[azkwest]

I am please to say that a representative of Ebony Foundation has responded to an email to indicate that Gariel is fine but that he may require assistance to rebuild his business.  I will pass on additional information as it comes in.

[Diane R]

azkwest, you may want to look at the Ebony Foundation Kenyan Relief fund thread, where we are assembling some funding to help Ebony Foundation provide this critical relief.

--Diane.

[cpbailey]

Perhaps these topics can be merged?

Colette