Luz Cerito Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Luz Cerito Group, consisting of Carmen Ramires, Alba Ramires, Altagracia Carrasco, Patria Perez, Matilde Polanco Polanco by Esperanza International, a partner of HOPE International in Dominican Republic. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 5 months of this loan, Esperanza International, a partner of HOPE International will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Thank you so much for supporting an entrepreneur from the Dominican Republic or Haiti! As a Kiva Fellow, I have spent the last three months working with Kiva’s Field Partner Esperanza International, visiting borrowers and writing updates about their businesses.

As you may know, all borrowers’ profiles are posted on Kiva’s website with the help of microfinance institutions (MFIs) such as Esperanza. With several branch offices located in the rural areas of these two countries, Esperanza reaches entrepreneurs in the most remote and undeserved communities. This makes possible the connection between Kiva lenders and borrowers in some of the neediest areas of the Dominican Republic.

Most of the loans Esperanza International disburses are group loans, inspired by the Grameen method, which consists of making a loan to a group of people living in the same community, after providing them with a short training program that includes basic business advice and training about the Esperanza program. All the borrowers from the group are bound to pay together, and the repayment meetings that are led in the communities help strengthen the links between local entrepreneurs. It is not uncommon for neighbors to attend these meetings and decide to join the groups to start a new project, or strengthen an existing one through a loan.

Esperanza is a strong supporter of the idea of mutual support and local initiatives to lift whole communities out of poverty. For instance, the institution recently started to run literacy programs in many of the communities they work with. These programs are led by the most educated among its borrowers. Esperanza has also been supporting local projects, such as a school that was created by one of its long term borrowers, named Milàn.

I had the unique chance to meet Milan and visit her school. She was just back from a trip across the United States (her first time out of the Dominican Republic) to tell her story. Milàn took out a loan from Esperanza in 1998 that allowed her to increase the income from her clothing business. Like many Esperanza borrowers, she was selling clothes on the street. Milan felt that she wanted to do something for the children of her neighborhood who didn’t have the opportunity to go to school, so she started a little school inside her house, providing children with basic literacy lessons, and a meal at lunch. Milan continued her clothing business and from the income generated, she could expand her school, until she reached 100 students (divided in two classes of 50 students on morning and afternoon). As her project was taking shape, she received further financial support from Esperanza and other non-profit organizations. The school I visited is a 2 story building, with eight classrooms, a library and computer room. Almost 500 students are attending the school, and follow an education program acknowledged by the Dominican ministry of Education, provided by 17 teachers (working part-time). Meanwhile, Milan has been able to complete her own education that she had left shortly before reaching high school. She is now about to get an advanced education degree that will certify her as a principal.

Recently, I was visiting a group of borrowers, who took their first loan funded by Kiva lenders. Maria, and one of the women of the group had a very similar story to Milan’s. Besides her clothing and home accessories business, she runs a local school, in her house, where she is the teacher of a class of 15 preschool children aged from 3 to 5. She is a well respected woman in her community. Her neighbors call her “la profesora” (the teacher). Although her activity as a teacher is not a source of income, it definitely is a great motivation for her to succeed in her business. Maria has recently added new products to her home accessories such as aromatic candles that she hopes will increase her sales during Christmas time.

Thanks to their commitment to reach the most isolated communities, and the indispensable financial support they receive from Kiva lenders, Esperanza may be fostering, through Maria, a new local project that will bring great benefits to the community.

Let’s wish Maria and all of Esperanza’s borrowers great success in their attempt to improve their life condition and access to education in the Dominican Republic. For this reason I entreat all of you who have lent to Esperanza International in the past to continue doing so, and continue to support this worthy project!

Please consider joining Esperanza’s Lending Team by clicking here.

Or check out all fundraising loans from Esperanza .

Thomas Gold

Dear Kiva Lenders,

While it has been two weeks since a 7.1 earthquake struck Port au Prince, Haiti the destruction and loss of lives left as a result of the natural disaster is tremendous.

Kiva’s field partner in Haiti, Esperanza International, has offices located in the northern part of Haiti, Trou du Nord (close to Cap Haitian), in which it is confirmed that the offices as well as all staff members were spared from harm. However, Esperanza has confirmed that two associates who were in the capital tragically lost their lives during the earthquake. In addition, 40% of Esperanza’s borrowers in the Dominican Republic are of Haitian origin and have been adversely impacted by the disaster. This link is particularly important as many of the Haitian clients in the Dominican Republic regularly send remittances to their relatives in Haiti, which will prove to be a vital lifeline to help sustain these families in the months ahead.

Clients in Haiti now more than ever face a whole new set of challenges: many associates have already and will continue to take in family members fleeing from Port-au-Prince; hundreds of borrowers cope with the emotional distress of losing family and friends; associates who once traveled frequently to the capital as a commercial center must find news ways of obtaining necessary supplies and materials for their businesses; and many will be facing elevated prices as the supply of products is now limited and the demand is elevated, etc.

Esperanza has responded to the disaster situation at hand by working with already established partners in Port-au-Prince and southern Haiti in addition to various U.S. and Dominican organizations. It is currently in the early stages of an immediate disaster relief plan, which is targeting 10,000 families to send immediate relief to. In addition, Esperanza has collaborated with the U.S. organization, Operation Rainbow, performing around 100 surgeries to date in the border town of Jimaní as well as with surgeons from Rush Presbyterian Hospital of Chicago to treat victims in Carrefour, the epicenter of the earthquake. This immediate aid will be followed by a longer-term relief process, which will focus on 5,000 families (32, 250 individuals) to provide rehabilitation to in the form of family housing, education, water/preventative health, and income generation.

With regards to the earthquake’s effects on Esperanza’s microfinance operations, it is likely that in the months ahead many of Esperanza’s loans in Haiti may need to be refinanced or cancelled as clients deal with the aforementioned challenges, however, we intend to stand by our clients and continue to offer access to credit, as well as our range of complimentary services, as the situation permits. Additionally, Esperanza intends to go ahead with its long term plan of opening three more branch offices in the next three years in Haiti to expand access to credit to Haitian borrowers.

Despite the many obstacles borrowers face in the months ahead, associates have continually proven capable of overcoming adversity and showing resiliency in difficult times. They have found innovative and creative ways to create new income streams and this ability will be essential to a sustainable rebuilding process in Haiti. More than ever, micro-finance has the potential to be a vital part of this re-growth. We encourage you now, more than ever, to finance Haitian borrowers through Kiva microloans.

If you would like to learn more about Esperanza and HOPE International, or to find out ways you can help, – including their current humanitarian relief and other support efforts in Haiti – please visit Hope’s website. You can also visit Esperanza’s website or email disasterresponse@esperanza.org.

Photos: Mike Lee, Operation Rainbow