Additional reading
Bob Harris' blog posts on Kiva
17 (more) photos that changed my world
In the various travels that led to the book, I was lucky enough to bring a camera to more than 20 countries on five continents. Unfortunately, when it came time to publish, there was only room for about 30 pictures to share. Here are a few more favorites that I didn't get to include, roughly following the book's structure...
How to get from Machu Picchu to Kathmandu on a Kiva lender's budget
For my upcoming book about visiting Kiva clients in the field, I traveled around the world with side trips on five continents, visiting destinations both frequently touristed (Cusco, Siem Reap, Cebu) and less so (Sarajevo, Kigali, Chennai). Given that any $25 saved could be rolled into more loans, conserving money while traveling safely was a major consideration...
Making fireworks in Nicaragua, literally
I'm about to help a new friend blow up some stuff in Nicaragua. This really isn’t what I originally set out to do here. But it seems like a good idea now. Mostly because
Luis Alberto is so pleased about it. Luis Alberto and I are standing on a deserted rural road flanked by barbed wire, marking the edges of dry empty fields. Just a 20-minute ride from the bustling streets of León...
Week in Review: Kiva's weekend reading list
With the weather turning cold -- even at our headquarters in San Francisco -- this weekend feels like the perfect time catch up on some reading in a cozy cafe or on the couch. At Kiva, we're always reading and learning about microfinance and other global development issues -- and we know our lenders are often just as interested in these topics. So, without further ado, here are some articles...
Read more about microfinance and international development
Center for Financial Inclusion
www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org
The Smart Campaign, promoter of client protection principles
www.smartcampaign.org
The Social Performance Task Force
www.sptf.info
www.sptf.info/what-is-social-performance
The Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX)
www.themix.org
MicroFinance Transparency
www.mftransparency.org
The Microcredit Summit
www.microcreditsummit.org
The Center for Global Development
www.cgdev.org
Books about microfinance and international development
Banker to the Poor
Muhammad Yunus
Summary: This memoir of the Nobel Peace Prize-Winning founder of the Grameen Bank reads like a novel, and it’s a great introduction to microfinance for a newcomer. Yunus describes how his life evolved from one as an economics professor in his native Bangladesh, to committing his life to the plight of the rural poor.
Half the Sky
Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
Summary: Half the Sky serves as a call to arms against female oppression. Kristof and WuDunn profile women in Africa and Asia who face intense obstacles to escaping poverty and finding empowerment. This is a great resource to expose someone to the interconnectedness of poverty, women’s rights and microfinance.
Out of Poverty
Paul Polak
Summary: Polak challenges traditional top-down poverty alleviation methods and proposes a different set of tools that are already proving to be effective at lifting millions out of poverty.
The Blue Sweater
Jacqueline Novogratz
Summary: Novogratz describes her personal journey from the world of international banking to understanding and combating poverty.
Portfolios of the Poor
Daryl Collins, et al
Summary: This book tracks the lives of several families and individuals living in poverty, for the duration of a year. The goal of the book is to provide some insight into what causes poverty and how those living in it find ways to survive.
The End of Poverty
Jeffrey D. Sachs
Summary: Economist Jeffrey Sachs explores the degrees of posterity in the world today and provides some positive and realistic actions directives for fighting poverty. This book is an inspiring and empowering one, in a genre that is often overwhelming.
