4 Things That Make the World Go Around...

I chose to be a Kiva Fellow so I could devote my time and skills to the cause to alleviate poverty and to have an experience of a lifetime. Fully aware that I may never have the opportunity to spend an extended period of time in the Philippines again, I also wanted to be sure that I took complete advantage of all that the country had to offer. At the top of my ‘To Do’ list was to become a scuba certified diver (and overcome my fear of being underwater). In order to check an item off my bucket list, I planned a weekend in Dumaguete, Negros, to get my scuba diving license. On the way I met Mike Stone who got me to think about the four things that make the world go around… time, love, money and energy.

Continue reading on the Kiva Fellows Blog!

Island Life - Where's the Glamour In That?

It was a typical bright and sunny morning as I walked down the Talibon Pier towards the tiny boat that would take me island hopping for the day. I was greeted by six smiling loan officers already seated inside the boat; they watched as I maneuvered myself down steep sloping rocks, balanced on a beam to cross the water, and finally jumped onto the boat that would take me on an incredible forty-five minute ride through the Philippine Sea…

After a few stops and many laughs, we arrived at Nocnocan Island – a tiny island that is only accessible by boat. We pulled up on the shore and walked through a maze of homes and shops, the alleys approximately three and a half feet wide. At the cluster meeting house, where the CEVI borrowers gather on a weekly basis, I was able to learn about island life and how the microfinance loans were making an impact on the Nocnocan community.

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Unlocking the Potential: Islamic Finance in the Philippines

“We have Muslim brothers who avail (financial) services but the way they avail (these loans) is against our culture, against our beliefs.” ~Muslim leader, Davao, Mindanao
 
Islam first reached the southern shores of the Philippines during the 14^th century and played a critical role in unifying kinship groups in several Filipino communities. With stronger networks of brotherhood and newfound Islamic faith, these communities were able to resist colonization by Spain and America for over 400 years, preserving their culture and religion. Today, though the majority of Muslim communities are concentrated in the southern portion of the Philippines archipelago, some reside in pockets throughout the islands; Filipino Muslims comprise approximately 5% (4.7 million) of the Filipino population (Roces, 2009).

Recognizing the need for a loan product more suitable to Muslim borrowers, CEVI has recently developed and launched an Islamic Finance product that is being piloted in Davao, Mindanao.

To read more about CEVI's course in expanding outreach to Muslim clients, please visit the Kiva Fellows Blog. 

Bonus Photo!

The first 10 Muslim clients involved in the pilot alongside the local Muslim leader, Chairman of World Vision, and Head of DMI. Photo courtesy of the CEVI Davao Branch.

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.