Who do you lend to?

[Guest]

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[AccountAbility]

Welcome Bill.  It keeps getting more interesting.   

Don't rule out some of the loans where the pictures look like the borrower is anything but poor.  In many places the borrower will put on their "Sunday best" to pose for the picture.  But that may be the only outfit they own and it gets worn only a couple of times a year for very special occasions.

[Robert]

Maybe they don't even own the suit. They could have borrowed it from their neighbour for this occasion. They need to preserve their self-esteem and want to make a good impression on the lenders. They aren't aware that this could be counter-productive. I wouldn't either wear torn clothes when going to the bank and applying for a credit.
Furthermore, I don't think that a warm coat is a luxury item for an Ukrainian woman spending the whole winter in her open-air shop.

[AccountAbility]

Thanks for the ideas everyone!  The field officers indeed have an incredibly demanding role in the Kiva process.  We currently have 1 page of questions that the field officers take with them as a guide for the interviews.  While this is practical, it is also very limiting and as you've all noticed, the clients all start to sound the same.  The other problem is that field officers tend to visit groupings of clients that do the same thing when they go out to collect information on a particular day.  This makes the issue of clients seeming similar even worse!!  I will implement your comments on our question sheet for field officers, and try to encourage them to let the interviews be a little more "open" in order to gain unique information from each client.  Thanks again for everyone's ideas and support!! Any advice or suggestions are always welcome...

We haven't heard from Nick in a while, field partner in Cambodia.  Since another MFI individual was applauded for participating on this forum, I thought I would go back and re-read his posts in this thread. 

Actually, each time I review a Cambodian loan, I realize that there is a significant cultural difference that requires some extra explanation.  Many of the households have multiple workers/wage earners/entrepreneurs.  It sometimes is confusing as to who is actually the borrower.  At times this sounds like a wife is being exploited by being put in front but the loan is really for the husband.  Other times the business mentioned doesn't seem to have enough income to service the loan.

I wonder if it would help if the MFI partner pages included a description of the kinds of loans they are seeking to write, and the cultural backdrop into which the loan is made.  Since other MFI partners write group loans, this would seem to be just a modification-- a family loan?

[AccountAbility]

Quote:
I recently read a very touching story about why someone loans at Kiva.  I was going to suggest that person post the story at this forum but I couldn't think of a good place to put it.  So, here's a place to put your stories about why you loan at Kiva.

Here's my simple answer. My wife and I loan at Kiva because we believe helping others help themselves is one of the best ways to make a difference in the world.
End Quote
Richard

The two threads are quite inter-related.  I would hate to lose the answers of all the folks who responded in this thread.

[RichardF]

I removed it.

[AccountAbility]

Thanks, Richard.  As this forum keeps expanding it gets harder and harder to keep track of all the conversations which are currently going on and those which went on not too long ago.  The thread titles sometimes don't give a clue about the conversations being conducted in it.

Did we somehow lose one reply to your initial post?  I guess only that person can re-post it-- or can Joe literally move all those posts into this one?

[RichardF]

I thought of that after I hit the delete button, so I apologize for that.

[Wood Fairy Glenda]

Well, folks, I made another loan, despite my promises to my bank account.  How could I resist when I saw another Glenda in Ecuador: http://www.kiva.org/img/w800/49939.jpg.  My previous Glenda (from Honduras) http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=8036 paid off her loan a while ago so now I have a replacement!  I figured Glendas make good borrowers.

[Wood Fairy Glenda]

     I don't know if this is the correct thread, but I thought you folks might like to see the latest journal update  at the bottom of this page: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=4752.  It tells of the success of a 27-year-old Kenyan man who borrowed $175 a while ago to learn to upgrade his carpentry skills.  He is supporting not only his own kids but also his many siblings (so that they can be educated).  His parents are dead.
     This is an example of a loan I made simply because of the personal description.  Frankly, I never thought my money would be returned on this one, but Mike has paid back 50% of his loan so far!  I have really appreciated the updates (Journals) I have received, and this latest one even has a new photo.
     

[wind5001]

I stumbled across the same journal report today and felt it was sooo uplifting! I envy your participation in it, Glenda...