Did Someone Say Sushi?

I have finally landed at Narita Aiport in Tokyo, Japan. It’s officially Thursday here. I managed to keep myself up through the entire duration of the flight save about an hour but I’m surprisingly quick to wipe the groggy expression off my face.

As soon as I step out of the gate, the first two gates I pass by contain passengers traveling to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. It’s strange that I won’t be able to visit either of those cities for the next 5 months. Strange that San Francisco, a place I call home, has instantly become this far away land that I won’t be able to experience till 2011. Most times when I think about home (San Francisco) and I’m in another country, I get nostalgic and sad even. Oddly enough, this time I feel none of those sentiments. I must really be ready for this change.

I’m a little rusty this time around – it feels like it’s been ages since I last traveled internationally. I make it out into the terminal and quickly get confused by the map that neatly lays out the gates, lounges, and shops. It doesn’t help that most of the signs are in Japanese script. So, I make my way over to the information counter to get some clarification as to where I should be heading and then take another stab at getting to my destination.

As I get off the escalator, I see a familiar face! Lina, another Kiva Fellow en route to Cambodia, is just as lost as I am. We join forces and manage to make it to the Sakura Lounge, laughing about how our paranoia of forgetting supplies to pack has us embarrassed, with two massive luggage pieces each. It's comforting to know that we're not alone though. We spend the next hour and a half chatting about the crazy weather we’re about to experience in our respective placements, exchanging travel tips, and discussing the best methods to coordinate travel around South East Asia (since we have an amazing group of Fellows in the same region). Finally, it's time to part ways, but the coincidence was a fun one!

View from the Sakura Lounge at Narita International Airport - blurry because of the rain!

I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane.. Don’t worry, I’ll be back again!

My seemingly chaotic life has temporarily come to a standstill now that I am officially in transit to the Philippines.

The past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind – I left my job at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Menlo Park, took the GMAT, and attended an intense week-long training session at Kiva headquarters in San Francisco, all while preparing for my 5 month hiatus from my life in California.

I now have thirty-six hours till I reach my final destination - Tagbilaran City, Bohol, where I will serve as a Kiva Fellow at Community Economic Ventures, Inc (CEVI).

As a Kiva Fellow, I will have the opportunity to engage in microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation on a personal level, facilitate connections between lenders and borrowers by increasing transparency in the Kiva process, and help increase efficiency at CEVI through trainings, among other things.

For those of you who are less familiar with microfinance, microfinance consists of several different financial services for the poor. Microcredit, which is what Kiva focuses on, is the process of disbursing small loans to poor people so that they can utilize that capital to become self-sufficient and repay their loans in a manageable way. Through microlending, poor people can begin to break away from the cycle of poverty that their families have faced for generations. This is what excites me most about it!

As I guide you through my adventures in South East Asia, I ask you all to do something for me in return – please share your thoughts with me! I would love to get as interactive on this blog as possible so if you have any questions or suggestions please don’t hesitate to share! I want to share this experience with each and every one of you and even though you can’t be out here with me, I urge you to join in and make this your journey as well.

Introducing the latest Kiva Fellows!

Just completed training at Kiva headquarters in San Francisco and it's been quite an intense learning experience. I can't wait to put my skills and knowledge to use once abroad!

KF12 Ready for the field!  Picture compliments of Eric Brandt.

Kiva Fellows, Gabriel Francis and John Murphy (KF12) did a phenomenal job describing our week in their posts '37 New Brushes to Paint the World' and '12th Class Kiva Fellows Training Week Recap', respectively.

Kiva Fellowship Motivation Statement

I would like to serve in the Kiva Fellowship program because it will give me the opportunity to empower the poor of underdeveloped countries by providing them with access to capital for their small businesses.

My grandfather peddled to nearby villages selling essential goods in order to feed his family of six and maintain his small flat. Yet, despite the fact that my grandparents were illiterate and faced financial hardships, they saw potential in my father and encouraged him to pursue an education.  Not only was my father the first member of his family to go to college, he also managed to secure a scholarship to earn his doctorate degree and eventually established himself as a successful entrepreneur in America.

My father’s story has been an inspiration to me.  If my father hadn’t seized the opportunities that in turn road-mapped his life, I wouldn’t be where I am today.  As a Kiva Fellow, I will become a channel through which the underprivileged will be able to connect to a network of financial support, thereby presenting them with desperately needed opportunities.

Coming from humble means, my parents have instilled in me the same values they were raised with, and have always stressed the importance of service.  During visits to India I observed women and children begging on the streets, while in San Francisco and Berkeley I witnessed men and women huddled on street corners in the dead of winter.  Cognizant of the distress around me, I have tried to alleviate it by volunteering my time at shelters and organizing groups to assemble and distribute holiday care packages.  I realize, however, that while I have provided temporary relief to those in need, I am capable of offering much more.

My desire to make a positive impact on society has been inherent in every career decision and volunteer effort I have engaged in.  Though all of my research positions are distinct from one another, the overarching theme among them has been to improve the delivery of healthcare to individuals.  As an Executive Chair for the Cal Undergraduate Public Health Coalition, I coordinated events to promote public health on campus and at local schools.  This past year, I organized the Relay for Life event in Newark, CA to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

The Kiva Fellowship will offer me the opportunity to completely immerse myself in the cause to eradicate poverty, by encouraging individuals and their families to create self-sustaining lifestyles. Additionally, it will serve as a stepping-stone that will help me pursue my goal of working for a nonprofit that further enables social improvement.  Not only will I bring with me my varied experiences, dedication and perseverance, but I also bring with me a passion for social mobility.  I would like to be considered as a Kiva Fellow so that I can help empower individuals.  In the past I may have fed someone for a day, but now I would like to teach a society to feed themselves for a lifetime.

Written by Kaajal Laungani as part of her Kiva Fellowship Application in October 2009.