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Kiva Blog Update

Kiva Blog Update,

Want to support farmers in Belize? Eat more chocolate (and make a loan!)

This is a guest post by Emily Stone, the managing director at Kiva partner Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize. MMC supports cacao growers in the country to improve their livelihoods and get their high-quality product to market. Chocolate. Dark brown, delicious, sweet, creamy, cocoa-loaded delights. Brownies, cookies, mousse, tarts, cakes, ganache. Candy bars, truffles, and bonbons. This is the choco ...

Kiva Fellows Update

Kiva Fellows Update,

Nuru Energy: Renewable and Non-Solar

Kerosene is the primary source of light for over a billion people on the planet. Its fumes can cause health problems for those that use it frequently (sometimes children, studying after dark), and the long-run costs can reach a quarter of a family’s income. To top things off, kerosene’s black carbon byproduct is a far greater threat to climate change than carbon dioxide (see article). Despite ...

Kiva Fellows Update

Kiva Fellows Update,

Up In the Caucasus: Photos of History in the Making

From Azerbaijan, another photo blog!  This time, no politics, no opinions - just spectacular views of one of the best regions on the planet.  Photos from the northern towns of Sheki, Zaqatala, Qax, and a couple from Georgia. One point of clarification: any reference to 'Albanian' is about Caucasian Albanian - an ancient civilization that existed in this region, with no relation to toda ...

Kiva Fellows Update

Kiva Fellows Update,

Weaving, Women, and Justice in Guatemala

Today in Guatemala's Supreme Court, closing arguments are being delivered in the trial of former head of state, Efraín Ríos Montt on the accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity.  This landmark case has taken years of patience and the steady call for justice from the affected indigenous communities of Guatemala. In the following blog post, I will outline how the art of Mayan w ...

Kiva Blog Update

Kiva Blog Update,

Passport Series: Rwanda overcomes a brutal history & paves the way for gender equality

No larger than the state of Maryland, Rwanda is a small landlocked nation in the heart of Africa. Full of lakes and very mountainous, it is a beautiful country with just over 12 million inhabitants. Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history. 1994 GENOCIDE Unfortunately, w ...

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  1. Kiva Blog Update

    Want to support farmers in Belize? Eat more chocolate (and make a loan!)

    This is a guest post by Emily Stone, the managing director at Kiva partner Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize. MMC supports cacao growers in the country to improve their livelihoods and get their high-quality product to market. Chocolate. Dark brown, delicious, sweet, creamy, cocoa-loaded delights. Brownies, cookies, mousse, tarts, cakes, ganache. Candy bars, truffles, and bonbons. This is the…

    Posted by Camille Ricketts

  2. Kiva Blog Update

    Dia de la Mama: A snapshot of single motherhood in Santiago, Chile

    This is a guest post by Kiva Fellow Esther Honig, who spent the last four months working with Kiva partner Fondo Esperanza in Chile. In Santiago, Chile, a recent census showed that 50% of households living below the poverty line are run by single mothers. The reason why has a lot to do with gender inequality in Chilean society. Of 93 countries surveyed around the world, Chile ranks 60th on the…

    Posted by Esther Honig

  3. Kiva Blog Update

    What Mother's Day means for Kiva Partners: Voice from Hope Congo

    This is a guest post from Allie Hill, the Kiva Coordinator who works at field partner HOPE Congo.  The author (right) with a HOPE Congo client Edith. It was my first month living in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. I had a mixture of emotions adjusting to a new culture, climate, and language, yet I was excited about my work with HOPE Congo’s clients. During my orientation, I visited several…

    Posted by Camille Ricketts

  4. Kiva Blog Update

    What Mother's Day means for Kiva Partners: Perspectives from Cambodia

    For Mother's Day, we wanted to hear from some of our partners in the field about how motherhood, or helping mothers, has changed their perspective or inspired them to do more. We were excited to speak to Yuthida Sophat, treasury officer for VisionFund Cambodia, who is also a young mother. KIVA: How does VisionFund Cambodia work to serve and support mothers? YUTHIDA: VisionFund…

    Posted by Camille Ricketts

  5. Kiva Blog Update

    Week in Review: The state of the world's mothers

    Just in time for Mother’s Day, Save the Children has published its 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report -- defining the best and worst places in the world to be a mother. In this year’s report, 176 countries were ranked based on the well-being of mothers and children. Their health, educational, economic, and political status were all taken into consideration. Kiva works with…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  6. Kiva Blog Update

    Passport Series: Rwanda overcomes a brutal history & paves the way for gender equality

    No larger than the state of Maryland, Rwanda is a small landlocked nation in the heart of Africa. Full of lakes and very mountainous, it is a beautiful country with just over 12 million inhabitants. Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history. 1994 GENOCIDE Unfortunately, when…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  7. Kiva Blog Update

    Behind the Scenes: Spotlight on amazing Kiva Coordinators

    Without the hard work and dedication of countless individuals, Kiva could never have touched the lives of over 1 million borrowers. Kiva Coordinators are critical to making this possible. KCs work with loan officers in the field to gather photos and stories of borrowers to post on the Kiva site -- connecting them to our community of lenders ready to help. KCs ensure that borrowers are…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  8. Kiva Blog Update

    The Demonstration Effect: How Kiva made a difference for sanitation startup Sanergy

    Do you remember in school when your teachers used say that imitation is the highest form of flattery?  Maybe that didn’t happen to you, but I can remember hating it when a kid next to me would copy my drawing, cupcake decoration or science project and claim it was his own idea. That said -- no matter where you fall on the flattery spectrum -- here at Kiva we think copycats are great.  Let me…

    Posted by Eileen Silva

  9. Kiva Blog Update

    Apply to be a Kiva Fellow by May 26th!

    Have you ever wondered how a relatively small non-profit organization in San Francisco has managed to work effectively in more than 65 countries around the world? Or how new initiatives like Kiva Zip have scaled to over $1 million in loan volume within 17 months of launching? While there are many factors that have contributed to these successes, one thing is certain -- Kiva would not be where…

    Posted by Shana Soltani

  10. Kiva Blog Update

    How Kiva lenders are honoring their mothers and other moms around the world for Mother's Day

    This is the first installment of a Mother's Day guest blog series, highlighting what Kiva makes possible for mothers, whether they are lenders, borrowers, or Kiva partners. As we approach Mother’s Day next Sunday, we wanted to spotlight three Kiva lenders and their stories about making a difference for moms around the world. Lloyd Thompson honors his mom's charitable spirit from the…

    Posted by Brandon Smith

  11. Kiva Blog Update

    Go Backstage at Kiva: Volunteer to be a Team Leader for the Review and Translation Program!

    This is a guest post by Gabriela Barbosa, a volunteer Team Leader for Kiva's Review and Translation Program. If you're reading this, chances are you want to make a difference in the world by helping entrepreneurs change their lives with small loans. Since its founding in 2005, Kiva has enabled over 900,000 of us lenders to make loans to more than 1 million borrowers. But what many…

    Posted by Camille Ricketts

  12. Kiva Blog Update

    Week in Review: How internet growth can drive financial inclusion

    One of our favorite data visualization sites, the World Bank Tumblr recently posted this fascinating infographic about global internet use. For a larger version of the graph you can click here. The visualization skews a world map to demonstrate both the number of internet users per country as well as the percentage of the population with access to internet. The size of each country on the…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  13. Kiva Blog Update

    New Field Partner: Supporting affordable financing with Kubo.financiero in Mexico

    We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with Kubo.financiero in Mexico! Through branchless banking and other innovative services, Kubo is bringing interest rates down and making financing more affordable for the people who need it most. Did you know that in developing countries, informal lending is a very popular way to access money? Be it for personal use or to start a company, people…

    Posted by Amniya Shahbozova

  14. Kiva Blog Update

    Passport Series: Borrower success stories from the Palestinian Territories

    This Passport Series has focused on the unique challenges faced by Palestinian borrowers. With skyrocketing unemployment rates, creative entrepreneurialism becomes all the more important.  Kiva is proud to provide capital to courageous, hardworking borrowers in this part of the world. So to conclude this Passport Series, we would like to share with you stories of four entrepreneurs who -- with…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  15. Kiva Blog Update

    This Mothers Day, show your mom how good you are!

    Mothers are incredibly powerful. Not only do they give life, they give their children the foundation they need to live healthy, successful, happy lives. When you give a mother the tools she needs to do these things, there’s no limit to what she can accomplish. Did you know that outside of the agricultural sector, in both developed and developing countries, women on average still earn less…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  16. Kiva Blog Update

    Kiva Zip hits $1 million!

    This is a guest post from Kiva Zip Director Jonny Price. What's next? I’m a huge West Wing fan, and one of my favorite quotes from President Jed Bartlett is that whenever his team achieves a tremendous success – broker a peace deal in the Middle East, or resolve a dispute between trade unions and their employers, for example – the President asks “what’s next?” I think it’s a great way to…

    Posted by Jonny Price

  17. Kiva Blog Update

    Week in Review: Our littlest lenders take over the Kiva office!

    Little ones were buzzing about the office yesterday in celebration of Bring Your Child to Work Day! Proud Kiva dads and their tots at Kiva HQ in San Francisco. Celebrated the fourth Thursday of April since 1993, Bring Your Child to Work Day is a national holiday created to give kids of all ages a peek into the working world. We kept them busy all day with a variety of projects (and pizza…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  18. Kiva Blog Update

    Passport Series: Kiva partners in Gaza and the West Bank go the extra mile to empower borrowers

    Providing loans in the Palestinian Territories is clearly very challenging. The people who live there face both high levels of poverty and scarce employment opportunities. Given this environment, we at Kiva are pleased to work with responsible and effective partners to deliver loans in both the West Bank and Gaza. Today, we work with two of the most impactful microfinance institutions in the…

    Posted by Emily Wakefield

  19. Kiva Blog Update

    Volunteer Spotlight: Kyla Evans, globetrotter, closes in on 5,000 loans edited!

    "Globalization and new technologies are often seen to have changed the world for the worse. For me, Kiva is an expression of how to harness these forces for the good, bringing together people from across the planet to change lives in a sustainable way. I want to be a part of that change by giving time as well as money." City: Brussels, Belgium Language: English Review & Translation Team:…

    Posted by Nida Jafri

  20. Kiva Blog Update

    How Kiva Field Partners overcome the challenges of global illiteracy

    This is a guest post contributed by Kiva Fellow Esther Honig, who is stationed with our partner Fondo Esperanza in Chile. In a rural town outside the southern city of Curico, Chile, I’m sitting at a small fold-out table with a 60-year-old Kiva borrower. I’ve just taken photos of her posing proudly inside her business, a small cinder block restaurant that she’s owned for the past 10 years. She’s…

    Posted by Esther Honig