Kiva Fellows Blog --- Please don't restrict to business only

[Guest]

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[TheTatiana]

I've become addicted to the kiva fellows blog.  It's simply amazing.  Today, though, I read that kiva asked the fellows to restrict their blog entries to microfinance only.  I'm rather upset with that. 

Actually, I was thinking of how interesting the personal recollections are.  I hope they aren't too strict about people keeping their posts to microfinance.  To me the blog is much better as an open and truthful description of the experiences of kiva fellows in the field.  It gives me the deep down understanding that we're all in this together, that all these countries with their vastly different social fabrics are nevertheless interconnected.  If it becomes a recitation of the party line, it will be useless, just another ad to be ignored.  You know?  The world is full of ads.  What's valuable is the truth. 

I certainly hope the personal isn't leached out of the kiva experience little by little over time.  I think it would be a terrible mistake.  The reason it works at all is because it's personal.

[abc]

I agree with you, T.
I've been writing to a young journalist I know
from up here about the Kiva experience, as
well as the Kiva Fellows, and sent her some
of the more interesting fellows blogs links,
hoping to plant a seed. What makes them
good material is the heart and the life
that is in them.
I can imagine they might want to set
guidelines for appropriate content
along the lines of "too much information"
warnings, but other than that....

[Jan & John]

Tatiana, I agree with you.  I too love the blogs so much that I will read them before coming to KF.

I noticed that you added a comment on the blog.  I try to comment to the Fellows to let them know how much I appreciate their sharing of experiences with me. 

I think the Fellows should be able to keep the subject on microfinance as set within the sharing of the culture and lifestyles they are experiencing.  All the stories of dirt roads and motorbikes.  Riding in daladalas.  Sharing meals with families that obviously don't have enough to share but do so with smiles and thanks.  This to me is the Kiva experience.

jan

[AccountAbility]

....Today, though, I read that kiva asked the fellows to restrict their blog entries to microfinance only.  I'm rather upset with that. 

Since I don't know the background to what you read (or where), I too can only speculate.  But perhaps it is a caution to keep away from personal views about other aspects of the world and politics which might be perceived of as divisive even among the Kiva community.  As an example, I personally am sorry KivaFriends ever got into political discussions.  To keep unified in Kiva's common goal to work against poverty through microfinance, it certainly doesn't need another rumble.

Dan

P.S. To clarify, though, I do think the personal aspects of the Fellows visit are very important to making the blogs real and three dimensional.  So I certainly hope those continue.

[A Nonny Mouse]

<cough cough>

excuse me, y'all.

[AccountAbility]

....Today, though, I read that kiva asked the fellows to restrict their blog entries to microfinance only.

Perhaps before we get our knickers in a knot, can we find out exactly where this was written and by whom?

And Nonny, microfinance isn't just the numbers.  It's about how actual people are working to improve their lot -- so the stories ARE microfinance.
Dan

[Jan & John]

Perhaps before we get our knickers in a knot, can we find out exactly where this was written and by whom?

And Nonny, microfinance isn't just the numbers.  It's about how actual people are working to improve their lot -- so the stories ARE microfinance.
Dan

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/10/28/for-daniel/

I don't want to get another Kiva Fellow in trouble - but Tatiana was repeating what she read at the end of this blog today
jan

[AccountAbility]

Thanks Jan for linking to the blog in question.  I actually read that blog but somehow missed that one comment.  I haven't specifically followed his blogs enough to see something that might have engendered the comment.

I still can't imagine Kiva trying to restrict writing about the personal connections and observations that Fellows make about the culture they are immersed in-- which is the backdrop of the borrowers' lives-- and the stories of the people they encounter.  There must be something else behind this comment here.

Dan

[TheTatiana]

I just know if my boss told me to keep my posting "relevant to (my job)" then I would share fewer personal impressions, and would keep it more detached and professional.  That's the opposite of the direction I hope the kiva fellows blogs go.  So I was posting in order to state a strong wish that we not go in that direction.  The very thing that makes kiva so great is that it isn't like that... it's not all slick and packaged, professional, impersonal, and correlated like most corporate communication is.  It's not selling us some party line, it's not an ad, and it's not fake.  Again, the reason it works is because it's refreshingly real.  There's a true human connection there.  I want to learn that Borat is not exaggerating about some Eastern Europeans' sexism and anti-Semitism, for instance.  I don't want things prettified.  I want to learn that after you spray on sunscreen, you have to rub it in if you're fair-skinned and don't want to be fried in the equatorial sun.  I want to learn that acting brash and confident only gets you so far with the police in some countries, and might land you in jail.  The culture clashes are just as important as the cultural connections.  What keeps my spirit and my money invested in kiva are those true stories, those notebooks of real life.  Please don't change that.  We're the new way the world is becoming.  We are strong enough and important enough just to be what we are and to tell the simple truth.

[Jan & John]

Rob's blog this morning is just that Tatiana... incredibly real...

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/10/30/the-incredible-shrinking-country/

I actually had to go look at my thermostat to see what my heat was set at because I shivered as I read it.  I had to go look at my one Tajik lady who has already paid her first loan back so I could personally wish her well.  There are some Tajik loans up now - I am taking one of the bakery ones.

jan

[waywardcats]

Thanks Jan for pointing out Rob's journal, it is very moving indeed. 

I think of all his photos this is my favorite, just look at these enterprising individuals:


Street Scene in Khujand

-Kerry-

[Jan & John]

Keiran's new blog is up from AMK in Cambodia...

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/01/07/watch-this-before-they-ban-it/

Wow - what an awesome way to connect People to People

  Keiran

jan

ps I think Kiva needs to use this video to replace the old one showing now on Facebook and their other PR sites.

[Diane R]

Absolutely fabulous!  Thanks for the pointer, Jan, and well done, Kieran!

--Diane.

[RichardF]

Very cool video Kerian! 
It made me want to know more about everyone involved and how it really works! 

Name: Van Makara Business Name: Farmer Location: Preak Tamao Village, Cambodia Primary Activity: Farming Loan Requested: $300.00 Repayment Term: 12 months - details Repayment Due Dates Feb 15, 2009 $25.00 Mar 15, 2009 $25.00 Apr 15, 2009 $25.00 May 15, 2009 $25.00 Jun 15, 2009 $25.00 Jul 15, 2009 $25.00 Aug 15, 2009 $25.00 Sep 15, 2009 $25.00 Oct 15, 2009 $25.00 Nov 15, 2009 $25.00 Dec 15, 2009 $25.00 Jan 15, 2010 $25.00  Loan Use: To buy fertilizers and pesticides for her rice field.

Mrs. Van Makara, born in 1982 and now living in Preak Tamao Village in Takeo Province, owns a small plot of land upon which she cultivates rice. Unfortunately, the field has become infertile, so she is requesting a loan to buy both fertilizers to restore it and more pesticides to control insect infestations. Her husband, Mr. Hao Sith, is a construction worker.
Mrs. Van Makara has two children, one three years of age and the other five. Her husband is on the right in the photo.

Name: Credit Suisse Location: United Kingdom Occupation: Office assistant

"The loan schedule" in the video looks to be in twelve installments, with the first four having interest-only due.  The first principal payment appears to be due at the fifth installment.  It's an AMK agricultural loan.*  I wonder if Kiva will ever be able to post real payment schedules on the business profiles. Not too surprisingly, even this example doesn't match what Kiva says is happening.* Accurate information really does help strengthen the person to person connection when lenders know how entrepreneurs are doing with their loans.

* Kiva Notes:  AMK's delinquency rate is "N/A" as many of their loans are agricultural loans whose principal payments do not occur until the last payment period. Since Kiva's current system assumes equal monthly principal payments, AMK's agricultural loans would inaccurately be considered as being "delinquent" until the final payment period. Given this circumstance, Kiva has designated AMK's delinquency rate as "N/A" to better reflect their actual performance. 

[redstarr]

I love the fellows blogs.  I think it's important that they post primarily about microfinance and how it's affecting the people in the area they're in.  But I love the not-neccessarily-directly-microfinance posts,too.  All the fellows blogs that give insight into the culture and lifestyles of the countrys and the people that live there are relevant and important.  I get a ton of inspiration from the fellows blogs.  I think one of the things that keeps them all so inspiring and insightful is the different writing styles and perspectives each fellow that writes them brings to them.  Any extra guidelines applied to the blogs might get in the way of that special connectedness and personal perspective.

[cjp1973]

There were 3 or 4 new fellow blogs in the past week and all were excellent.  This particular one in regards it Nicaragua really made me appreciate some of the hardships that Borrowers face.

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/03/06/bluefields-nicaragua/

charmaine

[Unilove]

  KIVA can set guidelines for any postings by their Fellows on the KIVA sponsored message boards, but why can't the Fellows post here if the topics are broader than the KIVA boundaries?    We are the most avid readers of those blogs anyways

[TheTatiana]

That's a great idea, Unilove! 

[TheTatiana]

Have you noticed that the kiva fellows blog does seem to be sticking a lot more just to microfinance lately?  It's kind of sad to me.

[AccountAbility]

I suspect Kiva must walk a very delicate line here. 

On one hand they would want their Fellows to provide interesting blogs and to have freedom in what they say. 

On the other hand, in many countries freedom of expression is severely restricted.  I recently read about an organization who got kicked out of a country because of an offhand comment an in-country representative made in an email which got posted on someone's website.  Apparently someone in that country read the website.

I too enjoy the three dimensional picture we get from the Fellows' description of local color and culture.  But I understand the consequences of crossing a line which is ill-defined at best.

Dan

[cjp1973]

Glenda and Mona, I saw you were on this loan and wanted to post this in case you hadn't seen it on the kiva fellows.  Here is the link to the loan, followed by the kiva fellows blog with a video....And for the rest of you, it is a great blog and video.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=77699&_tpos=10&_tpg=3

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/04/23/adios-guatemala/

charmaine

[Wood Fairy Glenda]

  Charmaine! I probably would not have seen Andrea's post with its wonderful video had you not posted here.  It made my day! 

[cjp1973]

Here is a video that I discovered from twitter on the kiva page.  From kiva fellow Teresa.  CREDIT Cambodia

[Jan & John]

The latest Fellow blog by John Briggs in Kenya is spurred by the newest debate raging here at KF and is definitely worth reading...
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/06/20/pissed-off-kiva-lenders/

however...

I want to make special note of the bio at the end describing Stephen Makanga, KADET’s integration and donor relations manager.  This for me shows the results of education and what it can accomplish in a country like Kenya.  This kind of caring individual passing along his skills to help others, is one of the reasons we lend through Kiva and also make donations through Education Generation. 

I was afraid it might get overshadowed by the rest of the debate

Stephen Makanga is from Emali, Makueni District, Eastern Province, Kenya. Growing up, his father and mother were subsistence farmers who grew corn, beans, vegetables, and coffee (”when the industry was still good”), and raised livestock such as cows and goats. He has four sisters and five brothers, and is the youngest among his siblings. Stephen is the only one in his family to have attended university, though one brother attended a teacher training college and is now a primary school teacher. Stephen attended Egerton University in Nakuru, working his way through school as a public high school teacher who got some support from his parents; he also got loans Higher Education Loans Board, which he’s still paying off at the age of 40. He graduated in 1994 with a degree in agricultural economics.

After graduation, it was hard for Stephen find steady employment, so he took a series of small teaching jobs. In 1997, he got a job with the Ministry of Agriculture as an agricultural extension officer, training farmers as a beekeeping specialist. He left his government position in 2000 to work for World Vision Kenya. At World Vision, he started as a program coordinator for a small food security project in the northeast of Kenya. He went on to be a program manager in charge of the Wajir (district in NE Kenya) relief and rehabilitation program. After that, he moved to Monitoring and Evaluation for the coast region of World Vision Kenya. A year later, Stephen became the program manager overseeing all World Vision development programs for coastal Kenya. He joined KADET, which is owned by World Vision, in 2007 as the manager of Integration and Donor Relations.

jan