Concerns Over Repayment of Loans

[Guest]

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[DoubleR]

Regarding Asasah, I have asked a few times recently for updates.  The situation is certainly heart-breaking.  It seems like there was some talk, after some other natural disasters, of pausing loans in the queue when these things arise, but I do not know if anything has come of that.

This was posted today on the Kiva blog:
http://www.kiva.org/blog/2010/08/18/pakistan-floods-update-on-kiva-field.html

The recent flooding in Pakistan has been termed the worst natural disaster in country's history with 1,600 deaths and an estimated 20 million people -- one-ninth of the country's total population -- displaced by the flooding. Flooding began on July 22 in the mountainous northwest region of the country causing rivers to burst their banks and has causing destruction to one-quarter of the country's land area.

Kiva currently supports borrowers in Pakistan through our field partner, Asasah. Asasah serves tens of thousands of borrowers through credit and other development services from Lahore in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Kiva has reached out to Asasah and they appear to be less affected by the floods given their geographic limitation to Punjab province. However, the country as a whole continues to suffer from the effects of the flooding.  Learn more here.

If you are looking for ways to help, we suggest you click here to learn more about BRAC, an organization that has been on the ground in Pakistan since 2007 and operating in some of the countries most remote and hardest hit areas. Mr. Farid Rahman, BRAC Pakistan’s Country Manager, noted in a recent report shared with Kiva,

    The most critical priorities at the present time include shelter, food assistance, clean water and emergency health care. To avoid a food crisis, up to six million people will need food assistance across the country, while more attention is needed to ensure livestock survival. Clean water is also crucially needed, with affected victims facing the risks of water-borne diseases.

To donate to BRAC and the work it is doing in Pakistan, visit their website here.


Note: Kiva actively partners with BRAC in Uganda and South Sudan, sister organizations to BRAC Pakistan, but does not currently facilitate lending to BRAC Pakistan.

Regards,
Ronan

[David2051]

This was posted today on the Kiva blog:
http://www.kiva.org/blog/2010/08/18/pakistan-floods-update-on-kiva-field.html

Regards,
Ronan

Thank you very much, Ronan.  I had not seen that blog yet.  I'm glad to hear they were able to reach the Asasah staff.  Kiva has indeed made the world a much smaller place.  Tragedies around the world seem so much closer to home now. 

 

[howard]

Thank you, Ronan, for the Kiva blog on the Pakistan floods, and the excellent BBC map that this leads us to.

However, the blog is a generalisation, and does not give me great comfort. The bulk of Asasah clients are in the Lahore area of the east of Pakistan Punjab, and not too seriously affected. But what worries me is those I mentioned in the south of the province, by the Indus. Multan/Borewala appears to be in the dark blue (seriously affected) area on the BBC map. The situation there must be very different from that in Lahore area, and worth a specific comment from Asasah/Kiva, with an assurance that Kiva has good reason to believe that, in spite of the conditions, offering of new loans there is justified. But surely a pause on loans from that specific area was/is justified until local conditions are clearer.

Howard

[howard]

Afghanistan Loans:

I wonder what are lenders' opinions on loans to that troubled country. The possibility of a Western pullout and Taliban takeover seems to get nearer every day. In that event, how might our loans fare? I am particularly concerned about loans to women and to borrowers in certain fields frowned on by the Talibal, such as entertainment and (non-religious) books.  They could perhaps lose their businesses overnight.

I still lend to Afghanistan, but do wonder if I am being foolhardy.

Howard

[Jan & John]

Afghanistan Loans:

I wonder what are lenders' opinions on loans to that troubled country. The possibility of a Western pullout and Taliban takeover seems to get nearer every day. In that event, how might our loans fare? I am particularly concerned about loans to women and to borrowers in certain fields frowned on by the Talibal, such as entertainment and (non-religious) books.  They could perhaps lose their businesses overnight.

I still lend to Afghanistan, but do wonder if I am being foolhardy.

Howard

For me, every time I lend to Afghanistan, I feel I am contributing in some small part to increasing trust in the west (and democracy as we know it) and hopefully therefore decreasing trust in other propaganda these borrowers may be told.  I cannot protect these people from their troubles nor can I have any effect on their internal politics but I can let them know I care about their well-being.  If I lose all our money in that country, well then, so be it.
-jan-

[Diane R]

I would have to agree with Jan.  The loans I've made in Afghanistan were made with the hope of improving the situation for some individuals there, and with the awareness that the MFI could not guarantee being able to remit payments. 

--Diane.

[carien]

Jan what else can I say

[Skimmis]

I would have to agree with Jan.  The loans I've made in Afghanistan were made with the hope of improving the situation for some individuals there, and with the awareness that the MFI could not guarantee being able to remit payments.  

--Diane.

Agree. I would also like to add that its great to be able to support females from afghanistan.

[howard]

A wise reply, Jan. Thank you.

Howard

[David2051]

Afghanistan Loans:

I wonder what are lenders' opinions on loans to that troubled country. The possibility of a Western pullout and Taliban takeover seems to get nearer every day. In that event, how might our loans fare? I am particularly concerned about loans to women and to borrowers in certain fields frowned on by the Talibal, such as entertainment and (non-religious) books.  They could perhaps lose their businesses overnight.

I still lend to Afghanistan, but do wonder if I am being foolhardy.

Howard

Are you suggesting that our borrowers might be punished by the Taliban because of their association with Ariana and Kiva?  That is a frightening thought, and not at all unbelievable.  I wonder if these thoughts are going through the client's minds when they decide to take a loan and improve their businesses?

I've always lent to Afghanistan hoping to stabilize the region...