WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009 - (Page 12)

a loan meeting in a rural area near el Seibo, dominican Republic. ashley nelsen and the loan officer rode out on his motorcycle to collect the loan repayments. Continued from page 10 the Spanish and cultural adaptation skills that helped her immerse herself into the Dominican Republic. “The best thing I took out of Peace Corps was to learn to chill out, relax, and let it happen,” she said. “Sometimes it’s so slow and painstakingly dysfunctional, that you have to have patience.” Living and working in the community of El Seibo, in the southeastern corner of the island, Nelsen said her job included training the staff in the regional offices once a week on “what is Kiva.” This included explaining how Esperanza (the local microfinance institution) and Kiva work together, how to take a good photo of the entrepreneurs for the web journals, and how to 12 Summer 2009 upload information on the Internet, along with other rules, protocols and regulations. Other days found her traveling into the field with loan officers to interview entrepreneurs at bank meetings. Nelsen said the meetings take place every 15 days so that the five member groups have time to save money to make a repayment on their loan. In order to prove to Esperanza that you are good at repaying the loan, the first three loans must be facilitated in groups, and all bank group members are responsible for covering the loan should someone default. It is Esperanza, though, that seeks out loan clients. According to Nelsen they go to a community and conduct an evaluation similar to a “Progress Out of Poverty Index,” which is—for those interested in receiving a loan— an in-depth assessment of a family’s economic standing. They then need to secure a group, and go to the closest main office to talk about the rules of the agreement. The average Kiva loan in the Dominican Republic is about $180, and the majority is used to start small stores or what are known locally as “colmados.” Nelsen said someone receiving a loan might start with the basics such as oil, flour, sugar and soap and then slowly build in more luxury goods such as soda, cookies and tobacco. Many take out further loans to add clothing to their stock. The beneficiaries of the loans, however, are not “the poorest of the poor,” Nelsen said. They have proven

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009

WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009
Contents
More Peace Corps Campaign: Better and Bolder!
Africa Rural Connect
Readers Write
You Too Can Be Bill Gates
Taking Peace Corps Back into the Field
Come for the Information, Stay for the Dancing
A “Green” Community Rising
Microfinance Pioneer Receives 2009 Shriver Award
The Colombia Project
A Voice for the Unheard
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Microfinance Podcasts
Selected Microfinance Resources
Bicycle! Bamenda! Orange!
Luck and Fame
A Step in the Right Direction
Bringing What She Loves
Letter from Botswana: First Tongues of the Kalahari
Letter from Tanzania: Homo Sapien in Africa
In the Beginning (There Was John)
The Peace Corps Community Making a Difference
Community News
Advertiser Index

WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/fall09
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/summer09
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/spring08
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/winter07
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/fall07
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com